Filibuster Alito

I must admit that I was surprised at how much venom some Democrats used against Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito. I listened to his answers over and over and they seemed comprehensive, knowledgeable, and very patient. This is one smart cookie. So in pulling out all the stops and attacking Alito the way they did, I was very prone to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Geoffrey Stone, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School, shows why it is a good idea to oppose Alito's installation on the Supreme Court. Stone's argument convinces me. ...

At the end of his blog posting, Stone writes:

Given the times in which we live, we need and deserve a Supreme Court willing to examine independently these extraordinary assertions of executive authority. We can fight and win the war on terrorism without inflicting upon ourselves and our posterity another regrettable episode like the Red Scare and the Japanese internment. But that will happen only if the Justices of the Supreme Court are willing to fulfill their essential role in our constitutional system.

Whatever else Judge Alito may or may not have made clear about his views on such issues as abortion, federalism, and religious freedom, he has certainly made clear that he has no interest in restraining the acts of this commander-in-chief. That, in my judgment, poses a serious threat to the nation, and is a more than adequate reason for the Senate – Republicans and Democrats alike – to deny his confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Related Links

• Senate GOP Seeks to Force Vote on Alito
  
• Judiciary Committee Recommends Alito to Senate