Judge Samuel Alito was given the go-ahead by the Senate Judiciary Committee to be the next Associate Justice on the Supreme Court in a 10-8 vote today.
Although postive, the outcome of the vote, cut straight down party lines, is still a source of frustration among Alito’s staunchest supporters.
“We are outraged by the Senate Judiciary Democrats' party line vote against one of the most well-qualified Supreme Court nominees in the history of our nation,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in a press release following the vote. “Their goal is to impose radical policy ideas on America through control of the Court. It demonstrates the allegiance Democrats have sworn to the extreme factions of their party.”
According to various reports, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid discouraged his Democratic colleagues from voting for President Bush's nominee, who was admittedly deemed to be "well-qualified" by the entire Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Anybody who watched the Alito hearing with an open mind, not to be confused with holes in the head, knows the liberals' distortion of Alito's record is desperation and deception at the deepest level," said Concerned Women for America’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue in a press release.
Still, a victory is a victory. And Alito appears to be on his way to a confirmation by the full 100-member Senate with a possible vote by the end of the week. Supporters have no doubt that Alito will secure the votes needed to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
“Judge Alito deserves to be confirmed, and he will be confirmed,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Texas), member of the Senate Justice Committee, following the vote.
Cornyn, who described Alito as “one of the most well-qualified nominees ever nominated to serve the Supreme Court” in a recent press release, said he wishes the confirmation process hadn’t been so harsh.
“Judge Alito survived…unwarranted, baseless attacks. But at some point, we as a Committee will need to come to terms with our confirmation process which too often treats Supreme Court nominees more like piñatas than human beings. That’s something none of us should tolerate.”
