Majority of Americans Favor Alito Nomination (expect roe v. wade to stay)

Yeah, well, there were a few of us out there on the mixed boards, but where were all of you?

If we aren't making some effort to actually fight the right wingers in front of the rest of American then we can lose again in November.

If you go to any mixed board you will see that the right wingers are active all the time. They get their talking points and they go to it.

Nearly every mixed board has become a right wing one now, supporting the worst of the neocon objectives.

Anyone who believes what the Post prints at this point is truly a sap and a sucker. You might as well watch Fox "news" or read the National Enquirer.

Other polls have it lopsided the other way- but you can bet the Pravda will keep on pushing their right wing drivel- just as they have been for the last 6 years....

the American public never even heard of 'what's his name' or a supreme court vacancy and further more if they did hear about it or him or that they would not give a shit anyway.

180

Years ago when Jesse Ventura had just been elected Gov. of Minnesota and was in the news all the time, I commented to a neighbor that a newly hired teacher at the elementary school looked "just like Jesse Ventura." There was a short pause before she asked "Who?" "You know, Jesse Ventura," I replied,"the wrestler who was just elected governor of Minnesota." I'll never forget her next sentence: "I don't know who you're talking about. I don't watch the news."

I think that about sums up the attitude of millions of Americans. They have no clue what the hell is going on, don't care, and certainly have no understanding of how events in Washington affect their lives. I know a bunch of people who use the excuse "I don't talk politics" because they pay no attention to current events and don't want to come off looking and sounding like dumbasses.

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=19970
<snip>
New Document Shows Alito’s Devotion to Ultra-Conservative Causes

Today’s Washington Times article on Judge Samuel Alito’s job application for a new position in the Reagan Justice Department demonstrates his devotion to ultraconservative causes, and contradicts administration attempts to cast him as a mainstream conservative, said Ralph G. Neas, President, People For the American Way. He had the following comments:

“According to the report, Judge Alito’s letter shows fervent allegiance to virtually every pet cause of the radical right. He opposes a woman’s constitutional right to reproductive freedom. He appears to disagree with longstanding Supreme Court decisions underlying the ‘one man, one vote’ principle for drawing voting districts. He sees a role for government in ‘protecting traditional values,’ which is often right-wing code language for letting the government interfere in private decisions about medical care, religion and private sexual conduct.

“And unlike Chief Justice John Roberts, Alito says these are his own strong personal views, and not just those of the administration he was working for.

“Combined with his judicial record, Judge Alito’s letter underscores our concern that he would vote to turn back the clock on decades of judicial precedent protecting privacy, equal opportunity, religious freedom, and so much more. And it is further evidence that if Samuel Alito is confirmed to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, he will shift the Supreme Court dramatically to the right for decades to come.”

It's not as if the Dems have been doing a good job in warning the nation about another Scalia. The Dems focus their message at a few targeted groups.... and have failed to educate the broader public about just what someone like Scalia stands for.

why is it that we are constantly told by pollsters that the American people believe a certain 'conservative' way or that this particular election is close, but when you look at online polls they are usually in the 65-75% support for the more progressive positions. I realize that online polls are not 'scientific' and groups do try to slam the polls but I find it hard to believe that they are that far off in reflecting the opinions of the common people. Is it possible that people online just tend to be more liberal or are the 'scientific' polls being used to influence public opinion rather than objectively reporting the actual opinions of the United States electorate?

This is an email I go from the "The Pen" <activist.gb@gmail.com >

HE NEXT TWO WEEKS WILL DECIDE IF DEMOCRACY WILL SURVIVE

Bush is now completely and certifiably out of control. But to remove the last
restraint on the creation of a new American dictatorship they must install one more lock down
vote on the Supreme Court, in the person of Sam Alito.

Despite Alito's extreme right wing voting record and lifelong ideological agenda,
nobody expects him to show up at his hearing sporting a tail and horns wearing a red suit.
Instead he will lie and evade like some Wal-Mart smiley face, just as he did when in
his confirmation for the Court of Appeals he promised to recuse himself from cases
involving his own investments. Then he fought to do precisely otherwise. He will make
absolutely any misrepresentation of his views and his agenda to try to sneak past public
accountability yet again, while his record shouts otherwise. And only your voices speaking
out now can turn the tide against this judicial coup.

http://www.usalone.com/alito.php

We are planning a two-stage action. First with the action page above we will build a
consensus that ANY replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor must be no worse than a true
moderate and centrist. Then after the conclusion of the hearings we will speak out AGAIN
on specific question of the final vote in the Senate. Please submit every possible
action page you can get your hands on, and keep speaking out until we prevail, just as we
did on ANWR and the torture prohibition.

But remember that Alito was the author of the tactic of Bush trying to spin acts of
Congress with so-called "signing statements" in hopes that some future Supreme Court
(including now guess who) would give them weight over the will of the people. And Bush did
just that with the anti-torture bill, declaring that he really didn't consider himself
bound at all. Every day from now on must be STOP Alito day, otherwise our democracy is
doomed.

Then what do you think about US elections when in off years only about 35-40% of the voting age population votes.... meaning that congressional Dems often only represent 18-20% of the population.

The reason why people didn't favor Miers was because the right came out and started fussing.

The spin behind Alito is that he has integrity and is competant.

I doubt most have heard of Alito and are paying any attention to this vacancy or the proceedings.

A man that has fought against reproductive rights, and has carried water for the republican thugs for decades, will absolutely overturn roe v. wade.

That's hardly an endorsement. Among the relevant publics on this issue, I'm willing to bet Alito is less well liked. And it certainly understood that he would in fact "vote" to overturn Roe, among other things.

But I fully expect "centrist" and "moderate" Democrats in the Senate to look at these numbers and back down. They're ruled by polls like this that don't mean anything. These people have no understanding of public opinion. Rather than shape it, they're shaped by it.

That is because most of them don't know what is at stake and they don't care. We have the most ignorant and indifferent citizenary of any advanced country.

this morning had an interesting article on the legal counsel for Concerned Women of America, Jan LaRue. One of the assertions in it, from Kim Gandy, president of NOW, is that CWA is supporting Alito because they are one hundred per cent sure that he will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, no matter what he may have said in interviews prior to his confirmation hearings that he considers it a matter of settled law.

I am fortunate in that I never had to make a decision about whether or not to have a legal termination of pregnancy and now no longer need to worry about it personally at all. However I know that I'm in the minority. I oppose Alito's nomination for a number of reasons, including his refusal to recuse himself in cases where he had previously agreed he would because of a possible conflict of interest. Alito has previously proven that he does not stand by his word given in confirmation hearings so I know that I cannot trust him to keep to his statement that he considers Roe v. Wade as settled law. That frankly scares me.

He has no true perspective on his own biases.

And Roe v Wade, while a concern, is not the most crucial worry. Alito has always worked for the government, he has always promoted government and bureaucracy over individual rights. It is no wonder George wants him on the Supreme Court. This is even better than placing Gonzales as Attorney General in the Justice department.

More foxes guarding the hen house. :eyes:

anyway ... "A majority of Americans we polled... we selected those chosen to poll by ________. Here are the demographics of those polled. Here is information on those declined to be polled." might have been better 'reporting'.

"A majority of Americans favor the confirmation ... But one in five Americans remain undecided about the nominee..." whatever, mmm-kay

Morin seems to have gotten the attention of bloggers in the past ...

Caught in inconsistency by Media Matters, Wash. Post polling director changed story
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512200006
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/12/23/14269/723

Our Conversation With Richard Morin
http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/12/20/151617/94

Richard Morin, Pollster for the Post, in a Firestorm of His Own Making
http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/12/22/124321/05

Monday, January 9, 2006; Posted: 9:52 p.m. EST (02:52 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A majority of Americans say President Bush's pick to fill Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the U.S. Supreme Court should not be confirmed if his confirmation hearings reveal that he would vote to overturn a woman's right to have an abortion, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll released Monday ...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/09/alito.poll/

Jan. 9, 2006

(CBS) As congressional hearings begin for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, a CBS News poll reveals that most Americans have yet to form an opinion of Alito and most don't know whether he should be confirmed.

Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed said they are "undecided" or "haven't heard enough" to form an opinion about Alito, and 70 percent said they "can't say" whether Alito should be confirmed by the Senate ...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/09/opinion/polls/main1192317.shtml

if this asshat is confirmed? Will the public be shocked? Maybe wake up and find out what's happening to this country? Part of me (the angry part) dares the Republican Senate to confirm him so he can cast the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. For some reason, I think the pro-choice movement would be more powerful than the pro-life movement ever was if that right was taken away, and the ensuing political shitstorm would blow the wingnuts out of power at every level of government.

January 9, 2006
The New York Times said in an editorial for Sunday, Jan. 8:

... The White House has tried to create an air of inevitability around Alito's confirmation. But the public is skeptical. In a new Harris poll, just 34 percent of those surveyed said they thought he should be confirmed, while 31 percent said he should not, and 34 percent were unsure. Nearly 70 percent said they would oppose Alito's nomination if they thought he would vote to make abortion illegal — which it appears he might well do ...

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060109/NEWS/601090327/1039

If this is true then I blame the Democrats for not educating the public on just what dangers a radical right takeover of the USSC would mean.

I've had it. No more news this week...