Dems Apoplectic; It's a Good Thing

President Bush learned a thing or two from the Miers debacle and has nominated a solid conservative judge for the Supreme Court:

President Bush on Monday nominated Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

He is filling the spot that opened when Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination last week after facing strong criticism from the president's conservative base. While many Republicans praised the new nominee, Democrats wasted no time in publicly blasting him as "too radical."

"Judge Alito is one of the most accomplished and respected judges of America and his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of judicial experience," Bush said in making the announcement in the White House.

"He's scholarly, fair-minded and principled and these qualities will serve him well on the highest court in the land."

This is a good pick for those of us who did not approve of Harriet Miers for the court. It's neither a "buddy" pick, nor a "diversity" pick, but a pick which came from the best qualified candidates for the job. Based on early Dem reaction, this guy will be a winner since the usual suspects are all screaming like stuck pigs.

I heard the Roberts hearings described today as "man among boys", and these hearings promise much of the same. Chuckie and Teddy won't be able to lay a glove on him.

He has had some controversial opinions, including a dissent in the Casey case in which he stated that the constitution did not prohibit a state from requiring that the husband be notified prior to his wife's abortion. Given that abortion is the only issue that really matters to the Dems, that will be a big fight and there is a strong likelihood that many more Senators will vote against him. However, I do not expect that a filibuster attempt will work. I don't think the Dems will want to see the nuclear option exploded in their faces over this guy.

Well done, Mr. President. Let the games begin.


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