Look! Over there...A Battle of Epic Proportions!

As you've no doubt heard, President Bush nominated the arch-conservative Samuel Alito to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court.

The AP report is blunt about Bush's motives:

With the rebuke of Ms. Miers, the rising death toll in Iraq, his slow-footed response to hurricane Katrina and last Friday's indictment of top vice-presidential aide I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby, Mr. Bush's approval ratings are at the lowest ebb of his presidency.

Polls show Democrats and most independents do not approve of his job performance, leaving the conservative wing of his party the only thing keeping Mr. Bush afloat politically. [AP]

While Judge Alito is expected to win praise from Bush's allies on the right, Democrats have served notice they will fight it. Mr. Reid had warned Sunday that it would “create a lot of problems.” [AP]

Digby is even blunter:

[...] Alito is for Bush as Oxycontin is for Limbaugh. Alito is intended to ease the pain of Fitzgerald's indictments and continuing investigation by changing the subject. Bush, Cheney and Rove expect us to play along on their timetable, which requires that the country get distracted quickly from the brief glimpse Fitzgerald provided everyone, even Kristof, of the enormously fetid swamp of crimes and traitorous behavior behind the sealed gates of the Bush White House. No one, except Bush's base, can be anything but disgusted at what was revealed on Friday.

Of course Alito should be opposed vigorously, but let's not forget the oldest trick in the political book: When you're unpopular at home, start a war! Since Treasongate isn't going away, the Republicans have effectively opened a two-front war--a move that stinks of desperation.

Alito Resources

Scott Lemieux is aggregating Alito resources at Lawyers, Guns and Money.

Think Progress has a comprehensive summary of Alito's radical right wing paper trail. TP also notes that in 2002, Alito dismissed a case in favor of a company in which he'd invested half-a-million dollars.*

[Correction: Alito had investments that were managed by the firm in question, but he wasn't an investor in the company itself.]

Comments

[Zed Pobre]

Be careful with those Think Progress links. The arguments in at least one case (Doe vs Groody, 2004) do not actually say what Think Progress claims they say (on either side, for that matter -- it wasn't even about whether the strip search was improper, but whether or not the police officers involved had reasonable cause to believe that it was authorized). Also, if I understand the circumstances correctly, Alito hadn't invested that half million in the company in question; the company was simply administrating half a million dollars in investments in other securities for him. He should have recused himself anyway (a business arrangement with a company that is the subject of your case is quite bad enough to establish the appearance of impropriety), but it isn't quite as obvious as it looks like from the Think Progress description.

I may blog on this sometime this week, once I've had time to read all of the other cases

[truth4achange]

Aren't we overlooking the obvious here? I can't believe I'm suggesting such a thing, but is there any reason Justice O'Connor couldn't withdraw her resignation? How could Bush refuse? I think somebody needs to talk with her about it - tell her she just needs to hang in there for a few more years.

http://www.hairytruth.blogspot.com

[1984 Was Not a Shopping List]

>A Battle of Epic Proportions!

Hope it's not a biblical epic...

[greensmile]

Yeah, I think there is some truth in casting this nomination, especially its timing, as attempt to wash some bad news off the front pages. But I thought that was also true of Meirs since she made much less sense as a nominee to the supreme court and when she was nominated, Fitzgerald's investigation was already getting steady coverage.

[gordo]

In my mind, whether Alito's nomination was intended as a distraction or not is a side issue. When a Battle of Epic Proportions starts, you have to join the battle. Ultimately, this will be at least as important as the Fitzgerald indictments, especially considering the fact that ordinary citizens will have a lot more say on the Alito matter.

Alito might be on the court for 30 or more years. He's been a consistent activist, seeking to curtail the power of congress to protect citizens' rights, and enlarge the power of state governments to curtail those rights. I can't imagine letting this one go without writing letters to both of my senators.

As for links, I would recommend Alliance for Justice rather than Think Progress.

[1984 Was Not a Shopping List]

The conflict-of-interest stuff is the worst. You imagine rulings that conflict with prior rulings even by Alito himself, depending on where his money is that day.