Make no mistake. George Bush picked a nominee who truly represents his vision of both the GOP and America. And, his party's leaders have reacted as expected:
Senate Republicans leaders welcomed President Bush's nomination of federal appeals judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court today and called for quick confirmation, but Democrats described the pick as a sop to the extreme right and warned that they would not act hastily.
Republicans said that any attempt to deny Alito a yes-or-no vote would return the Senate to the brink of a showdown that was avoided last spring only when seven lawmakers from each party brokered a compromise. This time, they said they would crush Democratic opposition.
GOP lawmakers sounded relieved to be rid of the Miers appointment, which collapsed last week after it became clear she faced an uphill climb in winning confirmation.
"Let's give Judge Alito a fair up-or-down vote, not left or right," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.
The question is whether the American people are where Bush and the GOP are. And, this is a question for the GOP "moderates" like Lincoln Chafee, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. They cannot claim to be pro-choice and vote for a Supreme Court nominee who wants to end the right to choose. It's not much more complicated than that.
