Post by Noah on Nov 9, 2005 19:00:35 GMT -5
Okay. So the Harriet Miers nomination was not thwarted by the left, which remained giddily silent; it was thwarted by the extreme right, which refused to be convinced that Miers would obliterate women's rights. To appease the base, Bush put up Samuel Alito, with a solid record of decisions and dissents challenging abortion rights. But now, Democratic senators are emerging from meetings with Alito and saying that the judge has expressed deep respect for Roe vs. Wade as a precedent-setter, if not for abortion rights themselves. Of course, Alito won't vow not to vote to overturn Roe, but it would be a radical break with tradition for him to state unequivocally how he would vote in a hypothetical case.
So if these Democratic senators are feeling encouraged about Alito, it narrows the chances of a filibuster -- now considered unlikely. But then, is the extreme right getting nervous that Alito may be, in their view, another baby-killer like Miers?
The country is very divided, yes. But what makes it so divided is not the difference between left and right; it's the difference between bipartisan harmony and the terrorist tactics of the far, far right. If Bush were not in the White House, the craziest people in the country would not currently hold such political sway. Since they do, though, it seems that Bush can't win.
And that's just fine with me. Bush has dug his own grave, and I'm hoping Alito's confirmation winds up hinging on further endearment to the left, so we can watch all the evangelicals line up with shovels.
So if these Democratic senators are feeling encouraged about Alito, it narrows the chances of a filibuster -- now considered unlikely. But then, is the extreme right getting nervous that Alito may be, in their view, another baby-killer like Miers?
The country is very divided, yes. But what makes it so divided is not the difference between left and right; it's the difference between bipartisan harmony and the terrorist tactics of the far, far right. If Bush were not in the White House, the craziest people in the country would not currently hold such political sway. Since they do, though, it seems that Bush can't win.
And that's just fine with me. Bush has dug his own grave, and I'm hoping Alito's confirmation winds up hinging on further endearment to the left, so we can watch all the evangelicals line up with shovels.
