By William E. Gibson
Sun Sentinel
WASHINGTON U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito plunged into a polarized Senate confirmation hearing on Monday, backed by conservatives while stoically facing a weeklong confrontation with critics, including
Opening day of the long-awaited hearing was dignified and carefully scripted, enlivened by rhetorical sparring among members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who appear deeply divided on the nomination.
The nominee remained serene as Democrats warned they would ask pointed questions during the next few days about his views on the right to privacy and presidential power, particularly President Bush's executive orders to allow eavesdropping on Americans without a warrant.
Wasserman Schultz, 39, a mother of three young children and an outspoken proponent of privacy rights, plans to raise some of the most contentious issues. Senate Democratic leaders tapped her to testify at the hearing, probably Thursday afternoon, to focus attention on privacy concerns, especially for women.
"This is a nominee who is clearly out of the mainstream and would tilt the scales of justice far to the right," Wasserman Schultz said in an interview on Monday. "I fear that my children's generation will grow up in a very different world if this justice is confirmed and their rights are restricted.
"I do believe this president has the right to nominate a conservative to the Supreme Court, but not the right to nominate an extremist."
Other Floridians have joined the national debate. These include Republican backers who tout Alito's glowing legal credentials.
"I don't think there's any information that would lead one to conclude he is outside the mainstream," said Al Cardenas, former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, who is leading efforts in the state to promote the nomination. "From what we've garnered, those allegations being made by partisan political groups are not in keeping with his judicial record over 15 years."
Opponents are taking their case directly to the public. Monday evening near the entrance to
"We are hoping to let the senators know there is opposition," said Amanda Mourant, grass-roots organizer for Planned Parenthood of South Palm Beach and Broward counties. "Constituents don't want Alito, and not just because of concern for reproductive rights."
Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, plans to carry this message directly into the hearing room. She and many other Democrats are especially concerned about this nomination because Alito, if confirmed, would replace retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a pragmatic and pivotal member of the court who supported abortion rights and limits on presidential powers.
"We have got to make sure we do not move this court in the direction of allowing the government to insert itself into private family decisions," Wasserman Schultz said.
Conservatives have rallied around Alito after pressing Bush to withdraw his earlier nominee, Harriet Miers. But some defenders say Alito's possible effect on the court is hard to predict.
"My expectation is that he's not someone who believes in judicial activism," said Justin Sayfie, a
Alito, in his short and personal opening statement on Monday, offered no clues to his thinking on controversial issues, preferring to focus instead on his upbringing, values and legal experience. He seemed intent on taking a non-ideological, objective role while bracing for questions from members of the Judiciary Committee over the next few days.
"A judge can't have any agenda," he told the senators. "A judge can't have any preferred outcome in any particular case."
After the hearing this week, the Judiciary Committee will decide whether to send the nomination to the Senate floor for a vote on confirmation. Vote-counters are looking to moderate Republicans and Democrats in the full Senate, such as Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who remains uncommitted.
