Senate Judiciary Committee chair Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has just announced that he will vote “yes” on Judge Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Specter, as one of the few GOP Senators who is avowedly pro-choice, is a particularly important vote. His decision to vote “yes” is a significant blow to those who would defeat Alito’s nomination.
Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking member for the Democrats, made a brief statement after Specter’s announcement, but did not disclose how he intends to vote.
Specter should be commended for the fairness he showed in conducting the hearing. He really did bend over backwards to give the Democrats every courtesy – he allowed them to call the same number of witnesses as the Republicans called, and he gave anti-Alito witnesses extra time to speak, since the pro-Alito panel of Third Circuit judges exceeded their allotted time.
