NY Times:If Senate Democrats had set out to portray Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. as extreme on issues ranging from abortion to government surveillance of citizens, they ran up against an elusive target on Tuesday: Samuel A. Alito Jr. For … [Read more...]
Archives for January 10, 2006
Denise Provost wins
I originally posted the unofficial precinct-by-precinct results, as called in to the Denise Provost office by precinct captains at each polling place. I've now updated to official results, and recalculated the totals. Vote counts in … [Read more...]
Alito: Speech Yes, Abortion No
In response to a question from Schumer, Alito was unequivocal that the Constitution protects free speech, but said its protection of abortion was a matter of interpretation: damning the Roe doctrine with faint praise. Separately, he … [Read more...]
Missing the point
Argh. Sen. Russ Feingold, who is generally doing a pretty good job on his questioning, is still missing the point on the executive power questions he's putting to Judge Alito.Here's the thing. Feingold wants to know whether the … [Read more...]
The Duke nails it on health care
Michael Dukakis published an outstanding op-ed in today's Globe in which he castigates the "business community" (i.e., AIM and the Chamber of Commerce) for opposing all forms of "pay or play" in the health care debate. Dukakis makes … [Read more...]
Alito Leaves Door Open for Warrantless Spying
Under strong questioning from Senator Feinstein this afternoon (A- is my grade for her performance) Alito reiterated his suggestion of this morning to Leahy that Bush can order spying on Americans without a warrant. He got there by noting … [Read more...]
Hopefully the last thing I’ll say about the Reilly/Conte call
There are two angles in the whole Reilly phone call kerfuffle that need to be separated: Tom Reilly's ethics as Attorney General Tom Reilly's political skills in addressing the press and public These two are related but not … [Read more...]
The trouble with Senators
As I'm watching the Q&A in the Alito confirmation hearings, I am struck by how bad most Senators are at asking questions in these kinds of proceedings. They just cannot get out of speechifying/campaign mode. As a result, … [Read more...]