this is going to be a bitchin comfirmation fight. i'm making popcorn.
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October 31, 2005
Nomination Likely to Please G.O.P., but Not Some Democrats
By CHRISTINE HAUSER and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
President Bush nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., who currently serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, to the Supreme Court today, four days after his previous choice withdrew her nomination.
The nomination is likely to please Mr. Bush's conservative allies, whose sharp attacks on Harriet E. Miers were instrumental in prompting her to withdraw last week. But the president is more likely to get a battle from Democrats and liberals who may believe Judge Alito's views are too extreme.
Over the weekend, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, warned President Bush not to pick Judge Alito, 55. "I think it would create a lot of problems," Mr. Reid said on "Late Edition" on CNN.
Mr. Bush this morning described Judge Alito as having an "extraordinary breadth of experience" and as being "tough and fair." Referring to his long career and his current role on the appeals court, the president said Judge Alito now has "more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years."
"I urge the senate to act promptly so that an up or down vote is held before the end of this year," Mr. Bush said at the White House as he presented Judge Alito as his nominee.
Judge Alito, speaking as his wife and two children looked on, said that he was deeply honored to be nominated. He said he had long held the Supreme Court "in reverence," and reminisced about his first time arguing a case there in 1982, when Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whom he would replace on the court, sensed that he was a "rookie" and made sure that the first question he was asked was a kind one. "I was grateful to her on that happy occasion, and I am particularly honored to be nominated for her seat," he said.
He said he was also struck with a sense of awe by what the court stands for as an institution: equal justice under law.
Judge Alito said he looked forward to working with the Senate in the confirmation process.
An early signal of conservative approval came from Gary Bauer, a prominent social conservative, who called the choice of Judge Alito a "grand slam home run." Mr. Bauer, interviewed on CNN, called the judge a "mainstream conservative" and predicted that while there would be a battle from Democrats, Judge Alito would ultimately be confirmed. "They'll try to label him as extreme, but when you get into the hearings, you'll get into specifics," he said.
Republicans close to the selection process had said over the weekend that Judge Alito, Judge J. Michael Luttig of the Fourth Circuit, Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the Sixth Circuit, and Judge Priscilla R. Owen of the Fifth Circuit were leading candidates.
Mr. Reid had already said he would object to the selection of Judge Luttig or Judge Owen. And on Sunday, he did not rule out the possibility that Democrats would try to block a nominee by a filibuster or refusing to close debate and vote. "We are going to do everything we can" to see that the president names "somebody that's really good," Mr. Reid said.
But Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, fired back Sunday, saying that if the Democrats staged a filibuster against Judge Alito or Judge Luttig because of their conservatism, "the filibuster will not stand."
Mr. Graham's warning was significant because he played a crucial role earlier this year in helping block a Republican effort to change the Senate rules - known as the nuclear option - so that Democrats could not filibuster judicial nominees. His comments on Sunday indicated that this time, he would support that rule change; Democrats have threatened to retaliate with a battle that could snarl Senate business for months.
According to a statement released by the White House this morning, Jude Alito was born in April 1950 in Trenton. He graduated from Princeton University in 1972, and went to Yale Law School, where he earned a J.D. in 1975. From 1977-1980, Judge Alito served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the appellate division, where he argued cases before the circuit court to which he was later appointed.
From 1981 to 1985, Judge Alito served as assistant to the solicitor general. He has argued 12 cases on behalf of the federal government in the United States Supreme Court and he has argued numerous others before the federal courts of appeals.
His career included serving as deputy assistant to the attorney general from 1985 to 1987. From 1987 to 1989, Judge Alito served as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he prosecuted white collar and environmental crimes, drug trafficking, organized crime, and violations of civil rights, the White House said.
He was nominated by President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, in 1990 to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
He has been nicknamed "Scalito" for his ideological similarity to United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.
Both sides were on edge the last few days in anticipation of Mr. Bush's announcement. "There's a lot of anxiety," Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said on "Late Edition." "There could be a real tough battle here and a real tough fight, depending on whom the president puts up."
Mr. Specter said he was "very worried" about the possibility of a filibuster. "The topic which dominates the discussion, as we all know, is a woman's right to choose," said the senator, who supports abortion rights.
He continued: "You have both sides poles apart, and insistent on finding some answer to that question in advance of the hearing, which no one is entitled to. Guarantees are for used cars and washing machines, not Supreme Court justices."
The new attempt at naming a second Supreme Court justice presents a rare opportunity for Mr. Bush to revitalize his political base and to put his mark on the court at a time when the White House is besieged.
Polls show Mr. Bush's popularity at a new low. American casualties continue to mount in Iraq, the president's domestic agenda is in limbo, and the White House is reeling from the indictment of I. Lewis Libby Jr., a top aide, a day after the withdrawal of Ms. Miers.
But because the nominee would succeed Justice O'Connor, who was the swing vote on abortion rights and other social issues, it seemed clear that any pick that pleased conservatives would most likely meet ferocious resistance from the left. The withdrawal of Ms. Miers has emboldened the left and the right to step up their demands.
On Sunday, Senator Reid and other Democrats sought to capitalize on the president's political vulnerabilities.
"If he wants to divert attention from all of his many problems, he can send us somebody that is going to create a lot of problems," Mr. Reid said. "I think this time he would be ill advised to do that. But the right wing, the radical right wing, is pushing a lot of his buttons, and he may just go along with them."
Unlike Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. or Ms. Miers, Judge Alito and the other potential nominees said to be on Mr. Bush's short list have judicial records indicating at least a narrower view of the Constitution's protection for abortion rights than positions taken by Justice O'Connor.
A Democratic filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee would take the Senate back to a standoff that gripped the chamber earlier this year, after Democrats used the tactic to block several of the president's appeals court nominees.
The Democratic minority was able to hold up the confirmations because Senate rules allow a group of at least 41 senators to block a vote.
To overcome them, Senator Bill Frist, the Republican leader, threatened to call for a simple majority vote that could change the rules and eliminate the tactic. The ensuing threats and counterthreats set off national advertising and lobbying campaigns by interest groups who saw it as a proxy for a battle over a potential Supreme Court confirmation.
In the final hour before the showdown, Senator Graham and Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio - both opponents of abortion rights who had previously said they would vote for the rule change - averted the showdown by joining five other Republicans and seven Democrats in a bipartisan deal to block both the rule change and additional filibusters except in "extraordinary circumstances."
The group, which has become known as the Gang of 14, left the definition of "extraordinary" to each of its members.
On Sunday, Mr. Graham made clear that he would oppose filibusters of Judge Alito. The president campaigned on a promise to appoint conservatives to the court, and "you're going to get a strong conservative," Mr. Graham said in an interview on the CBS program "Face the Nation."
The Republicans have a majority of 55 senators. If three or more Democrats break from the group to support a filibuster, Mr. Graham and Mr. DeWine could give the Republicans enough votes to force the rule change.
Christine Hauser reported from New York for this article and David D. Kirkpatrick from Washington.
