Cynical Nation

The most common knock against Sam Alito seems to be that he would be too deferential to government power once elevated to the high court. Maybe, but I'm not completely buying the conventional wisdom here.

Granted, he's no wild-eyed libertarian, and he'll certainly render opinions that will disappoint me from time to time, but I don't see him as a knee-jerk cheerleader for unchecked government power either. Such a fear, I think, is more justified for John Roberts than with Sam Alito.

I may be wrong, of course, as SCOTUS prognostication is not for the faint of heart. Still, based on all I've seen of the two judges' records, I think there's been a bit of an inversion in the commonly held perceptions of both men.

Ah well, we shall see. It's a done deal now, Alito having been confirmed 58 to 42.

I'll be toasting his confirmation with a drink tonight, but I won't be breaking out the good stuff I had on reserve in the event of a Janice Rogers Brown nomination. I guess I could still keep the good stuff stashed away on the off-chance that John Shadegg actually gets elected House majority leader.

Somehow I don't think that's going to happen, though. Instead I predict I'll end up like that dude in Sideways, sucking down a vintage bottle from a paper cup in some forlorn greasy spoon. Ah well.

Anyway, I wonder how many Senate Democrats are pissed at John Kerry? His quixotic filibuster attempt probably helped him curry favor with Kos, but how good was it for the party as a whole?

My guess is not very. Filibustering a SCOTUS nominee is an usual and dramatic step. No Supreme Court nominee has been filibustered since Abe Fortas^*, so the very rarity of the maneuver enhances its impact.

The Democrats have, of course, now wasted a perfectly good filibuster against a nominee whose success was pre-ordained. Not only did that put many of Kerry's colleagues in a difficult position unnecessarily, but it also blunted the impact of the filibuster for future battles.

Oh well, not my problem, I suppose.

^*I've heard it argued that, contrary to popular belief, Abe Fortas was not actually filibustered, but that the nomination was held up by other procedural delays. I don't really know if it's true, but the distinction seems to be a fine one in any case.