Colorado’s U.S. senators offered differing appraisals of Judge Samuel Alito on Monday, and neither was ready to say how he planned to vote on the Supreme Court nominee.
Democrat Ken Salazar, a member of the Senate group that forged a compromise preserving the right to filibuster court appointees, said President Bush’s choice was disappointing.
Speaking with reporters Monday outside his office in Denver, the freshman senator said he was dismayed that “there was no consultation whatsoever with members of the Senate” over the choice, which he said was part of deal the “Gang of 14” senators had hashed out.
“That is disrespectful,” Salazar said, noting he learned of Bush’s choice on TV.
Salazar also complained that Bush did not nominate a woman to replace Sandra Day O’Connor. At least three suitable candidates are available in Colorado alone, Salazar said – including Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Kourlis, “a Republican well-versed in Western water law.”
But the senator did not say how he would vote on the nominee or whether he would support a filibuster.
Salazar’s Republican colleague, Sen. Wayne Allard, said he was “favorably predisposed” to Alito but would not decide whether to endorse him until after meeting with the nominee.
Still, Allard lavishly praised Alito, who was nominated after Harriet Miers withdrew her name last week.
“He’s a lot of what Miers wasn’t,” Allard said. “He’s a graduate from an Ivy League school. … He’s argued before all levels of the court. He’s served at a lot of them. Apparently he has a reputation of being pretty tough on criminals, but fair. … He’s pretty highly respected among his peers, which says a lot, I think.”
Allard has said he is looking for a justice who will not legislate from the bench.
“My concern is that when he’s on the bench he conducts himself with restraint and applies the law and doesn’t try to expand the law one way or the other,” Allard said.
Salazar said he would study Alito’s record and background carefully before making his decision.He said he hopes to meet with Alito, as he did with then- chief justice nominee John Roberts and with Miers. Salazar voted for Roberts but said he hadn’t decided on Miers before her nomination “was basically killed by the religious right.”
Other Democrats are questioning Alito’s past opinions, saying he could tilt court positions against abortion rights. But abortion for Salazar “is not a litmus test,” he said.
One of the standards he said he’ll use in evaluating Alito is the extent to which the judge respects legal precedent and the extent to which he has an ideology to impose on Americans.
The Gang of 14 continues to discuss court issues after agreeing in May to up-or-down votes on some Bush picks while retaining the right to filibuster other nominees, Salazar said. He said Alito’s name hasn’t surfaced in those discussions to his knowledge.
