The Democrats seem to be a party run by Karl Rove, as they keep giving the GOP plenty of rope to hang them with – pre-noosed even. The shameful behavior of the Democrats at the Alito hearings is one of those things that defines the Democratic Party for what it is – a party that has nothing to offer but smears against their political enemies. There’s a general disgust for politics already, and the idiotic bloviations coming from the Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee is enough to make anyone want to see those preening blow-dried pricks run out of town on a rail.
If this is political theater, and it is, it’s less Julius Caesar and more Jerry Springer. The Democrats are coming off as both mean and dumb, as Alito schools them on substance as Roberts did while the Democrats resort to smears. The issue of Alito’s membership in CAP is a non-issue, and that silly little guilt-by-association card is absolutely foolish, especially with Biden talking out of both sides of his mouth once again.
The more the Democrats persist in this freak show, the more damage they do to themselves. If it weren’t for the fact that Alito and his family are being put through a public proctal exam having these hearings go on until November would be a godsend for the GOP.
This is pure political payoff to Ralph Neas and the liberal base – and the more the Democrats play to their rich hyper-liberal base, the more the alienate themselves from the rest of the country.
Hi, Jay
Due to loads of exams I have not been able to keep up with American politics, whatsoever. Could you summarize what has been going on, what the whole shebang is all about, or give me a link to a short summary of this case? That would be awfully nice. The sheer amount of links that come up when I google “Alito” is too discouraging to even start looking – what with even more exams coming up…
J.
For stupid. Perhaps you didn’t realize this, but Senators are supposed to ask hard questions to those seeking lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court. You want a coronation for Alito, but were willing to endure whatever sleazy extreme necessary to make sure Harriet Miers didn’t make the bench. Are you even remotely aware what a cartoonish hypocrite you are?
As for your Washington Post link, this spin isn’t gonna work. Lindsey Graham’s strawman bringing Sam Alito’s wife to staged tears only represents “shameful behavior” by the Democrats if you’re willing to completely disregard facts. Then again, facts have always been the kryptonite of the conservative movement.
Mark:
The problem isn’t that the Dems asked hard questions; the problem is that they asked inane and politically-charged ones that didn’t seem to have much relevance to Alito’s fitness for the bench. While Alito isn’t exactly my favorite choice for the supreme court, and he seems much more of a Scalia than a Rehnquist or Roberts, I have to side with the Republicans on at least one count- the Dems have to put up or shut up.
Nicq, I don’t disagree that the Dems are dropping the ball here (what else is new?). Focusing so much attention on his loose affiliation with a bigoted New Jersey college organization is a silly tactic, but does it rise to the level of “shameful behavior” as Jay suggests? And should the Dems feel at all responsible for Alito’s wife being brought to tears by Lindsey Graham’s strawman? That’s partisan masturbation of the most transparent kind….and it seems unlikely to play.
It’s obvious that the Democrat’s Idea Tank is EMPTY and what we have witnessed in the Alito “hearings” are the last gasping breaths of a bunch of dinoraurs.
The Democratic Senator in those hearings came off as small petulant children.