Gads That's Annoying

After insisting that all nominees should get an up-or-down vote when John Roberts was up for consideration, Republicans made sure that Harriet Miers didn't get that same up-or-down vote. Now that crazy right-wing Alito is the nominee?

"Let's give Judge Alito a fair up-or-down vote, not left or right," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.

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p.s. How crazy is he?

1. He would make it illegal to get an abortion under almost any circumstances.
2. He has ruled that women need to get their husbands permission before getting an abortion.
3. He has struck down affirmative action laws, and attempted to "legislate from the bench" by actually trying to make it harder for minorities to make discrimination claims.
4. He has sided with businesses in sexual harassment cases.
5. He has allowed businesses to fire people with AIDS.
6. Has voted to uphold strip searches of women and children who are not named on an arrest warrant, but were in the house where the person named on the warrant was found.
7. Has voted to diminish protections of small businesses against large corporations.
8. Although there is no actual ruling per se to refer to, most legal scholars say that Judge Alito will vote to overrule Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court case that made condoms legal.

(Source: pdf of PFAW Preliminary Review of Judge Alito.)

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p.s.s. Alito, who voted against affirmative action, and tried to make it harder for minorities to prove discrimination, headed over to Capitol Hill today to have his picture taken with Rosa Parks' dead body. How fitting for Halloween, eh?

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p.s.s.s. Remember talk of a "nuclear option", which the Republicans said they would enact if the Democrats tried to fillibuster a nomination, but then changed their mind when it was agreed that Democrats would only fillibuster an "extremist" nominee? Well, they've changed their minds again and may decide to break the rules and cast a procedurally illegal vote that says "thou shalt not fillibuster conservative nominees."