Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Before the Alito Debate Gets Completely Nuts

Last month, some conservative Republicans hijacked the debate over Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court, claiming that she wasn't a true believer in conservative dogma and attacking her personal competence. Miers was, I think, unfairly savaged.

Now, at least some liberal Democrats are lining up for a similar assault on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. A profusion of Democratic senators have dismissed him as "radical" or "extremist."

Labels are easy to apply. But what exactly are the facts?

In this Los Angeles Times story, liberal Democrats who have worked with Samuel Alito say that he's no extremist and that he's a fair-minded judge who abides by law and precedent.

(Thanks to Zendo Deb for leading me to the Times report.)

UPDATE: Lawprof Ann Althouse, whose opposition to Miers' nomination was I thought, both reasoned and a tad elitist, has now made it her mission to refute every inaccurate statement made about Alito. Because the nominee is being attacked for positions on rulings with which she is very familiar, Althouse appears to know of what she speaks.

TO CLARIFY: I'm not taking a position on the Alito nomination. I just believe in fairness.

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