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An anonymous commenter asked me to post my take on Alito, so here goes: He shouldn't be confirmed because we don't need another fucking Italian on the Court. Also, he's Catholic, and like the priesthood, he seems to be in favor of stripping ten-year-olds.

Actually, I don't know that much about Alito yet, but my gut tells me that the Senate should confirm him. Yes, he's a conservative. And, yes, he's pretty clearly pro-life (both his opinions and his mother indicate this). But Democrats lost in '04 and having to tolerate conservative judicial nominees is the price we pay.

How can I support a pro-life conservative who has taken positions I oppose on a number of issues, from the Commerce Clause to the 4th Amendment to abortion? I don't "support" him, exactly, I just don't see any basis on which to oppose him. Outside the mainstream? I don't really think so. He's consistently conservative, and conservatism--and it pains me to say this--is the mainstream. That's why Republicans control the House, the Sentate, and the White House. The Democratic leadership seems to be opposing Alito in some knee-jerk reaction to conservative interest group support for the nomination. They like him, so we have to hate him, let's gear up for a battle! For example:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, called it a "nomination out of weakness rather than strength" and said Democratic suspicions had been raised by the strong support Judge Alito had quickly drawn from conservatives. "They are shouting from the mountaintops for this Alito," said Mr. Kennedy, who had praised Judge Alito during his confirmation hearings for the appellate bench.

But I don't think it has to be like that. Judical nominations are not a zero-sum game. A smart and qualified nominee benefits everyone.

Obviously, I would prefer a smart and qualified nominee who will legalize marijuana and burn flags (like Scalia!) and kill babies and all those things that liberals like me love. But Democrats are going to need to win a fucking election for that to happen. Let's say, though (and I know this is a huge stretch), that we had a Democrat president. There is absolutely no way that liberals would still be demanding a middle-of-the-road nominee, so I don't think we can demand one now.

Oh, and Alito is not all bad. Though Robert Gordon at Slate says Alito makes Scalia look good, his record on the First Amendment and testimony from people who know him and have worked with him seem to indicate otherwise. And, anyway, Scalia may be an asshole, but he's probably the smartest guy on the Court right now.

SPECIAL BONUS: Everything you ever wanted to know about Alito but were afraid to ask, via Balkinization.