Suitably Flip

Chat With Judiciary Committee Member Senator John Cornyn

We've just been joined by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).  Highlights from our discussion will append this post.

As with all of these posts, this following is summarized, approximate, paraphrased, and inevitably incomplete and selectively presented.

Opening remarks:

The hearings are going well so far. Judge Alito has acquitted himself well, thanks to his persona and tone.  He was willing to answer all questions presented to him.  He may not have given the answers that his opponents wanted, but by the Ginsberg/Roberts standard, he shouldn't be commenting any more explicitly than he is. He has spoken expansively about considerations to be taken into account in evaluating issues. All attacks against him have good common sense answers and should crumble once truth is exposed.

Obligatory pro-blog shout out:

The MSM can no longer ignore the effect of the blogosphere, making them more honest and forcing them to deal with inconvenient facts that dont fit their preconceived notions of how things ought to be.

Questions:

According to commentary from Senate Democrats, isn't a different standard being applied to Alito than was applied to Ginsberg and Roberts?

Indeed, Schumer claims a triply high burden, which is a double standard in the treatment of nominees.

What if anything has surprised you in Alito's responses so far?

Not much.  We've gone through lots of preparation and Alito has had a, long, well documented career.  He's a known quantity.  What you see is what you get.  And trying to paint him out to be a monster simply is inconsistent with what people are seeing and hearing.

Remember that Schumer is not just any Senator.  He's the chairman of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee and needs to keep his base happy.  Sadly, Alito may have to pay the price of the angry left, upset with Democrats who voted for Chief Justice Roberts, despite his being well-qualified.

On the Senate floor, Democrats up for re-election will be hard pressed to offer vote Alito down.  In Committee, however, only Feingold, Leahy, and Kohl voted for Roberts, and fewer may vote for Alito.

How will Sam Alito do when dealing with Senators Schumer and Kennedy?

He did a better job than I could've in keeping awake during their statements yesterday.  So far, he has not refused to answer any question.  He might not be giving answer his opponents wanted [I think it's smart that they're repeating this point so loudly, given how clearly Senate Democrats established this as a trigger for a no vote], but he's not not refusing to answer.

What do you plan to ask the nominee?

Among other things, I'll address the near deification of Justice O'Connor. I look forward to that.

Will the fact that Judge Alito is neither female nor a minority be used as justification to vote against him?

There's not much he can do about that, is there?  I would've liked to have seen a female nominee, but the bottom line is the qualification of the nominee and Judge Alito is well-qualified.

Comments

Chat With Judiciary Committee Member Senator John Cornyn

We've just been joined by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX).  Highlights from our discussion will append this post.

As with all of these posts, this following is summarized, approximate, paraphrased, and inevitably incomplete and selectively presented.

Opening remarks:

The hearings are going well so far. Judge Alito has acquitted himself well, thanks to his persona and tone.  He was willing to answer all questions presented to him.  He may not have given the answers that his opponents wanted, but by the Ginsberg/Roberts standard, he shouldn't be commenting any more explicitly than he is. He has spoken expansively about considerations to be taken into account in evaluating issues. All attacks against him have good common sense answers and should crumble once truth is exposed.

Obligatory pro-blog shout out:

The MSM can no longer ignore the effect of the blogosphere, making them more honest and forcing them to deal with inconvenient facts that dont fit their preconceived notions of how things ought to be.

Questions:

According to commentary from Senate Democrats, isn't a different standard being applied to Alito than was applied to Ginsberg and Roberts?

Indeed, Schumer claims a triply high burden, which is a double standard in the treatment of nominees.

What if anything has surprised you in Alito's responses so far?

Not much.  We've gone through lots of preparation and Alito has had a, long, well documented career.  He's a known quantity.  What you see is what you get.  And trying to paint him out to be a monster simply is inconsistent with what people are seeing and hearing.

Remember that Schumer is not just any Senator.  He's the chairman of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee and needs to keep his base happy.  Sadly, Alito may have to pay the price of the angry left, upset with Democrats who voted for Chief Justice Roberts, despite his being well-qualified.

On the Senate floor, Democrats up for re-election will be hard pressed to offer vote Alito down.  In Committee, however, only Feingold, Leahy, and Kohl voted for Roberts, and fewer may vote for Alito.

How will Sam Alito do when dealing with Senators Schumer and Kennedy?

He did a better job than I could've in keeping awake during their statements yesterday.  So far, he has not refused to answer any question.  He might not be giving answer his opponents wanted [I think it's smart that they're repeating this point so loudly, given how clearly Senate Democrats established this as a trigger for a no vote], but he's not not refusing to answer.

What do you plan to ask the nominee?

Among other things, I'll address the near deification of Justice O'Connor. I look forward to that.

Will the fact that Judge Alito is neither female nor a minority be used as justification to vote against him?

There's not much he can do about that, is there?  I would've liked to have seen a female nominee, but the bottom line is the qualification of the nominee and Judge Alito is well-qualified.