Sen. Teddy Kennedy (D.-Mass.) said there was at least one similarity among all three of President Bush's Supreme Court nominees: All have served as executive branch lawyers.
"In fact, it is extraordinary that each of the three individuals this President has nominated for the Supreme Court - Chief Justice Roberts, Harriet Miers, and now Judge Alito - has served not only as a lawyer for the Executive Branch, but has defended the most expansive views of presidential authority," Kennedy said. "Perhaps that is why this President nominated them."
It sent Kennedy on a tear about executive power.
"But as Justice O’Connor stated, even a state of war is not a 'blank check' for a President to do whatever he wants," Kennedy said. "The Supreme Court must serve as an independent check on abuses by the executive branch, and a protector of our liberties, not as a cheerleader for an imperial presidency."
From the opening statements given thus far, it appears Democrats are definitely going to hammer Alito on executive powers - citing President Bush's actions in the war on terror as justification.
