Alito Confirmation on Track

By John Jessup
Washington Correspondent

CBN.com – WASHINGTON - With the hearings behind him, Samuel Alito appears to be headed for confirmation to the Supreme Court, despite Democrats' attempts to stump him during 18 hours of grilling and nearly 700 questions.

His performance earned him praise by Republicans, like Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who said, “The fact of the matter is that you've been straightforward here... I don't think you've been fairly treated.”

But there is mostly skepticism from Democrats.

“The evidence before us makes it very hard to vote yes on your nomination,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).

The concern among his critics is how he would rule on abortion, war powers, and cases regarding minorities.

On abortion, Alito said Roe v. Wade is settled law, based on precedent and that the Constitution protects the right to privacy. But he did not condemn his 1985 statement that an abortion was not a protected constitutional right. The judge also would not rule out the court's ability to revisit a case like Roe.

“In the area of constitutional law, there has to be the ability to revisit a case,” Alito said.

On the issue of war powers, Alito refused repeated attempts to comment on the President's executive order to wiretap Americans without court warrants.

Alito said, “It could be in my court. It certainly could get to the Supreme Court.”

And although they could find no red flags, some Democrats remained frustrated about Alito's membership with the Concerned Alumni of Princeton.

“We still don’t have the answer as to why Judge Alito joined this group in the first place,” Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) said.

As for his conservative views, Democrats wanted a guarantee that, if confirmed, he would be a centrist judge - in the mold of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and not tip the balance of the court to the right. But the judge gave no such pledge.

Alito affirmed, “I am who I am. I am my own person, and I'm not like any other justice on the Supreme Court now, or anybody else who served on the Supreme Court in the past.”

Although the committee chairman wants a vote next Tuesday, Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is urging his party to withhold their votes for another week.

And while it has not been ruled out, it appears there are not enough votes for Democrats to filibuster Alito's nomination -- meaning he could be confirmed by the end of the month.

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