Nothing like breaking news on a Monday morning. The nomination of Harriet Miers to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor went up in flames last week. Today the President announced a new pick--a judge from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals named Samuel Alito.
The early word on this pick is that he's a "nice guy" who was seen bagging his own groceries at the Shop Rite. I'll send a hat tip to the blog "Underneath Their Robes" for that tidbit.
The question is whether this nice guy will incite a firestorm in the Senate. He has been nicknamed "Scalito" because he apparently mirrors the views of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. The right wingers are already saying that he sounds just right. But will he get 50 votes?
This one is going to come down to abortion, to Roe v. Wade, in a way that the Roberts hearings didn't. Early indications are that Alito is a solid pro-lifer. In one ruling, Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1991), he argued that a law stating women should have to tell their husbands before having an abortion should be upheld.
It is an election year, and their are many prominent pro-choice Republicans on the Senate. It will be interesting to see where this goes.
Today on the show, a look at Samuel Alito.
On a personal note, I took the last couple of days off to attend the wedding of a dear friend, someone I have known since high school. As I am certain she will read this, I want to say: Amy, best of luck in your new life with Kevin. Nothing beats time spent with old friends.