President Bush has made his choice to replace the retiring Sandra Day O’Connor. His name is Samuel Alito, an appeals court judge appointed in 1990. Alito unlike Harriet Miers has a long record, which conservatives praise and liberals deride. It is this record that will be the subject of intense scrutiny when Alito goes before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks. Already, liberals have lined up to complain that Bush did not choose a “consensus” candidate. Some have even suggested that Alito’s nomination could be filibustered, which could set up a showdown over the very issue of judicial filibusters.

Democrats complain that Alito’s nomination would push the court to the right. Is this something we should be surprised about? Could we not safely assume that if a Democrat were making the nomination, that choice would push the court to the left? The left in this country has embraced the strategy that they will oppose anyone or anything that isn’t in sync with their leftist agenda. Whereas in the past Democratic congresses approved Republican appointments and vice versa, now the left is out of power completely for the first time in 50 years and thus their only hope is to influence policy through the judicial branch of government. To this end, they must oppose any and all justices, who don’t share their leftist ideology. Over the coming weeks every aspect of Alito’s record will be reviewed and studied by the left in the hope of scuttling this nomination like they have done with so many nominations from this president. Perhaps the greatest fight will be over abortion, an issue that continues to divide this nation. This tired, distractive and divisive issue is one that never seems to go away and is sure to make the Alito nomination the greatest supreme court fight since Robert Bork.

For all the fireworks, however, none will be greater than we can expect when liberal firebrand John Paul Stevens retires. At age 85, Stevens is certain to be the next justice to leave, his replacement will tip the balance between conservative and liberal for years to come. The right must surely hope that he will retire within the next 3 years as the Republican’s chances of holding on to the White House after Bush are slim at best.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4395668.stm