From the WSJ Opinion Archives
Animal
Senate
"I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid
gesture be done on somebody's part," said Eric "Otter" Stratton
in the classic 1978 film "Animal
House." Today's lead editorial in the New York Times advocates just
such an approach. The "situation" in this picture is the imminent
confirmation of Justice-designate Samuel Alito:
It is hard to imagine a moment when it would be more appropriate for senators to fight for a principle. Even a losing battle would draw the public's attention to the import of this nomination. . . .
Senate Democrats, who presented a united front against the nomination of Judge Alito in the Judiciary Committee, seem unwilling to risk the public criticism that might come with a filibuster--particularly since there is very little chance it would work. Judge Alito's supporters would almost certainly be able to muster the 60 senators necessary to put the nomination to a final vote.
A filibuster is a radical tool. It's easy to see why Democrats are frightened of it. But from our perspective, there are some things far more frightening. One of them is Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court.
The Times is right about one thing, though: If there is to be a really futile and stupid gesture, Senate Democrats are just the guys to do it. Here are some of the highlights of the Democrats' floor speeches in opposition to Alito's nomination:
Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York: "Judge Alito also holds a harshly limited view of what the government can or should do to help ordinary Americans. Judge Alito said it all in 1986, when he was a young lawyer in the Reagan administration. He wrote that in his estimation, it is not the role of the federal government to protect the health, safety and welfare of the American people. Well, I guess that explains the inept, slow and dangerous response to Hurricane Katrina."
Does Mrs. Clinton really think Alito's memo had any influence on disaster-response policy 19 years later? Nah, this is base-baiting, like her Martin Luther King Day remarks. Anticipating a presidential run in 2008, she is desperately trying to ensure that black Americans remain on the Democratic plantation.
Sen. John Kerry* of Massachusetts complained that Alito was nominated because "the president was under fire from his conservative base for nominating Harriet Miers, a woman whose judicial philosophy they mercifully attacked."
The Democrats' adopting Miers as a liberal martyr--and the false claim that conservative opponents of her nomination objected to her on grounds of "judicial philosophy" rather than qualifications--was a frequent theme. But we cite the Kerry quote for another reason: Is there any doubt that if President Bush said "mercifully" when he meant "mercilessly," the media would mercilessly make fun of him for his inability to speak?
The most appalling quote, though, came from Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, opening this morning's session: "This is a time of unprecedented governmental intrusion into the lives of ordinary Americans. The president has attempted to justify secret, warrantless wiretapping of Americans, and the evasion of legal bans against torture, and the detention of American citizens without due process of law."
Leahy apparently regards Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Jose Padilla as "ordinary Americans." The rest of us are lucky he has only one vote.
Two Democrats--Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Robert Byrd of West Virginia--joined Nebraska's Ben Nelson today in announcing that they'll back Alito. (We've been regularly updating our tally here.) At this writing four Republicans--Ted Stevens of Alaska, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island--are officially unannounced, though Stevens has no history of voting against Republican judicial nominees and thus is a probable "yes."
It would be amusing if Alito were approved 59-41, with the 41st "no" vote--enough to make the Angry Left livid, by creating the illusion that a filibuster was possible--coming from Chafee or one of the other liberal Republicans.
* Are we crazy, or does that name sound vaguely familiar?
Stephen
Breyer, Antichoice Fanatic
Susan Wills, writing in National Review Online, notes a curious quote from Justice
Stephen Breyer during oral
arguments (link in PDF) in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, the abortion
case the court decided last week:
Let's just imagine a real circumstance. A 15 year-old walks in 2:00 in the morning on Saturday into the emergency room and the doctor looks at her, she's pregnant, she has this very high blood pressure, whatever. And the doctor thinks to himself, he thinks, well, immediate abortion, no question, immediately deliver the child.
Oh no! The fetus-fancying fascist fanatics have gotten to Justice Breyer! Everyone knows there is no "child" involved in abortion. What does Breyer think the physician is, a stork? When even a Clinton appointee can't be relied upon to respect a woman's fundamental constitutional right to privacy, it's a wonder we haven't already gone back to the days of back hangers and coat alleys.
Emily
Litella, the Old Gray Lady
Yesterday we
noted a hilarious story in which the New York Times reported, without irony
or rebuttal, on paranoiacs who fear that the government is spying on their Google
searches. Today, without ever referring to yesterday's story, the Times reports
that it was nonsense:
The case itself, according to people involved in it and scholars who are following it, has almost nothing to do with privacy. It will turn, instead, on serious but relatively routine questions about trade secrets and civil procedure. . . .
"This particular subpoena does not raise serious privacy issues," said Timothy Wu, a law professor at Columbia. "These records are completely disconnected. They're just strings of words." . . .
Still, the current subpoena to Google, legal experts said, has given rise to an important debate, whether the facts of the case are apt or not.
Never mind.
Democratically
Elected Terrorists
"Preliminary but official results announced Thursday evening confirmed
that Hamas swept Wednesday's Palestinian Legislative Council elections, defeating
the ruling Fatah party by 76 seats to 43," reports Khaled Abu Toameh in
the Jerusalem Post. Toameh, an Israeli citizen who for our money is the most
incisive observer of Palestinian politics around, argued Tuesday in The
Wall Street Journal that the message of a Hamas victory would be not so
much "kill all the Jews" as "throw the bums out":
Many Palestinians are convinced that [Yasser] Arafat's death has created a golden opportunity to get rid of the corrupt regime he left behind. That explains why most candidates who are running in the elections have focused on ethical, not political, issues. They have promised voters that they will fight financial corruption and lawlessness, and create a transparent government. Most importantly, the candidates promise to use international aid for the welfare of the people, and not plonk it in secret bank accounts.
Aware of the Palestinians' growing disillusionment with the Palestinian Authority, Hamas has devoted much of its election campaign to explaining why there is a need for regime change in Ramallah and Gaza City. Its candidates are running under the banner of "Reform and Change"--a slogan that has attracted an increased number of supporters. . . .
U.S., Israeli and European threats to punish the Palestinians if Hamas takes over the authority have only boosted Hamas's appeal. Palestinians wonder why decision-makers elsewhere want them to vote for the same old regime that robs people of a decent, secure life. Why, they ask, must they vote for the very men they long to punish?
There is an answer to that question, which is that Hamas is even more committed than the old guard to destroying Israel through terrorism. Arutz Sheva has a list of Hamas attacks; Daniel Pipes rejects the good-government case for Hamas:
Mussolini made the trains run, Hitler built autobahns, Stalin cleared the snow and Castro reduced infant mortality--without any of these totalitarians giving up their ideological zeal nor their grandiose ambitions. Likewise, Islamists in Afghanistan, Iran and Sudan have governed without becoming tamed. If proof is needed, note the Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons amid an apocalyptic fervor.
President Bush, at a news conference today, echoed both points:
It's a wake-up call to the leadership. Obviously, people were not happy with the status quo. The people are demanding honest government. The people want services. They want to be able to raise their children in an environment in which they can get a decent education and they can find health care. . . .
On the other hand, I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform. And I know you can't be a partner in peace if . . . your party has got an armed wing.
The Nazi analogy actually is apt, but only up to a point. Hamas, like the Nazis, does in fact have an exterminationist agenda. But because Israel is so much mightier than the Palestinian Arab nonstate, this agenda has no realistic prospect of being carried out. Emanuele Ottolenghi, an Israel scholar, writes in National Review Online that Hamas actually wasn't hoping for outright victory:
What victory does to Hamas is to put the movement into an impossible position. As preliminary reports emerge, Hamas has already asked Fatah to form a coalition and got a negative response. Prime Minister Abu Ala has resigned with his cabinet, and president Abu Mazen will now appoint Hamas to form the next government. From the shadows of ambiguity, where Hamas could afford--thanks to the moral and intellectual hypocrisy of those in the Western world who dismissed its incendiary rhetoric as tactics--to have the cake and eat it too. Now, no more. Had they won 30-35 percent of the seats, they could have stayed out of power but put enormous limits on the Palestinian Authority's room to maneuver. By winning, they have to govern, which means they have to tell the world, very soon, a number of things.
They will have to show their true face now: No more masks, no more veils, no more double-speak. If the cooptation theory--favored by the International Crisis Group and by the former British MI-6 turned talking head, Alistair Crooke--were true, this is the time for Hamas to show what hides behind its veil.
As the government of the Palestinian Authority, now they will have to say whether they accept the roadmap.
They will have to take control over security and decide whether they use it to uphold the roadmap or to wage war.
There will be no excuses or ambiguities when Hamas fires rockets on Israel and launches suicide attacks against civilian targets. Until Tuesday, the PA could hide behind the excuse that they were not directly responsible and they could not rein in the "militants." Now the "militants" are the militia of the ruling party.
It is possible--we wouldn't go so far as to say likely--that the rigors of democratic accountability and international responsibility will force Hamas toward more moderation.
This
Doesn't Sound Kosher
"[President Bush] fielded questions on former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the
stunning victory of the radical group Hams in Palestinian elections and
the administration's cooperation with Congress on its investigation of Hurricane
Katrina."--Associated Press, Jan. 26
Turn
Him Loose? Not So Fast.
Child molester Mark Hulett won't get out of prison after 60 days after all.
The Associated Press reports the Vermont villain has been resentenced to three
to 10 years--still not long enough, we'd say:
Judge Edward Cashman said he felt he could now impose the longer sentence because the state had agreed to provide treatment to the man while he is behind bars. The state had initially said such treatment would not come until after the man served his time.
As we noted Jan. 5, Cashman had originally said he didn't believe in punishment. But his laxity drew widespread outrage, which prompted him to change his behavior. If this doesn't prove punishment works, we don't know what does.
Needed:
Global Warming
"Twenty thousand light years away, in the constellation of Sagittarius
near the centre of the Milky Way, a frigid rock is orbiting a small star. Although
the distant world is probably too cold ever to support life, scientists believe
it is the most Earth-like planet to be discovered beyond our solar system."--Guardian
(London), Jan. 26
What
Would GM, Ford Do Without Bush?
"Bush to GM, Ford: Make More Appealing Cars"--headline, CNNMoney.com,
Jan. 26
Good
News for Unemployed Martians
"Global Experts Favor Outsourcing of Jobs"--headline, Press Trust
of India, Jan. 26
A
Bloodhound Might Be More Effective
"Police Hunt Bank Robber With Chipped Tooth"--headline, WKMG-TV Web
site (Orlando, Fla.), Jan. 24
But
It May Rumple Your Clothes
"Sex Calms Nerves Before Public Speaking--Study"--headline, Reuters,
Jan. 25
Thanks
for the Tip!--XL
"Health Tip: Brush Your Teeth, Help Your Heart"--headline, HealthDayNews,
Jan. 25
Bottom
Story of the Day
"Sewer Malfunction Causes Nasty Smell"--headline, Let's Eat Mites!,
Jan. 25
Jobs?
Keep Your Stinking Jobs!
The Chicago Sun-Times reports on the Windy City's War against Wal-Mart:
Eighteen months after the Chicago City Council torpedoed a South Side Wal-Mart, 24,500 Chicagoans applied for 325 jobs at a Wal-Mart opening Friday in south suburban Evergreen Park, one block outside the city limits.
The new Wal-Mart at 2500 W. 95th is one block west of Western Avenue, the city boundary.
Of 25,000 job applicants, all but 500 listed Chicago addresses, said John Bisio, regional manager of public affairs for Wal-Mart.
As blogger Steve Bartin notes, "The morons who run Chicago don't appear to want jobs in the city of Chicago."
(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Christopher Hairel, Edward Schulze, John Steele Gordon, Jim Orheim, Jason Guth, Andrew Robinson, Frank Russo, Casey McEnelly, Dan O'Shea, Adam Phillips, Michael Segal, John Liljegren, Tom Ferris, Monty Krieger, Micha Danzig, Brendan Schulman, Darren Gold, Michael Zukerman, Jared Silverman, Ron Babington, Shraga Simmons, Allen O'Donnell, Ethel Fenig, Doug Levene, Joel Goldberg, John Hartness, C.E. Dobkin, Abe Beyda, Rosanne Klass, David Weaver, Errol Phillips, Nathan Mower, Samuel Walker, Ken Pieper, Phil Hord, John Argento, Geoff Hazel, Vincent Giandurco, John Forsberg, Ruth Papazian, Brent Silver, Joseph Tully, Greg Askins, John Leo, John Coles and Tom Elia. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
Today on OpinionJournal:
- Review & Outlook: Thank you, Ted Kennedy and Ralph Neas, for making the Roberts-Alito court possible.
- Peggy Noonan: Two cheers for promoting democracy--but we could use a bit more hardheadedness from the president.
- Steve Hanke and Stephen Walters: Big Labor's war on Wal-Mart claims casualties among poor Marylanders.
