"I want to read you a quote, here, from Senator Ted Kennedy … This is what he told the Washington Times: "I'm concerned that Judge Alito's statements, writings, and decisions suggest an unmistakable tendency to favor strong executive authority."
"I have to tell you that of all the people on the Hill who should be careful about looking back 20 or 25 years into what somebody may have done or said 25 years ago, Ted Kennedy is probably at the top of that list."
"Senator Kennedy gets a six-year contract renewed every six years by the people of Massachusetts. They have passed on his integrity for 42 years, and it is beyond question."
Samuel Alito is no John Roberts. Roberts wooed senators of both parties with a dazzling command of legal precedent and social ease to win confirmation as Chief Justice of the United States.
Alito's smooth responses frustrated Democrats as they sought to pin him down on past statements, speeches and legal opinions. "I don't think we've heard anything from the nominee except statements that every nominee would make," complained Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who fruitlessly tried to pin Alito down on his personal opinion about whether the Constitution allows for the right to an abortion. "Every nominee would say, 'Of course I will keep an open mind.' You don't expect a nominee to say, 'No, no, no, my mind's closed.'"
"I don't think we've heard anything from the nominee except statements that every nominee would make," complained Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who fruitlessly tried to pin Alito down on his personal opinion about whether the Constitution allows for the right to an abortion. "Every nominee would say, 'Of course I will keep an open mind.' You don't expect a nominee to say, 'No, no, no, my mind's closed.'"
Continued...
Rich Galen has been a press secretary to Dan Quayle and Newt Gingrich. Rich Galen currently works as a journalist and writes at Mullings.com
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