Judiciary Committee Going Through the Motions

Later today, the Senate Judiciary Committee presumably will clear the nomination of Judge Sam Alito on a straight party line vote. In the meantime, the Senators are posturing. You have to read deep into this Associated Press account before anyone says anything good about Judge Alito. This, however, is the exchange I found interesting:

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., warned that Republicans would remember a party-line Alito vote in future Supreme Court nominations, considering several Republicans voted for Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who were nominated by President Clinton.
“It is simply unrealistic to think that one party would put itself at a disadvantage by eschewing political considerations while the other party almost unanimously applies such considerations,” Kyl said. “So I say to my Democratic friends: Think carefully about what is being done today. Its impact will be felt well beyond this particular nominee.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said things are different from when the Senate considered Breyer and Ginsburg, who were confirmed 87-9 and 96-3 respectively. “There was not the polarization within America that is there today, and not the defined move to take this court in a singular direction,” Feinstein said.

Yes, that’s true. Things were not as polarized during the 1990s. Why is that? Well, for one thing, the Republicans didn’t try to defeat judicial nominees on a purely political, partisan basis, but rather voted for qualified nominees of the President’s party and judicial philosophy. But over the last five years, time after time, the Democrats have been willing to trash our institutions and traditions for the sake of political gain. We’re seeing it again today.
Via Power Line News.

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