WH Dispenses 'Alitoganda' - To the GOP!
Fascinating bit of cherry-picking.
If the White House feels that Alito needs shoring up with the GOP, it certainly signals something - or perhaps a series of things.
The fact that Bush is really weak right now is all too clear, and if Alito fails to get confirmed, it'll be a further sign of weakness.
The other thing that may be happening here is that the White House is showing the Republican senators that while this guy is firmly in the conservative camp, he's palatable enough to dish out to the public as a mainstream(whatever the hell that means) jurist.
I don't buy a bit of it. I mean look at this, the White House is trying to point out that Alito's views are nuanced, but what I mostly see are his limitations as a representative of all Americans.
In Whitehousespeak: "Well sure, he voted this way on this case, BUT..." That my gentle reader, is pure spin.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's opinions on abortion, discrimination and other contentious issues are the work of a mainstream jurist, not the ideologue depicted by critics, the White House argues in a voluminous briefing book meant for Republican senators.For an argument that his guy is mainstream, the material presented is pretty thin. There is more at the link, but it looks pretty inconsistent.
Alito's dissent in a 1991 abortion ruling showed "concern for the safety of women," the material says. By approving a requirement for spousal notification, he "reflected the position advanced by the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania."
A 1996 dissent in a sex discrimination case in which Alito sided with the employer shows he "simply questioned the wisdom of a 'blanket rule'" on dismissing such complaints before trial, in the White House view.
If the White House feels that Alito needs shoring up with the GOP, it certainly signals something - or perhaps a series of things.
The fact that Bush is really weak right now is all too clear, and if Alito fails to get confirmed, it'll be a further sign of weakness.
The other thing that may be happening here is that the White House is showing the Republican senators that while this guy is firmly in the conservative camp, he's palatable enough to dish out to the public as a mainstream(whatever the hell that means) jurist.
I don't buy a bit of it. I mean look at this, the White House is trying to point out that Alito's views are nuanced, but what I mostly see are his limitations as a representative of all Americans.
In Whitehousespeak: "Well sure, he voted this way on this case, BUT..." That my gentle reader, is pure spin.
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