Democrats Should Oppose Alito

Democrats Should Oppose Alito

Judge Samuel Alito's elevation to the Supreme Court is all but inevitable. He is unquestionably qualified, the Senate Republican majority is so right-wing and the Democrats so impotent and rudderless that there is no serious threat to his confirmation, but this is (tired metaphor alert) one of those political watersheds, like the Gulf of Tonkin resolution.

Alito, nicknamed "Scalito" for his commonality with Justice Antonin Scalia, will almost surely replace Sandra Day O'Connor's vote upholding Roe v Wade with a vote to overrule it.

Political correctness dictates that a politician never say that (same metaphor alert) he/she has a "litmus test" for judicial nominees.

Abortion rights should be a litmus test. Any Democrat who votes to confirm Alito or even silently casts a no vote is betraying the principles of his/her party on the one domestic issue that has most clearly distinguished the parties for over a generation.

Sen. John Kerry called for a filibuster earlier this week to stop Alito's confirmation but he doesn't have the votes. The Democratic half of "The Gang of 14" has agreed not to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees, the Republican half has agreed to oppose attempts to abolish the filibuster procedure altogether. Two of the seven Democrats have also announced that they will vote to confirm Alito.

This group of appeasors will regret their actions. As an earlier group of Democrats had to answer the question of how they voted on the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, this group will have to answer to their daughters and granddaughters on what they did when the right to abortion was to be upheld or wiped out.

-Benjamin Harris