We Knew it Was Coming

There's nothing people like shrubya despise so much as not being taken seriously and some of the criticism of the Miers' nomination bordered on "openly mocking."

Bush was a famously average student and has never pretended to be part of any intellectual elite. (In fact, he has honed his reputation as a regular guy over his years in public service.) So when former White House speechwriter David Frum wrote on his blog that once he'd heard Miers describe Bush as "the most brilliant man she'd ever met," tongues across the political spectrum were set wagging: Could she really mean it? And if she was sincere, did this reflect poorly on her judgment?

So, it came as a surprise to precisely no one that shrubya, threatened by increasing irrelevance after last week, should go running to the rabid right like a pavlov dog with its tail between its legs. This is where the fundagelical contingent gets even for being treated like the red-headed stepchild all these years; they don't care about shrubya, per se, anymore than he cares about them, per se. They seek to use him for his nominations while he seeks to use them for votes. Well, they voted and now shrilly demand their due. Desperate for approval but too petulant to actually seek consensus, shrubya almost had no choice but to obey.

If the conservafundie gleefest over the nomination of Sam Alito to replace Sandra Day O' Connor is any indication, he was indeed a good boy. The groups speaking out in support of his nomination comprise a veritable "Who's Who" of the theocratist movement. Websites such as ouramericanvalues.org and prolifeaction.org have signaled their ardent approval:

The Pro-Life Action League applauds President George W. Bush for nominating conservative Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court. "Judge Alito is a a brilliant jurist who understands the proper role of the judiciary," commented League National Director Joe Scheidler. "His presence on the Supreme Court will be a sure sign of hope for pro-lifers."

...Scheidler remarked, "Samuel Alito would help to stem the tide of judicial activism that has done great damage to our country. I urge all advocates for life to stand strongly behind his nomination."

President Bush has called for an up-or-down vote on the Alito nomination before the end of 2005, making it unlikely that he will be on the bench on November 30 when NOW v. Scheidler returns to the Supreme Court for an unprecedented third time.

I suppose we should be thankful for that; it's also doubtful the Senate would be able to hold a vote on his nomination before 2006. Specter won't even commit to such a deadline, saying "This is a swing vote on the Supreme Court...I don't know enough yet to say whether it's realistic by the end of the year." So, if nothing else, we'll have at least two more months of O' Connor moderation on some very important upcoming cases. The downside being, it will be at least two months of dominionist propaganda on Alito's behalf.

SCRIPT: Announcer: "One of America's most respected judges, Samuel Alito, nominated for the Supreme Court. Alito served presidents of both parties, and argued more than a dozen Supreme Court cases. As a tough, highly praised U.S. attorney, Alito prosecuted terrorists and corporate criminals. He won the ABA's highest rating and the Senate unanimously confirmed him to be a federal judge. Now President Bush has nominated Judge Alito for the Supreme Court. Urge the Senate to give Samuel Alito a fair up or down vote."

ANALYSIS: Progress for America, Inc., which last year said it would spend $18 million to push President Bush's nominees, launched this ad Tuesday in support of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

Isn't the ABA a librul scourge in Wingnuttia? Couldn't they find a more conservative endorsement, like this guy. Or maybe the ad could feature Jay Sekulow of the ACLJ's endorsement:

“The nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States is an incredibly wise choice by President Bush,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who argues regularly before the high court. “President Bush promised that he would nominate Justices in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas. In choosing Judge Alito for the high court, President Bush has done just that. Judge Alito is a top tier judicial pick who is a well known conservative jurist with a lengthy track record of interpreting the Constitution and not legislating from the bench.

As a former U.S. Attorney who has spent the last 15 years on the bench at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Judge Alito is extremely well qualified to serve on the nation’s highest court. The nomination of Judge Alito will galvanize conservatives and sets the stage for a critical confirmation process in the Senate. We are committed to working to ensure that Judge Alito is confirmed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.”

...The President has nominated U.S. Court of Appeals Judge for the Third Circuit, Samuel Alito, to the Supreme Court of the United States. This is an exceptional choice. In case after case and issue after issue, Judge Alito has agreed with the positions that we have been advocating around the country on a range of issues including abortion and religious liberty.

The ACLJ, if you recall, representad Terry Schiavo's parents against her husband. Among their other claims to fame are being founded by Pat Robertson and representing all the attendant causes:

In fact, during our short history, Sekulow has appeared before the high court on numerous occasions – successfully arguing several precedent-setting cases
before the Supreme Court:

* The free speech rights of pro-life demonstrators were protected.
* Protected the constitutional rights of religious groups to have equal access to public facilities.
* Ensured that public school students could form and participate in religious organizations including Bible clubs on campus.

...In addition to its religious liberties work, the ACLJ also specializes in constitutional law involving the issues of national security, human life, marriage, judicial nominations, pornography, and protecting patriotic expression including our national motto and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Next up in the Wingnut™ Revue is the American Family Association, which seems to be quite enamored of Alito.

President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court is getting rave reviews from the pro-family community. Basically saying the president "got it right this time," they are applauding Alito's nomination -- despite the fact it may take a major battle in the Senate to get the experienced federal judge approved for the high court.

...Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition says Alito is well-known among conservatives. So much so, he says, that "in conservative circles, he's referred to as 'Scalito' -- because of his close judicial philosophy to Justice [Antonin] Scalia."

...Gary Bauer of American Values agrees with the president's choice...Bauer expects pro-family and Christian activists to rally behind the president. Mahoney concurs, saying he expects conservative Christians to be pleased with the nomination of Alito.

Further proof that "Scalito" came from conservatives, not the left. It's quite popular at the "confirm them" website, too. Not that that will stop anybody from blaming liberals for it, but it's good to get things straight from the source(s).

The chief counsel for the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy (CLP) says President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court is a major step forward. At the same time, the president of Liberty Counsel says Alito is one of the most qualified Supreme Court nominees in recent memory.

...In an Associated Press report Vanderbilt University law professor Suzanna Sherry predicts that Alito "would allow a lot more government support of religion than Justice O'Connor did." She predicts that if Alito is confirmed, "the place where it will be felt most quickly and most directly is in the area of religion."

Looking at Past Rulings
..."Judge Alito authored the majority opinion, giving us a win in which we challenged an anti-harassment policy adopted at the insistence of the homosexual radicals in the school district there," Crampton explains. He says the federal judge quickly saw the district's actions "as being in complete violation of the free-speech clause of the First Amendment and contrary to the principles on which this country was founded."

Hmmmm...like freedom of religion and separation of church and state. Those principles? Do these people listen to themselves? Of course not! They're too busy listening to the likes of Dobson.

Focus on the Family Action founder and chairman James C. Dobson, Ph.D., issued the following statement today about the nomination of Circuit Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court:

"We are extremely pleased by President Bush's selection of Judge Samuel Alito, who has earned the respect of colleagues in both parties for his legal acumen and courtroom demeanor. As a federal judge for the last 15 years, Judge Alito has demonstrated that he understands the role of the judiciary is to interpret existing law in light of the Constitution, not make new law in service to a personal political agenda.

..."Based on what is now known about Judge Alito, we applaud the president for this outstanding nomination."

They've even set up a pro-Alito website. Yes, the religious reich is all atwitter over Alito; it's as though the "Just Us" Sunday crowd has started an Alito astroturf campaign. Concerned Women for America was touting his virtues even before he clinched the nomination:

Separation of church and state means nothing to these people.

Bush spent the weekend at Camp David huddled with Miers, who remains his White House counsel and is therefore in charge of the judicial selection process, along with Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr., who originally advocated Miers as the choice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. As the three talked, White House officials contacted prominent conservatives to test the reaction to various candidates.

One group consulted was the Concerned Women for America, whose decision to oppose Miers last Wednesday became one of the final blows to help kill the nomination. Janet M. LaRue, the group's chief counsel, said it received a call from the White House on Saturday and liked what it heard.

"Alito and Luttig have always been at the top of our list," she said in an interview. "We think either of them would be a supreme pick. There isn't a thing stealthy about them. They've got a long, proven record of constitutional conservatism."

And that, my friends, is all I need to know; if the biddies at CWA think Alito is a "supreme pick," I'm worried. And you should be, too; they are, after all, "the nation's largest public policy women's organization with a rich 25-year history of helping our members across the country bring Biblical principles into all levels of public policy."

The only group missing from this roster is Phelp's hatemongers in Kansas. If these are the people speaking in support of Alito, we know he's bad news. Be afraid; be very afraid.