Alito Will Be Confirmed
We partly agree with the White House's assessment (as reported in the linked NY Times article by David D. Kirkpatrick) of a recent liberal ad campaign to derail the nomination of high court pick Samuel A. Alito, Jr.:
Steve Schmidt, a White House spokesman handling the nomination, called the commercials "dishonest" and "a desperation tactic."
It's definitely desperate. In fact, it's a dollar short and a day late. Alito's confirmation hearings in the Senate could have been qualified as a "Bork Moment," particularly when one considers the controversy surrounding his views on everything from abortion rights to Voting Rights. But he will get confirmed - no doubt. Media hacks are so hyped over wiretapping, Abramoff and Congressional scandals that little attention is being placed on Alito's views. Ironically, Alito's placement and performance on the Court will directly impact the issues above - and many more. We believe the Administration and hardline conservatives are actually using the NSA surveillance issue (Bush is being uncharacteristically upfront about it) and the Abramoff Chronicles as an opportunity to deflect attention from Alito since his confirmation (coupled with Roberts) is a long term political jackpot for the right.
Definitely one of the smartest White guys ever groomed to sit on the Supreme Court, we have major concerns about his past opposition to "one-person one-vote," one of the most fundamental basics in Voting Rights. We've taken the liberty of linking to Adam Cohen's recent piece titled Question for Judge Alito: What About One Person One Vote?. And then, when you get a moment, check out this piece by Loyola Law School Election Law expert Richard L. Hasen that predates Cohen's analysis.
Obviously, we remain very skeptical of the Court's direction and what that means for African Americans. There has been continued media and political establishment ignorance of issues such as affirmative action and voting rights since O'Connor's retirement. For Senate cats to suddenly become concerned about these issues when Alito's confirmation is all but locked leaves a sour feeling in the pit of this blog. The lack of action on the part of Black Congressional Members and key civil rights organizations is disappointing.
Steve Schmidt, a White House spokesman handling the nomination, called the commercials "dishonest" and "a desperation tactic."
It's definitely desperate. In fact, it's a dollar short and a day late. Alito's confirmation hearings in the Senate could have been qualified as a "Bork Moment," particularly when one considers the controversy surrounding his views on everything from abortion rights to Voting Rights. But he will get confirmed - no doubt. Media hacks are so hyped over wiretapping, Abramoff and Congressional scandals that little attention is being placed on Alito's views. Ironically, Alito's placement and performance on the Court will directly impact the issues above - and many more. We believe the Administration and hardline conservatives are actually using the NSA surveillance issue (Bush is being uncharacteristically upfront about it) and the Abramoff Chronicles as an opportunity to deflect attention from Alito since his confirmation (coupled with Roberts) is a long term political jackpot for the right.
Definitely one of the smartest White guys ever groomed to sit on the Supreme Court, we have major concerns about his past opposition to "one-person one-vote," one of the most fundamental basics in Voting Rights. We've taken the liberty of linking to Adam Cohen's recent piece titled Question for Judge Alito: What About One Person One Vote?. And then, when you get a moment, check out this piece by Loyola Law School Election Law expert Richard L. Hasen that predates Cohen's analysis.
Obviously, we remain very skeptical of the Court's direction and what that means for African Americans. There has been continued media and political establishment ignorance of issues such as affirmative action and voting rights since O'Connor's retirement. For Senate cats to suddenly become concerned about these issues when Alito's confirmation is all but locked leaves a sour feeling in the pit of this blog. The lack of action on the part of Black Congressional Members and key civil rights organizations is disappointing.
posted by BPblogger at 10:02 AM
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