It's Not (Supposed to be) About Ideology

Newly Released Papers Energize Alito's Critics
Credibility Questions Are Raised Anew

By Charles Babington
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 2, 2005; Page A02

Newly released documents by Samuel A. Alito Jr. touching on abortion and other issues have pumped new life into efforts to sharply challenge his nomination to the Supreme Court, liberal activists said yesterday.

Details of Alito's 1985 strategy to undermine the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling have energized abortion rights groups, they said, but broader questions about his overall credibility may eventually prove more problematic to the Bush administration's confirmation efforts. One Democratic senator demanded yesterday that Alito explain why he omitted references to a 17-page abortion-strategy memo in a questionnaire recently returned to the Senate Judiciary Committee, while another senator -- Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), the committee's senior member -- said that "a credibility gap is emerging with each new piece of information released on Judge Alito's record."

In a sign of Republican nervousness about the criticisms, Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) quickly scheduled a meeting with Alito for today, after which the senator will speak to reporters. Although Specter sometimes differs with President Bush, the White House credits him with stepping in to smooth out controversies in the previous confirmation efforts, for Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and White House counsel Harriet Miers, who ultimately withdrew and was replaced by Alito.

The flurry of events was triggered by the release Wednesday of the lengthy 1985 memo in which Alito, then a Justice Department lawyer in the Reagan administration, outlined a strategy for attacking the 1973 Roe ruling without making a "frontal assault" that might prove unwinnable. "What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its effects?" he asked in the memo concerning a Pennsylvania case before the Supreme Court, Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Alito did not cite the case in his responses to the Senate questionnaire, also released on Wednesday, which asked him to describe the most significant litigation matters he has handled. The omission angered Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, which will convene for Alito's confirmation hearing on Jan. 9.

"In light of your 17-page memorandum and the accounts of your former colleagues, your 'participation in the litigation' was clearly substantial," Schumer said in a letter asking Alito to explain. Citing a previously disclosed memo in which Alito successfully sought a promotion in the Justice Department, Schumer added: "In your 1985 job application, written only a few months later, you appeared to highlight your work on the Thornburgh case."

Although the Wednesday disclosures reinvigorated liberal groups hoping to block Alito's confirmation, Democrats steered clear of suggesting that they might form the basis of a filibuster, a tactic in which opponents could try to thwart the nominee even though Republicans hold 55 of the chamber's 100 seats. "The more we learn about Judge Alito, the more problematic this nomination becomes," said Rebecca Kirszner, spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). "The Democratic caucus will wait for the hearings before any decisions are made."

Specter, who supports abortion rights, said of the 1985 Thornburgh memo: "I do not think it materially or significantly changes the political dynamics of the Senate. I do not believe that there is a basis for a filibuster here."

Democrats said they will press Alito to explain other circumstances in which his statements have conflicted to some degree. When confirmed to a federal appeals court in 1990, Alito told senators he would not rule in matters regarding the investment firm Vanguard Group Inc., in which he had several accounts. Alito did rule in a 2002 case involving Vanguard, however, and later gave several accounts of the circumstances. He said a courthouse computer program failed to alert him to the potential conflict of interest; that he was not legally or ethically bound to recuse himself; and that his statement to the senators applied only to his first few years on the court.

"The omission angered Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.)" Oh, Do tell. What doesn't anger Chucky?...and besides that, Who cares? Just find him a camera to jump in front of and he'll be happy. As for Senator "Fat, Drunk, and Stupid," a.k.a. Ted "The Killer" Kennedy, no one knows more about having a "credibility gap" than he. The Democrats are systematically attempting to undermine and destroy our entire governmental system. They can no longer make any pretense of believing in the Constitution. With the courts, they are politicizing the one body which is supposed to be above politics. Judges are supposed to ajudicate cases "without prejudice" yet now Democrats refuse to base their decision on judicial temperment and qualifications, the only proper measures of whether or not a candidate is suited for the Supreme Court Bench, they require a certain philosophy. They wish to change the very nature of our court system.

Full Story: More Democrat Whining

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