Who Is The Real Alito?

Alito (photo credit: CNN.com) 

I was lucky enough to catch most of the Alito confirmation hearings today. Two and a half years of law school turned me into a complete policy-wonk. And Supreme Court confirmation proceedings reveal the current (and future) battlefields of partisan conflict. Senators conduct debates with each other, ricocheting ideals and opinions off the nominee at each other.

So far the Samuel Alito confirmation hearings have lived up to expectations, Alito has been attacked by the left, and defended by the right. And neither the left nor the right has done a very good job. Alito quickly and effectively brushed aside the best dirt flung by the Democrats. And Senator Orin Hatch lead Alito’s defense with chants of: “He’s a regular guy, he’s from the lower middle-class.”

Personally, I am impressed with his overall record, but I am afraid Alito will be an activist conservative Supreme Court justice. While his legal opinions are nearly impeccable, some of Alito’s comments in speeches and informal writings evidence an extremely conservative mindset. As an appellate level judge, Alito was constrained by the possibility having an opinion overturned. Once on the Supreme Court Alito will be virtually unbounded, confined by the vague-threat of impeachment alone.

More commentary to come; in the meantime… what’s your opinion on Judge Alito?