2008 Woodie Awards
Alito Scapito: an interest group stampedeo
Phil DeSantis
Issue date: 11/14/05 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
I'll give them this: the Republicans are a slippery, slippery party. They squirm and they wiggle and somehow, they escape whatever tight space that traps them. Think of old Scooter Libby: they can't keep him in the news despite his indictment. Like that, the topic is switched to a new justice appointment, good old Samuel Alito.
The lines have already been drawn: conservatives are going to the blood banks to earn cash for the fight and Democrats are starting to get hooked on their liberal feeling of importance. At this point, it is pretty clear the Republicans will bludgeon the Democrats nearly to death with their superior numbers and a will to fight unmatched by any other party in the country, except frat parties.
So what's Alito's deal, eh? Is he the staunch conservative that Democrats and the "People for the American Way" are making him out to be? Well, yes, that's all basically true. Alito holds the esteemed nickname of "Scalito," a name based on current Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia. Born in 1936, Scalia is a notorious conservative and general viper of the court. He spits poison and is notorious for his fiery dissents.
The claim is that Alito gets the nickname because he shares an Italian heritage with Scalia. However, the conservative brotherhood of the two is hard to ignore. Also hard to ignore is how stupid that nickname is. Just because there are two Italian-American judges doesn't mean people have to give out a stupid nickname like "Scalito." Democrats should get angry about stupid crap like that slipping by them rather than policy and rulings.
If you couldn't tell, I do not know if Alito should be sworn in as a justice or not. He does have great credentials; Princeton University in 1972, Yale Law School in 1975, serving as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals, joining the Reagan Justice Department, assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General, and eventually named (by George W. Bush) to the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Third Circuit. These credentials, however impressive, hold a number of flaws that are glaring to a liberal eye. To be precise, the names Bush and Reagan raise a brow to exactly the kind of person this "Scalito" is. The Supreme Court of today seems to be less about the Constitution and more about what the justice's personal beliefs are.
Sandra Day O'Connor was an enigma on the courts, voting a conscience rather than an ideology. This swing voting was great to keep the courts interesting, but the differences between justices in today's court would tear apart some of the more liberal rulings over the past decade.
Will taking up sides for or against this justice do anything? I don't really think so. Old people set in their ways will always rule over modern senses. Every court seems to be ruling for decades gone past and this will be no different. Conservative justices will stand for the conservative times of the Reagan era. I'm just waiting for the Clinton era to finally arrive in the courts.
The lines have already been drawn: conservatives are going to the blood banks to earn cash for the fight and Democrats are starting to get hooked on their liberal feeling of importance. At this point, it is pretty clear the Republicans will bludgeon the Democrats nearly to death with their superior numbers and a will to fight unmatched by any other party in the country, except frat parties.
So what's Alito's deal, eh? Is he the staunch conservative that Democrats and the "People for the American Way" are making him out to be? Well, yes, that's all basically true. Alito holds the esteemed nickname of "Scalito," a name based on current Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia. Born in 1936, Scalia is a notorious conservative and general viper of the court. He spits poison and is notorious for his fiery dissents.
The claim is that Alito gets the nickname because he shares an Italian heritage with Scalia. However, the conservative brotherhood of the two is hard to ignore. Also hard to ignore is how stupid that nickname is. Just because there are two Italian-American judges doesn't mean people have to give out a stupid nickname like "Scalito." Democrats should get angry about stupid crap like that slipping by them rather than policy and rulings.
If you couldn't tell, I do not know if Alito should be sworn in as a justice or not. He does have great credentials; Princeton University in 1972, Yale Law School in 1975, serving as a law clerk on the U.S. Court of Appeals, joining the Reagan Justice Department, assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General, and eventually named (by George W. Bush) to the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Third Circuit. These credentials, however impressive, hold a number of flaws that are glaring to a liberal eye. To be precise, the names Bush and Reagan raise a brow to exactly the kind of person this "Scalito" is. The Supreme Court of today seems to be less about the Constitution and more about what the justice's personal beliefs are.
Sandra Day O'Connor was an enigma on the courts, voting a conscience rather than an ideology. This swing voting was great to keep the courts interesting, but the differences between justices in today's court would tear apart some of the more liberal rulings over the past decade.
Will taking up sides for or against this justice do anything? I don't really think so. Old people set in their ways will always rule over modern senses. Every court seems to be ruling for decades gone past and this will be no different. Conservative justices will stand for the conservative times of the Reagan era. I'm just waiting for the Clinton era to finally arrive in the courts.
