There was quite a bi…

There was quite a bit of infighting in the Republican party over the Miers nomination. Will the choice of Samuel Alito assuage that?

President Bush, stung by the collapse of his previous choice, nominated veteran judge Samuel Alito on Monday in a bid to reshape the Supreme Court and mollify his conservative allies. Ready-to-rumble Democrats warned that Alito may be an extremist who would curb abortion rights.

This bit of editorializing by the AP in a news story isn’t quite accurate. Bush isn’t (or shouldn’t be) “mollifying” his conservative allies; he is (or ought to be) keeping his campaign promise of a judge in the mold of Scalia and Thomas. Democrats may not like the idea the Bush is keeping this promise…

So consistently conservative, Alito has been dubbed “Scalito” or “Scalia-lite” by some lawyers because his judicial philosophy invites comparisons to conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. But while Scalia is outspoken and is known to badger lawyers, Alito is polite, reserved and even-tempered.

…but that’s to be expected. And Alito is known for being polite, but don’t expect that to mollify the folks who didn’t like Bolton for his temperament.

But it looks like conservatives, far from splitting from the party as many a Democrat was hoping, are sticking to principles.

Abortion emerged as a potential fault line. Democrats pointed to Alito’s rulings that restricted a woman’s right to abortion. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Republican who supports abortion rights, said that Alito’s views on the hot-button issue “will be among one of the first items Judge Alito and I will discuss.”

In a political twist, Republicans who helped sink Miers’ nomination rallied to Alito’s side.

Of course…

A leading Democrat who backed Miers led the attack against Alito.

…but that’s to be expected.

The fight to nominate Alito, a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1990, is one step in Bush’s political recovery plan as he tries to regain his footing after a cascade of troubles _ including the indictment of the vice president’s chief of staff _ rocked his presidency.

Some folks (including a commenter at Stones Cry Out) had suggested that this “rocking” would make getting this kind of nominee through, including the possible use of the “nuclear option”, politically impossible. I have a feeling, though, that Bush’s presidency hasn’t been “rocked” nearly as badly as the AP or Democrats think.

No, the Republican party is as tight as ever, even if the President occasionally needs a reminder of who played a huge part in getting him to the dance.

(Cross-posted at Stones Cry Out, Blogger News Network and Redstate.org. Comments welcome.)

Filed under: Uncategorized

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!