ReddHedd at firedoglake on Alito

[whometense]

http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_01_08_firedoglake_archive.html#113713546344705521

has a really excellent post up summing up the Alito hearings. Poor thing sat through them all with TIVO and fast forward, and came away with a fascinating perspective on the whole event, and on what the dems were up to. I'll quote just a little, but if anyone feels like reading it and discussing, I'm up for it.

Having forced myself to slog through the entire Tivo-ed questioning of Judge Alito in one fell swoop, I've learned a few things.

Number one: A number of the Democratic Senators were using their bully pulpit in these hearings to educate the public, sometimes in not so subtle ways, about executive power, and the overreach of the Administration in a number of areas, particularly in the area of controlling government through the administrative agencies regardless of Congressional legal mandates and in areas of national security and military policy.

This says to me that Democrats were certain they could actually get air time to discuss those views and did not want to waste the opportunity, since they might not get it otherwise, with the talking head shows booked up with the likes of Lanny Davis and Joe Lieberman and all. Interesting commentary on the state of the media all by itself, isn't it? Or perhaps they were trying to educate the media -- trying to wake them up a bit? We'll see. But there was something going on above and beyond questioning the nominee, and I think it was a direct reaching beyond the media filter into the living rooms in America.

<...>

We do a piss poor job of education in this country if that is the case -- and Democrats really suck at getting any message out if young-ish women in this nation have no clue what they are talking about when they say Roe. We have to do better, because ignorance only helps people to be lemmings.

Number three: When you Tivo the hearings, you can forward through the dull parts. And I'm going to do that for you, too, in the summary. What follows are my highlights of the issues which were brought up but not remotely resolved in Thursday's session -- or that need further discussion (in later articles here)...

[whometense]

1. More interesting stuff which

confirms the impression I have as well:

But my overall impression is more of an esoteric one. After watching Alito for four days now, he strikes me as a very intellectual, analytical, black and white world kind of guy. He doesn't strike me as someone who weighs things out in shades of gray -- based on his answers to the myriad of questions, he's either an automaton who has been repeating rehearsed lines from the murder boards sessions, or he prefers to think about the law in terms of how things are in the Constitution, in his philosophy and in the statutes -- and the practical world be damned because it's outside fo his purview to think about that sort of thing.

But in my experience, it is the real world consequences of legal actions that can be so devastating. And this detatched view of the world as not being a part of how you think about the matter at hand really goes to the heart of the differences in conservative and liberal philosophies, I think. And is why I fear what the Court will become with Alito, if he is confirmed.

[ginnyinWI]

2. in other words, he's a real nerd.

A nerd in the sense that he's detached from what most people experience and believe in--most people's values. Out-of-touch. And that's ironic, given that he's from a middle-class background. But everyone isn't mainstream, even if they're middle class. Some of them turn out nerds or odd-balls, with different sets of priorities. Or was it a result of Princeton? Don't know. But I get the feeling he won't be representing mainstream American values!

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

3. My own impression of him is even more devastating.

I think he is very smart and well schooled in law -- but he twists these assets every single time to reach a pre-determined conclusion. What struck me about all the so-called dems who testified on his behalf and stated unequivocally that he examines every case on its own merits, is that they all seemed so blissfully unaware of the devastating statistics of his decisions.

The cons are just getting just smarter in that their front men now are far more genial in appearance than the curmudgeons of years past and many dems seem to be falling for that...

I do hope the dems filibuster this guy, they have nothing to lose.

[whometense]

4. I'm praying they do.

I agree - not a thing to lose.

James Wolcott has a devastating post on this today: http://jameswolcott.com/archives/2006/01/lanny_davis_loo.php

Lanny Davis: Looks Liberal, Tastes like Chicken

[sandnsea]

5. Blissfully unaware that they were gamed

That's what struck me. That he took their memos home and worked so diligently, and then in the words of one clerk, "came back and told me why I was wrong". Well gee, does that sound like somebody who really has an open mind, or somebody who enjoys the game of showing off his intellect and outsmarting the fuzzy-headed little liberal. This guy is so arrogant and intellectually disconnected from reality. It really showed when Feingold asked him about innocent people and the death penalty and the guy could only answer intellectually with no compassion at all. It was downright scary.

[whometense]

6. That was the scariest moment

for me, too. It was chilling to hear him talk about all the legal steps this wrongly condemned person would have to take in order to clear themself. I kept thinking, but what if that person is dirt poor? What then? There was not a drop of humanity about his response.

Edited to add: and then the repukes were out in full force talking about how mean Ted Kennedy was to that nice judge :grr:

[sandnsea]

8. Isn't it wild

Strip searching ten year olds. Bureaucratic processes when innocent people face execution. Sexual harrassment of the mentally retarded. What the fuck does it take to make a case against this guy?? I don't know if it's the media or Democratic strategy that focused on the wrong wrong stuff.

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

9. Exactly.

He is Bush's clone in this respect, only far more intelligent and therefore even more devious and genial :-(

[ProSense]

7. Exactly,

That's the problem with harping on this BS that people cannot be nuanced in their thinking. Black and white is dangerous. While it is important to be consistent, it's also important to be flexible. Well, now that the Republicans have everyone focused on not flip-flopping that has become the standard for judging someone. Doesn't matter if all the statements are lies or dangerous, as long as they are consistent.