Reading this post and the one immediately preceding it ("Kennedy on Alito: But we've been on vacation!") makes it clear that the two-party system is in serious jeopardy--at least, the two-party system we've know for the past 100+ years. It seems that a viable new party may be emerging from the ranks of moderate Republicans (see Christine Todd Whitman's "It's My Party, Too" website). If joined together for purposes of voting with the ever-increasing numbers of independents, such a party could be a force to be reckoned with. Given the performance of the Democratic Party, marginalization appears to be its due.

Jaguar to Conrad-- "I'm no big cat."

Conrad doesn't actually believed what Alito told him. Conrad thinks he is playing some Jedi mind game with Alito. The way Conrad's grade school logic has it, he wins whether Alito keeps his word or not. If Alito keeps his word, it will be because Conrad made him feel like he wasn't a man of honor if he did otherwise (because he looked him in the eye and told him he would).

Of course we all know (including Conrad), that Alito, like Roberts, is not a man of honor. He will support his well-known ideologies on the bench, not the word he gave Conrad. Conrad thinks this is okay because he will be able to say that Alito lied to his face. Meanwhile, we've all lost more of our rights because Conrad was playing games with them.

This reminds of the Shrub's statement when he went to Russia and claimed that he knew he could trust Putin after he looked into Putin's eyes... for Conrad this must be a"faith-based confirmation" .It is frightening. For a jurist that believes in the bizarre "unitary executive theory" Alito will do more to undermine democracy than can be imagined! ndak77

During his confirmation hearing, Clarence Thomas expressed fealty toward the concept of stare decisis. Specifically, Thomas testified that "stare decisis provides continuity to our system, it provides predictability, and in our process of case-by-case decision making, I think it is a very important and critical concept."

But in a biography of Thomas by Ken Foskett, none other than Antonin Scalia has said that Thomas "doesn't believe in stare decisis, period."

I guess it would never occur to such idealistic people as politicians like Kent Conrad that anyone, especially a Supreme Court nominee, might lie to get the job.

But I can count on one hand the number of Bush nominees for any position in this government who did not lie to get their jobs. And when they so obviously lie to keep their jobs, is that concept really so hard to get your arms around?

Democrats have now officially devolved into invertebrates. Maybe Darwin WAS wrong, after all, just the right wingers say.

Sounds like this fool Conrad is ready for the ol' Brooklyn Bridge sales pitch...