More Bad News for Liberals: Alito Popular Pick

Majority of Americans Support Alito Nomination

By Richard Morin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; 6:00 AM

A majority of Americans now support the confirmation of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Samuel A. Alito to the Supreme Court to fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey found that 54 percent of the public say the Senate should confirm Alito while 28 percent say he should not be approved. That marks a modest increase in public support for Alito since November, when 49 percent said he should be confirmed and 29 percent said he should not. In both surveys, about one in five Americans said they did not yet know enough about the nominee to have an opinion.

Alito now is about as popular as Chief Justice Roberts was on the eve of his Senate confirmation hearings last September, the survey found. Roberts easily won Senate approval, breezing through his hearings and winning the vote of all 55 Republican senators and half of their Democratic colleagues. It is uncertain whether Alito will pass so effortlessly through his Senate confirmation process, which is scheduled to start Jan. 9 with hearings. The Senate hopes to hold a final vote on Alito by Jan. 20.

The new poll found some evidence that the abortion issue plays an important but not decisive role in shaping public perceptions of Alito. While his current views on abortion are not publicly known, memos that he wrote two decades ago, while he was a lawyer in the Reagan administration Justice Department, indicated he opposed Roe v. Wade , the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

Alito will sail through. I said it when he was nominated, he is a lock on confirmation. The Liberals have all fired their best shots to no avail. The man is rock-solid and will win confirmation with at least 70 votes. Cry Freedom!

Full Story: Alito Proves Strong Candidate

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