Alito Not off the Hot Seat Yet

By David Brody
Capitol Hill Correspondent

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - So far, Samuel Alito is sailing through his confirmation hearings unscathed, but Senate Democrats still have more questions for President Bush's Supreme Court nominee.

Alito gets ready for hundreds of more questions to be thrown his way, from abortion to his view on presidential power. Each senator will get 20 minutes to question him.

It was mere seconds into Tuesday's hearing before pro-choice Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) asked Alito about his belief 20 years ago that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion.

Specter: Do you agree with that statement today, Judge Alito?

Alito: Well, that was a correct statement of what I thought in 1985 from my vantage point in 1985. Today, I would approach the question with an open mind. And I would listen to the argument.

Specter: So, you would approach it with an open mind, notwithstanding your 1985 statement?

Alito: Absolutely, senator.

Democrats spent a lot of time trying to corner him on the issue of presidential power. They believe Alito's decisions give a commander-in -chief too much leeway, and they tried using the latest domestic spying controversy to make their point.

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) asked Alito, “Does the President, in your opinion, have the authority, acting as commander-in-chief, to authorize warrant-less searches of Americans' homes and wiretaps of their conversations, in violation of the criminal and foreign intelligence surveillance statutes of this country?

“I would have to know the specifics and the argument that were made,” Alito replied.

The first round of questions was, for the most part, low key. The only time it got a little testy was when Democrats brought up his former membership in a group called the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which had discouraged university admission of blacks and women in the 1970s.

"Why in heaven's name were you proud of being part of CAP?” asked Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

"Well Senator,” Alito responded, “I have wracked my memory about this issue, and I really have no specific recollection of that organization.”

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) said, “It was a pretty outrageous group, I was aware of it -- it was a big deal.”

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) went straight to the point, asking Alito, “On the record, are you against women and minorities attending colleges?”

“Absolutely not, senator,” responded Alito.

Alito's supporters are quick to point out that he answered more than 200 questions and did it in a way that shows he is in the mainstream. Cbn News spoke with Dan Coats, the former senator who has been brought in by the White House to help get Alito confirmed.

"The real fight here, is whether we're going to continue a court that has been an activist court, a liberal leaning court, a court that isn't interpreting the court as it is written and as it states, but one that wants to inject personal views,” Coats said. “And I think that's the whole issue here."

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