SHAME OF THE SENATE
NEW YORK POST
Editorial
January 12, 2006
Maybe now Americans will under stand what a ruthless, partisan bunch of bullies walks the halls of Congress — pretending to statesman status.
If they don't, they should talk to Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Bomgardner.
After relentless attacks on her husband's character and decisions he made in his personal life decades ago, Alito's wife left the confirmation hearings yesterday in tears.
Who can blame her?
Much of the hearings have had nothing at all to do with Alito's judicial qualifications — and everything to do with Democrats looking for ways to smear him.
And to make themselves look "tough."
Over and over, they sought to portray the judge as a bigot by referencing his 1970s membership in a Princeton University alumni group that opposed lowering admissions standards to fill affirmative-action quotas.
They hectored Alito relentlessly, calling him a closed-minded extremist.
At the time she felt compelled to leave, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham was in the process of apologizing for the outrageous behavior of his Democratic colleagues.
"Are you really a closet bigot?" Graham asked Alito. The nominee said no, and Graham said, "No sir, you're not."
Earlier, Sen. Arlen Specter and Sen. Ted Kennedy seemed near blows over Kennedy's demand that the committee go into executive session to vote on whether to subpoena documents.
"We're going to have votes of this committee again and again and again until we have a resolution," Kennedy thundered pompously.
"I'm not concerned about your threats," Specter replied. "And I'm the chairman of this committee . . . And I'm not going to have you run this committee."
Meanwhile, the senators seem to be devoting far more time to hearing themselves talk than to Alito.
Is this a hearing to learn about the nominee? Or a kangaroo court — meant to skewer him? Ask Alito's wife.
What a shameful episode.
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