In the end, when it comes to questions about presidential war powers, it just doesn't matter all that much whether a judge is a strict constructionist or an activist, a pragmatist, a textualist, or an originalist. Judicial promises to respect precedent are almost immaterial when the precedents are either ancient or nonbinding. What matters most when the case law falls away are ideology and politics.More, but on a tangential topic: This post by Kevin Drum exemplifies exactly what I hate about Washington insiders—they treat all of politics like just some game for their amusement. That's essentially what I felt the Dem senators were doing in opposing Alito, and it is for that reason that I stated that "I find absolutely no reason why Alito does not deserve confirmation", though I have been convinced since that the possibilities Alito's confirmation presents regarding the expansion and protection of nearly unlimited executive power are both likely and frightening enough for Dems to do what it takes to keep him out.
However, Drum seems pretty sanguine about this all. "It would have taken some serious research to prepare for an all-out attack on the Bush administration's view of executive sovereignty [...] but at least it would have given the press something interesting and unexpected to write about. [...] It was an opportunity missed." God damn, we're worried about giving the press something interesting to write about?
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