Suitably Flip

Chat With Judiciary Committee Member Senator Chuck Grassley

We've just been joined by Senator Chuck Grassley.  This post will be updated with highlights from our discussion.

Opening remarks:

I've ever dealt with a nominee with so much experience.  Given how long his paper trail is, I'm somewhat surprised the proceedings have not been more cantacerous.  The demeanor is a little more reserved than I expected.

Unless there's a bombshell soon, he will be confirmed.  Not by Justice Roberts' margin, which is a shame (and Roberts only receiving 78 votes was a shame too), but he will be confirmed.

By virtue of Alito's record, we're seeing a person who is sincere, open minded, and waits until the last brief is before him before making judgments.

The bottom line is: what's the role of the Senate in these matters?  According to Federalist Paper 78, by Alexander Hamilton, the Senate's evaluation is intended to prevent two types of people from being confirmed: incompetents and political hacks.

We're seeing quite clearly that he's not a political hack and that he's clearly competent.

Given that, Democrats should give same deference to Alito (though they didn't give it to Roberts) as Republicans gave to Ginsburg.  I didn't agree with her political views, but she's competent and not a political hack, so I voted for her because that's what was required to fulfill my role as a Senator.

Questions:

Speaking of the role of the Senate, Senator Feingold refuted your characterization of Alito's opponents' methods and smears as torpedoing and unfair tarring of the nominee.  Feingold claimed this was simply their job.  What's your response to that?

This demonstrates that my colleagues across the aisle, pushed by left-wing extremists, see this as a political campaign.  This approach is appropriate in an electoral campaign but not in a judicial confirmation.

Were Leahy's comments this morning a prologue to scheduling a 3rd round of questioning?

I talked to my staff about that and we have no idea.  I interpret that the Democrats see this obstruction as a losing cause.  Leahy may want to demonstrate to his outside base that they are not giving up and he may have been putting the Chairman on notice that would want a 3rd round.

Is there a chance that the lack of of cantancerousness among most Democrats that you were surprised to see yesterday (and that the press has since trumpeted) could lead Alito's opposition to ratchet it up in the 2nd round?

That could happen.

A recent poll shows 40% of Democrats support confirmation.  Will 40% of Democratic Senators vote to confirm?

[Laughs]  No.  But moderate Democrats from Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Florida, etc. may vote to confirm.

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This should prove to be an interesting inflection point.  I'll be curious to see whether the Democrat rhetoric ratchets up (my guess) or down (as Grassley predicts).

Next up, Senator Hatch will be joining us for the second time at noon (a synopsis of our chat from yesterday is here).  Later today, Senators Brownback, Kyl, and Coburn will be coming through.

Comments

Chat With Judiciary Committee Member Senator Chuck Grassley

We've just been joined by Senator Chuck Grassley.  This post will be updated with highlights from our discussion.

Opening remarks:

I've ever dealt with a nominee with so much experience.  Given how long his paper trail is, I'm somewhat surprised the proceedings have not been more cantacerous.  The demeanor is a little more reserved than I expected.

Unless there's a bombshell soon, he will be confirmed.  Not by Justice Roberts' margin, which is a shame (and Roberts only receiving 78 votes was a shame too), but he will be confirmed.

By virtue of Alito's record, we're seeing a person who is sincere, open minded, and waits until the last brief is before him before making judgments.

The bottom line is: what's the role of the Senate in these matters?  According to Federalist Paper 78, by Alexander Hamilton, the Senate's evaluation is intended to prevent two types of people from being confirmed: incompetents and political hacks.

We're seeing quite clearly that he's not a political hack and that he's clearly competent.

Given that, Democrats should give same deference to Alito (though they didn't give it to Roberts) as Republicans gave to Ginsburg.  I didn't agree with her political views, but she's competent and not a political hack, so I voted for her because that's what was required to fulfill my role as a Senator.

Questions:

Speaking of the role of the Senate, Senator Feingold refuted your characterization of Alito's opponents' methods and smears as torpedoing and unfair tarring of the nominee.  Feingold claimed this was simply their job.  What's your response to that?

This demonstrates that my colleagues across the aisle, pushed by left-wing extremists, see this as a political campaign.  This approach is appropriate in an electoral campaign but not in a judicial confirmation.

Were Leahy's comments this morning a prologue to scheduling a 3rd round of questioning?

I talked to my staff about that and we have no idea.  I interpret that the Democrats see this obstruction as a losing cause.  Leahy may want to demonstrate to his outside base that they are not giving up and he may have been putting the Chairman on notice that would want a 3rd round.

Is there a chance that the lack of of cantancerousness among most Democrats that you were surprised to see yesterday (and that the press has since trumpeted) could lead Alito's opposition to ratchet it up in the 2nd round?

That could happen.

A recent poll shows 40% of Democrats support confirmation.  Will 40% of Democratic Senators vote to confirm?

[Laughs]  No.  But moderate Democrats from Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Florida, etc. may vote to confirm.

---

This should prove to be an interesting inflection point.  I'll be curious to see whether the Democrat rhetoric ratchets up (my guess) or down (as Grassley predicts).

Next up, Senator Hatch will be joining us for the second time at noon (a synopsis of our chat from yesterday is here).  Later today, Senators Brownback, Kyl, and Coburn will be coming through.