h/t to Michelle Malkin, who probably stayed up all night waiting for this news ;-)
Everyone (on the Right at least) saw it coming -- President Bush nominates a soft, relatively obscure attorney (though one he expresses great faith in) for the Supreme Court. She is blown out of the sky by conservatives, and liberals are caught with their mouths open and can't put together a coordinated response. She withdraws her name.
Now round 2, and President Bush comes out swinging. "Yale graduate you want? Appellate court experience? You're going to turn down the biggest potential softball since David Suiter? Okay. Fine."
So "Scalito" it is. Heh.
Apparently Harry Reid already gave his "advice."
Don't look for his consent, though.
Question: are Democrats sex-obsessed when discussing Supreme Court nominees? First it was Howard "hide the salami" Dean. Now reporters are asking about "sloppy seconds?" Really now. Get a room.
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Obligatory Michelle Malkin blog roundup link.
More:
From US News:
In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito was the sole dissenter on the Third Circuit, which struck a Pennsylvania law that required women seeking abortions to consult their husbands. He argued that many of the potential reasons for an abortion, such as "economic constraints, future plans, or the husbands' previously expressed opposition ... may be obviated by discussion prior to abortion."
So he's not only smart, he can think straight, too. Nice to see a judge who actually considers fatherhood important when considering the abortion issue.
Here's a little more from Jason Smith at Generation Why, including the fact that Alito was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 1990 when he was nominated by Bush 41 to fill a Federal appellate court vacancy.
The Republicans in the Senate seem to be ready for a fight. The timing is good -- the Dems walked away from a softball candidate, and now they've got one in front of them with the intellectual credentials and judicial experience that they found lacking in Harriet Miers.
Actually I've never been worried much about the Miers issue. Even if Miers didn't withdraw her name, or was even confirmed, the odds have always been strong that another member of the Court would retire between now and January 2009. The Miers pick meant that Bush would be free from "pick a woman" pressure, and the pooh-pooh-ing of her nomination meant that Bush would almost certainly have to pick a candidate with the kind of education and experience that Judge Alito possesses.
So good luck to Judge Alito. He'll need it.
And Democrats ... Bring. It. On. We haven't had a good filibuster in years. And remember what happened during September? Just imagine how "Democrats obstructed the business of the Senate and kept help from reaching those who really needed it" will play to voters in 2006.
California Conservative has sounded the battlecry: Scalito's Way!
My blog friend B Relevant is Thrilled With Alito. So are my friends at Double Toothpicks.
And God bless her, Stacy Harp "descended into Hell": the liberal blog fever swamps.
Lores Rizkalla at Just A Woman weighs in too.
Via email, a reader commented on the pukish green coloring of Alito in the official New York Times photo. Shades of The Grinch?
Still More:
Michelle Malkin caught this during Chuck Schumer's statement this morning:
"The real question today is whether Judge Alito would use his seat on the bench, just as Rosa Parks used her seat on the bus, to change history for the better. Or whether he would use that seat to reverse what Rosa Parks and so many others fought so hard, and for so long, to put in place."
Ugh. Please, just let the woman rest in peace.
Maybe Chucky is taking talking points lessons from Uncle Teddy. Remember this classic swill?
"Robert Bork's America is a land inwhich women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the government, and the doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens."
As always, The Political Teen has video of Schumer's pitiful remarks.
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My last update to this post, 11-01-05:
Drudge is carrying this photo of Alito's 90 year old mother this morning, with a link to this Associated Press story, which includes this quote from Alito's mother: "Of course he's against abortion." And as a devout Catholic, he should recognize it as sin. Apparently Alito's mother said nothing else of interest to the MSM. The photo appears to be from US News, by virtue of its filename:
You'll have to look kind of close, but you can plainly see that Alito's mother is de-focused, and the "Bless This House" ornament hanging on the doorknob has been (probably) artifically sharpened.
Those damn Catholics. They'll be the ruination of us all.
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