Must Be The Right Man For The Job

President Bush has nominated Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court. Judging from the comments from the left, Judge Alito is a very good pick:

Ted Kennedy: "If confirmed, Alito could very well fundamentally alter the balance of the court and push it dangerously to the right".

Harry Reid: "Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people. I am disappointed in this choice for several reasons. First, unlike previous nominations, this one was not the product of consultation with Senate Democrats. Last Friday, Senator Leahy and I wrote to President Bush urging him to work with us to find a consensus nominee. The President has rejected that approach . . . I look forward to meeting Judge Alito and learning why those who want to pack the Court with judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about him than they were about Harriet Miers". (Hey Harry, check the Constitution. Nothing in there about consulting with senators or consensus nominees.)

Charles Schumer: "Will Alito, like Rosa Parks, use his seat to change the course of history for the better, or will he return it to the injustice of the past . . . It's sad that the president felt that he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America, instead of picking a nominee like Sandra Day O'Connor that had united America".

Patrick Leahy: "This is a needlessly provocative nomination. Instead of uniting the country through his choice, the President has chosen to reward one faction of his party, at the risk of dividing the country. Instead he should have rewarded the American people. America could have done better through consultation to select one of the many consensus conservative Republican candidates who could have been overwhelmingly approved by the Senate". (Hey Pat, see note above)

Planned Parenthood: "On this bright and shining Halloween morning, the president served up a holiday treat sure to please his ultraconservative base. Dressed - as he is most days - in his 'president of a small group of Americans' costume, the president today nominated Samuel Alito for associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, the man they call 'Scalito' would fill the vacancy created by Justice O'Connor's resignation. The contrasts could not be more stark, or scary".

Moveon.org: "This morning, with his administration growing weaker by the day, President Bush caved to pressure from the radical fringe of the Republican Party and nominated Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Alito is a notoriously right-wing judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has consistently ruled to strip basic protections from workers, women, minorities, and the disabled in favor of unchecked power for corporations and special interests. Bush's ploy to woo the far-right could reshape the High Court for decades to come - but we don't have to let that happen".

People for the American Way: "Today, President Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. Alito has compiled an extensive, right-wing judicial record on numerous matters of importance to the protection of the rights and interests of ordinary Americans - a record that has earned him the nickname "Scalito" for his ideological resemblance to Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito's judicial opinions demonstrate that he is an out of the mainstream opponent of fundamental legal rights and protections for all Americans and must not be confirmed to the Supreme Court".

Yes indeed, the sky is falling.

Thank God that George W. Bush is president. The thought of The Johns picking judges for the Supreme Court is too scary to even contemplate.