Roberts Confirmation Hearings Begin

I looked all around and did not see a thread that discussed the actual hearings. So here goes.

Today the hearings started at noon time, and are being shown on CSPAN, etc. One major agenda item for today is for the US Senators to present opening statements, and as stated by MSNBC,

Hearings start for Supreme Court top nominee
Democrats vow tough questions, but few obstacles expected for Roberts
MSNBC

the partisan lines are quickly being drawn. Kennedy and Biden made it pretty obvious that even if Roberts walked on water, they would vote against him.

A side note, I was flabbergasted to learn that Ted Kennedy has been on the Judiciary Committee since 1963! Time for some new blood on some of these committees, IMO.

Roberts is already side-stepping questions concerning his stance on abortion:

CNN - Sen. Arlen Specter, Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, began by asking Roberts about his respect for the precedence of Roe, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.

Roberts declined to say whether he thought Roe was a proper ruling. "I should stay away from discussion of specific cases," he politely told Specter.

Roberts on Roe vs. Wade

Why be evasive on issues of critical importance? I should think that conservatives, liberals and moderates alike would like to know where he stands on this issue. It is after all a classic political litmus test.

so if he says he against abortion that means hes automatically rejected from the Supreme court right? thats why he evaded this.

Abortion is a women issue and one of the few victories that women has in this country.

Yes I find it very disturbing that he in his appointed position will take the opportunity to bring the issue back and take a shot at it.

All we need now is a man in the supreme court to dictate how women are to use and dispose of their uterus.

And as for his "Confirmation" we all know that he is a done deal.

I care less that he sits in the supreme court as long as the only uterus he manipulates is his wife.

He's being smart. This is the preliminary part, where they're just going through the motions. He's a smart man, and is saying the right things.

No, he shouldn't comment on that case. A lesser man would. Why?

Because he wasn't there. As a judge of the Supreme Court, your views are irrelevant. What matters there is the case, how they presented it, how they argued it, who won. He was not a judge of the Supreme Court at that time, and therefore cannot make an accurate judgement on the case.

They're just trying to catch him.

Actually he voiced very loudly during the 80's his opinions on the abortion issue, he was also very opinionated about O'Connor's consideration as the chief justices in the 80's as a women.

He voiced also that discrimination was not an issue, it seems that now that he is in the hot seat he just has forgotten about how loud his opinions used to be.

He still the same as he was before and his "Opinions" matter as a chief justice but as long as is just women's issues nobody cares but women Right?.

We are a male dominated society.

Did they get around to asking him his opinion on Torture? I don't believe that has been brought to court yet. Unless we want to count the international court at Nuremburg?

The reasoning to condone torture is to get information to save our troops who may be in harm's way. Well hell's bells.. what put them in harm's way to start with?

Torture in any case is stooping to the level of the terrorists and no way on God's green earth does a just nation lower itself to the standards they claim to be fighting against.

This is the question they should have been asking Roberts, if they haven't. Gonzo and his crowd in the Dept of Justice have already written their justification of torture. With a yes-man on the bench to back up DOL briefs and decisions, this will put the US on an even lower level of any righteousness we pretend to have in the eyes of the world..


Ain't a damn thing 'righteous' about it.

Aaaaaaaaand...He's out of the gate and running! The judiciary committee voted 13-5 to knock him into the next stage. The committee was composed of 10 Republicans and 8 Democrats.

I suspect we are seeing our new Chief Justice.

EDIT: Hey, I even have a link!

[edit on 9-22-2005 by junglejake]