Early Takes on Samuel Alito
If the RNC’s quote list is any indication, the nomination of Samuel Alito is going over pretty well with conservatives–and at least a few non-Republican media pundits.
ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: “[Samuel Alito] Has Got The Background Qualifications And Temperament Of John Roberts.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 10/31/05)
* Stephanopoulos: “[Samuel Alito] Won’t Provide A Big Target For The Democrats.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 10/31/05)
Fox News’ Bill Kristol: “I Think He Is Really High Quality…An Awfully Impressive Man. (Fox News, “Fox And Friends,” 10/31/05)
ABC’s Jessica Yellin: “Samuel Alito Is A Federal Judge In New Jersey With Established Conservative Credentials, He Has Well-Known Views On Constitutional Issues And Unquestioned Intellectual Heft.” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 10/31/05)
CBS’ Gloria Borger: “There Is No Doubt, Julie, That This Man Is Very Qualified. People Consider Him A Brilliant Jurist, And So You Can’t Argue With Qualifications.” (CBS’ “The Early Show,” 10/31/05)
CNN’s Bill Schneider: “On Those Two Grounds, Temperament And Credentials, He Seems Like A Strong Pick.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/31/05)
CNN’s Jeff Toobin: “[Alito Has] A Remarkable Level Of Experience. This Is Very Much Like John Roberts, Sort Of Central Casting Background For A Supreme Court Nominee.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/31/05)
* Toobin: “[J]udge Alito Has Remarkable, Excellent Qualifications To Be On Supreme Court.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/31/05)
* Toobin: “Alito Is Supposed To Be A Very Nice Guy, Relaxed, Laid Back, Friendly, Charming.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 10/31/05)
Senator John McCain (R-AZ): “[Judge Alito] Has A Very Good Temperament. … He’s Very Smart, And Has Impressed A Lot Of People. The President Said He Was Going To Appoint Somebody Who Is Conservative, And That’s The Way He Campaigned, And That’s What We Have Here. I Think He’s Very Highly Regarded.” (MSNBC’s “Imus In The Morning,” 10/31/05)
ABC’s Terry Moran: “[T]his Is A Man With Deep Experience In These [Judicial] Issues …” (ABC’s “Good Morning America,” 10/31/05)
No word on why all these people speak in title case.
Having McCain and the likes of Borger and Toobin praise Alito confirms my initial impression that he’ll sail through after a relatively mild fight in the Senate. Unlike Miers, there is simply no question that he is qualified in terms of intellect, training, and experience. And, while he’s certainly more conservative than Sandra Day O’Connor–and probably John Roberts–there’s little indication that he is a rabid ideologue who simply invokes whatever legal rationale is convenient to achieve his policy outcomes. Inded, he has ruled against his own preferences–and the GOP–on numerous big cases.
So far, this looks like a home run pick.
Ya know James, if we could only have seperate laws for conservatives and liberals I wouldn’t have any problem with you guys having all the conservatives on the court you want.
You could make it a capital crime, punishable with the death penalty, for any conservative (determined by being registered and voting as a republican) woman who has an abortion and I wouldn’t care. You could deny your children a sound scientific education, force them to pray in school, and refuse to hire the gay children of any other conservative republican you want and I wouldn’t care.
But when my rights, or the rights of my family, are affected by your nonsense it pisses me off.
The conservative attack on basic American values cannot be allowed to win and turn us into another right wing dictatorship.
Just because you guys do not appreciate our god given inaniable rights doesn’t mean you get to take them away from the rest of us.
For what might be a more temperate criticism than Ken’s, analyzing one case in which Alito dissented, you may visit my humble blog. (Too lengthy to post here.)
What post are you responding to, Ken? Because I don’t see where your mini-rant addressed much of anything that James had to say.
Not to mention the words you put in his mouth, or the way you take what you consider to be the worst conservative positions you can think of, and assign them to all conservatives. Whatever happened to the Liberal approach of looking at the individual and regarding him on his own merits, rather than judging him based on his membership of a group, and a very loosely connected group at that.
Anderson,
I went to your blog and just had to bookmark it after finding your writeup of republican sex writings. Libby’s ‘He asked if they should fuck the deer.’ makes we wonder about his sanity. How does he think he can get away with writing something like that and not be ridiculed?
Your comments on Alito are important too.
Boyd,
You got me. Not all conservatives, perhaps James included, are as whacky as are their leaders. However, James does approve of, give money to, and vote to elect people who would allow such things to happen.
Thanks, Ken. Ol’ Scooter’s still waters run deep, don’t they?
‘You could make it a capital crime, punishable with the death penalty, for any conservative (determined by being registered and voting as a republican) woman who has an abortion and I wouldn’t care.’
And you’re questioning someone elses sanity?
Who kidnapped our fearless leader Terry Moron, and what have you done with him?
Signed, Lefty Gomez
Fox News’ Bill Kristol: “I Think He Is Really High Quality…An Awfully Impressive Man. (Fox News, “Fox And Friends,” 10/31/05)
WHEN did we start fooling ourselves by saying that Bill Kristol or Fox News were non-Republican media pundits.
get real!
i hate Alito, i hate all white people, i will kill alito and everyone else who wants to mess with a farmer from Fairfield Montana