JANUARY 15, 2006 --

LPR has a hunch that if there were 10 Democrats and 8 Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, today, the Committee would vote 10 to 8 against consenting to the nomination of Federal Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States.

And if the nomination went to the full Senate, with a Democratic majority, it would be defeated.

(Assuming that President Bush would have sent to Alito nomination to a Senate with 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans, and not, as it presently is constituted, the other way around.)

There is no doubt for this writer that Sen. Schumer (D-NY) would have liked Judge Alito to state that he will uphold Roe v. Wade when abortion issues come before him.

Nina Totenberg said on public radio (LPR thanks public radio and public television for carrying the Alito hearing) that Democrats were playing to their base.

For LPR, it would have been helpful if Democrats explained to their base that under our system of justice, decisions are reached after the presentation of the facts and application of the law to the facts -- and are not a function merely of the identity of the parties.

At the hearing on the nomination of Justice William H. Rehnquist to be Chief Justice of the United States, Sen. Arlen Specter, now Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- told Justice Rehnquist: "[T]here are certain principles, which, at least in my view, are so fundamental as to require a statement, or an understanding as to where [a judicial nominee] stands. I understand the competing consideration of not asking you to discuss or comment on cases which may come before the [Supreme Court]."