Alito and the Democrats

I love the antics of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, all of whom voted against the Alito nomination, not without much bloviating. No kidding, I really do love them. They may help the Republicans hold on to a slim majority in the Senate.

The nomination now goes to the full Senate, where the Democrats will have ample opportunity to further embarrass their side. The Democrats must protest the nomination--it is demanded by what would be their fringe if it weren't their base--but there is a limited amount of damage (I hope) they can inflict. That is why you get the spectacle of Joe Biden reduced to a stream of consciousness monologue. He has to do this. He had no choice.

But here is why I really love the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee--and predict that I'll soon be able to include all Senate Democrats in this smarmy embrace: The fight against Alito shows something very important about the Democrats. Despite their quadrennial vow to move closer to the center, they can't do it. It is not in their nature. (See: Scorpion and Frog, tale of.) Since a CNN poll indicates that a majority of Americans want Alito confirmed (support for him actually grew during the hearings), the Democrats are doing themselves no good with the sort of citizen who does not belong to the shots-calling Moveon.Org. Blue state Democrats, who read the New York Times's Monday screed against Alito, probably view themselves as mainstream. They don't know they're in a cocoon. Increasingly, the American left, cut off from the mainstream, has become vicious and foul-mouthed. As my colleague Charlotte Allen notes garbage-mouthery seems to be their weapon of last resort. In addition to their behavior, many Americans will no doubt realize that but for a Republican majority, a qualified jurist wouldn't have had a chance.

What matters to liberal Catholics? They don't resort to garbage-mouthery, but it's interesting that the premiere liberal Catholic magazine Commonweal found a way to pussy foot around the abortion issue and urge the defeat of the Alito nomination. Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, commented on Commonweal's stance on Bench Memos: "The editorial instead provides a powerful lesson to faithful Catholics about the wretched prudential judgment (or is it lack of courage?) of much of the 'seamless garment' crowd."