Bush Nominates a Qualified Conservative

Nominee Samuel Alito may be our next Supreme Court justice. Bush, showing he has learned from the Miers mess, carefully drew attention to a few points in his nomination speech.

Judge Alito has served with distinction on that court [the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals] for 15 years, and now has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.

He has participated in thousands of appeals and authored hundreds of opinions. This record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal merits carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion.

He has a deep understanding of the proper role of judges in our society. He understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people.

Alito himself showed why he was on the short-list of conservatives with his follow-up introduction.

Every time that I have entered the courtroom during the past 15 years, I have been mindful of the solemn responsibility that goes with service as a federal judge. Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system.

I am happy with Alito nomination, even though I wish he were younger. At 55, he is pushing the envelope of what I would call an effective nomination given that no one knows who may hold the presidency when Alito dies or retires. However, I like everything else. He has been a voice of reason on the liberal 3rd Court. Alito is a family man, so his children will be impacted by his decisions. And as President Bush so emphatically pointed out, Alito has more judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in seven decades.

Many Republicans have already provided press releases supporting Alito. No surprise there, what do you expect them to say? The big surprise with Miers is that Bush's base didn't think she was qualified. I find the response of liberals to be far more enlightening. Many liberals, including Henry Reid, were strong supporters of Miers. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has compiled some quotes. I've copied those of influential Democrats.

The nomination of Judge Alito requires an especially long, hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers. Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them. Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev

Rather than selecting a nominee for the good of the nation and the court, President Bush has picked a nominee whom he hopes will stop the massive hemorrhaging of support on his right wing. This is a nomination based on weakness, not strength. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass

President Bush put the demands of his far-right political base above Americans' constitutional rights and legal protections by nominating federal appeals court Judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People For the American Way

It is sad that the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who would unify us. This controversial nominee, who would make the court less diverse and far more conservative, will get very careful scrutiny from the Senate and from the American people. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY

Now the gauntlet has been, I think, thrown down. It was humiliating, it was degrading and it's a profound and distributing view of Judge Alito that he would uphold spousal notification as he did in the Pennsylvania case, and it raises concerns about his views of women. Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL-Pro Choice America

Wow! Even if I knew absolutely nothing of Alito, the contrast between how the liberals treated the nominations of Miers and Alito is quite illuminating. Any nominee who can instantly reveal such animosity from Senators Reid, Kennedy, and Schumer as well as past and present leaders of very liberal political organizations is doing something right.

Alito is the third nominee for Supreme Court Justice O'Conner's seat. The first, Roberts, was appointed as Chief Justice when Rehnquist died. Miers withdrew her nomination after seeing that her nomination was splitting the Republican Party. Alito's nomination may cause a fight between liberals and conservatives in the Senate, but will draw conservatives together again. Assuming we do not find out any negative surprises about Alito, let's help him get confirmed by sending letters to our senators as well as key senators with presidential aspirations. However, after all the obviously delight the Democrats showed when the correctly commented that the Miers nomination was splitting the party, don't forget to enjoy the public display of liberals gnashing their teeth over the nomination of someone who is unlikely to legislate from the bench.

Merkel To Be German Chancellor

Three weeks after Germany's election, conservative leader Angela Merkel is set to become Germany’s first female chancellor.

Under the power-sharing agreement, Schroeder’s Social Democrats would get eight seats in the Cabinet, compared with six for Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Christian Social Union.

The fat lady still hasn't sung in Germany the BBC reports that the power sharing agreement is only be the start of a lengthy and more detailed negotiation on the small print of future government policy. According to the Associated Press, the power sharing deal, even though approved by party leader, must still be approved by party conferences and in parliament. That process could take several more weeks.

From California Yankee.

Schwarzenegger Signs Viagra Ban For Sex Offenders

In a move that I think everyone can agree is common sense -- except for sex offenders with impotency -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill banning the state health care system from paying for Viagra for poor sex offenders. I still don't understand why taxpayers should end up paying for anyone's Viagra, but especially in the case of a sex offender. If anything, erectile dysfunction drugs should be outlawed to anyone with sex offender status.

In addition Schwarzenegger also signed bills allowing children to testify in court via closed circuit television, prohibiting parents from having custody of their children if the parent lives with a registered sex offender, blocking the state's Department of Mental Health from placing sexually violent patients near schools after release from treatment and allowing state and local officials to use global positioning systems to monitor parolees.

Washington Post

Federal support for subsidized Viagra was curtailed earlier this year when a New York state audit found nearly 200 sex offenders benefiting from the program.

Schwarzenegger then asked state agencies to stop prescribing the drugs to sex offenders and asked lawmakers to pass a bill that would outlaw the coverage.

Sounds good to me. Now about those illegal aliens getting Viagra and other prescriptions and health care on the taxpayers dime...

Originally posted at Diggers Realm