Washington – Democrats resembled a guerrilla army searching a weak point in a heavily guarded fortress Tuesday as they challenged Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito at his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
The array of issues Democrats raised reflected the breadth of their concerns about Alito’s record. But the broad nature of their critique also underscored the party’s difficulty at coalescing around a single clear argument against Alito’s nomination.
The long day of testimony did not produce a dramatic or emotional confrontation that flustered Alito. But the Democrats’ persistent and sometimes relentless questioning signaled that the party may mount a more forceful resistance to Alito’s nomination than it did to President Bush’s choice last year of John Roberts as chief justice.
With Republicans holding 55 Senate seats, Alito remains a strong favorite to be confirmed. But based on the sometimes contentious back-and-forth between Alito and Democrats on the first day of testimony, the process may not be as smooth or predictable as it was for Roberts, who ultimately won confirmation with a commanding 78 votes.
“With Roberts, there was an air of inevitability from the very beginning,” said Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal coalition opposing Alito. “This situation is completely different.”
As Democrats repeatedly confronted Alito – and Republicans defended him – the hearing covered issues as varied as executive power, abortion, reapportionment and the nominee’s ethics.
One senior Democratic political operative said Senate Democrats may try to braid the issues of civil liberties and abortion together and present Alito as a threat to Americans’ individual liberty and privacy.
