The Senate Hearings: What Day One Tells Us
Judging from their opening statements, it seems clear that the three Democrats on the Judiciary Committee (Senators Patrick Leahy, Russ Feingold, and Herb Kohl) who voted for John Roberts are extremely unlikely to vote to confirm Samuel Alito as a Supreme Court Justice. There were 38 votes opposed to Roberts. 41 votes would give the Democrats enough to filibuster Judge Alito. I expect that filibuster to occur. In raw power politics, the question remaining is whether Senate Republicans will vote to eliminate the filibuster, which will launch an era of activist government the likes of which we have never seen, or whether they will let their President's Supreme Court nominee go down to defeat.
I think they'll vote to eliminate the filibuster. The Republican Congress has already shown an enormous amount of affection for oversized, intrusive government with no regard to individual rights. What better, then, to make government more activist in defense of a Supreme Court nominee who thinks little of individual rights (Republicans strain to find examples where Judge Alito has been friendly to civil rights, women's rights, or individual rights in general) and is a full-throated defender of limitless unchecked federal power? His view of the godlike powers of the federal government include a belief that the government has a right to torture: Could it be that was why he was nominated?
5:57:28 PM 
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