Second Choice to Miers

[LuckyTheDog]

Alito will always be known as the Supreme Court's lightweight. He was the second choice at a time when the president's first choice was Harriett Miers.

Alito only got dusted off and pulled from the reject pile after the extreme right (including Pat Robertson) pushed for a candidate more of their liking.

Alito is a pretty average appellate-court judge. That alone means he is no slouch. I am sure he is a smart guy. But Supreme Court material? No way.

The GOP will do America a disservice when they rubber-stamp this nomination.

:rant:

[Benhurst]

1. Unfortunately most of the GOP Senators (and a fair number of

their Democratic colleagues) are hardly top-drawer themselves.

The dumbing down of America has been going on for a long time. Can you imagine Henry Clay and Daniel Webster having a discussion with Oran Hatch and Mitch McConnell ?

[leftstreet]

2. Actually, Miers wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

Remember how they freaked when she was given a constitutional questionnaire?

I think she was chosen mostly for her ability to protect and serve indicted Bush Crime Syndicate members.

[warrens]

3. Better an amiable lightweight than another Scalia

Get a couple more Scalia's on the bench and say WELCOME HOME to slavery, child labor, debtor's prison and all the other stuff the GOP liked about the 18th century.

[EFerrari]

4. Alito, the more to the right choice than Miers. n/t

[Lars39]

5. Actually I think he was 1st choice all the time.

Myers was so obviously not qualified, that they managed to accomplish 2 things with her nomination.
"Well, we tried to put a woman on the Supreme Court"
and "Why are the Democrats trying to block every single nomination?".

[GrpCaptMandrake]

6. Miers was only a stalking horse

Alito, or someone as evil and hateful as him, was the goal all along. Miers only provided "cover."

[Sammy Pepys]

7. Eh, I don't know if I would classify him as a "lightweight"

Let's be honest here....degrees from Princeton and Yale (edited the law journal at Yale), lots of high level courtroom experience, and the obvious experience as an appellate court judge, which most of the other justices share.

When you compare his experience to the rest of the USSC it's pretty much in line with the other justices there, and actually very similar to Souter.

Time will tell what kind of justice he is. Not trying to defend the guy...just think we need to assess him more fairly.

[LuckyTheDog]

9. Appellate court judge are ALL smart

Federal appellate court judge are ALL smart. Almost all came from top law schools. They are mostly a top-notch group of folks who really, really know the law. Put any of them on TV and 80% of the time, you'll have someone who most people would find impressive.

But is Alito Supreme Court impressive? I just don't see it. The fact that one can say the same about other members of the court just illustrates the USSC's need for at least one extraordinary mind.

[insane_cratic_gal]

8. Miers was a setup that backfired

It's my tinfoil theory that Miers was suppose to be shouted and bitched about by the Dems. When they did nothing and called the reps bluffs it backfired.

Republicans got bitch slapped by their own base for the nomination, but it was suppose to be us who tour her down and it was intended to make us look bad. Had we played into that.. the republicans could of pointed fingers when they appointed Alito (which I think they planned to do all along) and said we'd never be happy with ANY nominee.

But since it backfired, and Harry did such a wonderful job of calling the bluff, they couldn't use that ammunition against us, but we used it against them. "I'm still waiting for Harriet to get her up or down vote!"

SO now the best they got is Mrs. Alito teary eyed and beaten by the physical abuse endured because he husband had to sustain such character assassination. .. To that i'd like to say.. "welcome to the game Mrs. Alito the knives only get sharper from here on out."