Alito, Day Two

I spent the day at home attempting to get over a nasty cold ( I've been trying to beat it for five days), which meant I occupied my time sneezing, wheezing, and coughing in front of C-Span today watching the Alito hearings. A few observations:

I filched these numbers from NRO Bench Memos blog, which I think are indicative of the long-winded, torturous questioning technique of Joe Biden:

Biden: 3673 words
Alito: 1013 words

What these numbers mean? That Biden more interested in hearing the sound of his own voice than asking pointed questions to Judge Alito. It's not really about Alito, you see. Whether Biden is aware of it or not, he treats these hearings like they're about him, not the justice nominee in question. Can you imagine a job interview where the interviewer talks 260% more than you do? I will say this: if Biden wants to use up all his questioning time on himself, fine. It actually benefits Alito. If I were a liberal, I'd be very annoyed with Biden for wasting precious time making interminable observations and little time demanding responses from his subject. At one point, Joe Biden took TWELVE minutes to ask a question. Zzzzzzzzz.

Ted Kennedy did his Ted Kennedy thing. Reductio ad absurdum.

Senator Russ Feingold came off articulate, if partisan. He asked very pointed questions of Alito regarding presidential powers and seems in a state of high dudgeon over the NSA wire-tapping issue. I got the feeling he was using Alito as a proxy for his gripes against the administration. From what I understand, Alito has written very little (if anything) regarding the powers of the executive branch, so it might've been a bit off base asking these questions of Alito. But at least he was (moderately) polite.

Then there was Chuck Schumer. What an obnoxious guttersnipe. Asking questions with a tone of unmistakeable contempt for Alito, Chuck wouldn't even wait for a full answer before cutting in with more rudeness. I've written about this before and I still think it to be the case: this Roe v. Wade defense on the part of people like Schumer has done more harm than help to the Democrats. First off, it's ghoulish to be so passionate about such a thing. Secondly, Roe has severely damaged the integrity of SCOTUS by creating a constitutional right where none existed. But more importantly, had Schumer done his homework, he would've realized that Alito, whilst on the 3rd Circuit Court, actually ruled IN FAVOR of Planned Parenthood and voted to strike down the a ban on partial birth abortion based on the laws and precedents that he found were binding. In the end, I think Chuck and the rest of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are going to vote against Alito anyway, and use these hearings as a way to beat the crap out of a nominee while they're able to.

Prediction: Alito gets confirmed along party lines, with a few defections. The Dems won't filibuster in an election year, particularly since it would be construed as a violation of the "Gang of 14" agreement.

Something to remember: Justice John Paul Stevens is 86.