From the WSJ Opinion Archives

by JAMES TARANTO
Friday, January 27, 2006 2:52 P.M. EST

Best of the Tube This Weekend
We'll be appearing this weekend on "The Journal Editorial Report," in its new, faster-paced Fox News Channel incarnation. Topics are the kerfuffle over the terrorist surveillance program and the Alito confirmation. Also, Paul Gigot interviews legal scholar John Yoo. Tune in tomorrow night at 11 EST or Sunday at 6 a.m. (For a complete list of airtimes in the contiguous U.S., click the link atop this item.)

The Second Time as Farce

"Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back alley abortions, blacks would sit in segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens' doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of government, and the doors of the federal courts would be shut on the fingers of million of citizens."--Ted Kennedy*, July 1, 1987

"Perhaps Prof. Liu put it best, of the Berkeley law school, when he wrote this: He said, Judge Alito's record envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed boy to stop him from running away with a stolen purse; where federal agents point guns at ordinary citizens during a raid, even after no sign of resistance; where the FBI may install a camera where you sleep on the promise that they won't turn it on unless the informant is in the room; where a black man may be sentenced to death by an all-white jury for killing a white man absent any kind of multiple regression analysi s or other analysis of potential discrimination; and where police may search--I paraphrased that last sentence; it reads precisely 'absent a multiple regression analysis showing discrimination'--and where police may search what a warrant, may search and define what a warrant permits and then some. This is not the America we know, he says, nor is it the America we aspire to be."--John Kerry** Jan. 27, 2006

* Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.

** The haughty, Swiss-looking Massachusetts Democrat, who by the way served in Vietnam.

Otter and Bluto, the Senators From Massachusetts
John Kerry is following the New York Times editorial page's advice, which we noted yesterday, and promising to stage a futile filibuster of Justice-designate Samuel Alito's confirmation. Writing on DailyKos.com, the Mos Eisley of the Angry Left, Kerry declares:

Yesterday Senator Kennedy and I spoke with our colleagues about it. I don't have a shred of doubt in my opposition to Sam Alto's [sic] nomination. I know Senator Kennedy does not either. He has truly been a great leader in the effort to oppose Judge Alito.

I spent a lot of time over the last years thinking about the Supreme Court and who America needs on the highest court in the land. So I don't hesitate a minute in saying that Sam Alito is not that person. His entire legal career shows that, if confirmed, he will take America backwards. People can say all they want that "elections have consequences." Trust me, more than anyone I understand that. But that seems like an awfully convoluted rationale for me to stay silent about Judge Alito's nomination.

"God bless John Kerry," Don Stewart, a spokesman for Judiciary Committee Republican John Cornyn, tells New York Times. "He just cinched this whole nomination. With Senator Kerry, it is Christmas every day." Hmm, somehow Kerry strikes us as more a "holiday" type of guy.

The Times also reports that "Democrats cringed and Republicans jeered at the awkwardness of his gesture, which almost no one in the Senate expects to succeed." This leads us to wonder if the reporters in the Times' Washington bureau likewise "cringed" at yesterday's editorial. Of course, you can't blame the guys on the news side for the crazy editorial page.

Even though none of this matters, we can expect the Angry Left to have a huge, ugly fight over it. BuzzFlash.com urges its readers to bother one senator:

We hope this isn't true, but BuzzFlash has been told by a knowledgeable source that Senator Barack Obama is opposing a filibuster of Alito during the debate raging within the Democratic Senate Caucus. The implication is that he is against such a filibuster on "strategic grounds." . . .

The Busheviks count their victories; the Dems count their losses and take pride in their "symbolic" votes. The difference is between winners and losers: only, in this case, the Constitution and our democracy are at stake.

If Obama is pulling a DLC strategy out of concern for his political future, he is going to be a lot more harmed by his caution than by standing up for the Constitution.

So, since Obama's office won't tell us if the rumor is true, you can call them bright and early on Friday morning and ask, "Does Senator Obama support a filibuster against the confirmation of Sam Alito in order to save our Constitutional division of powers and our indvidiual [sic] liberties?" Maybe they will answer such a question from you. They won't from us.

Such pressure can work, and we wouldn't be surprised to see Obama cast a meaningless vote against cloture on Monday. Democrats.com--an independent Angry Left site not officially affiliated with the party--claims to have changed Sen. Hillary Clinton's mind over the course of a few minutes this morning. The closer Kerry, Kennedy & Co. come to blocking Alito, though, the more livid the Angry Left is likely to be.

And of course the filibuster cannot succeed. Seven Democratic senators are on record as renouncing the filibuster except in "extraordinary circumstances," and it's hard to think of a circumstance more ordinary than Kennedy and Kerry behaving like fools.

The National Abortion Federation disagrees. Its president, Vicki Saporta, asserts in a press release:

"When the so-called 'Gang of Fourteen' saved the filibuster last spring, Senators from both sides of the aisle agreed that it would be used only in extraordinary circumstances and this certainly qualifies. Putting Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court, where he would have the power to make and break precedent for years to come, would endanger the rights and liberties that Americans hold dear."

Well, what more could the federation hope for? It's about to get a filibuster and an abortion all rolled into one.

Kerry Imitates the Onion

"Kerry Makes Whistle-Stop Tour From Deck of Yacht"--headline, Onion, Feb. 18, 2004

"Kerry was in Davos, Switzerland, attending the World Economic Forum when he called for the filibuster. Democratic sources tell CNN that Kerry called fellow Democratic senators Thursday to rally support."--CNN, Jan. 27, 2006

The After-Party Is Always Better Than the Main Event
"Kerry Urges Alito Filibuster, but His Reception Is Cool"--headline, New York Times, Jan. 27

Eight Is Enough?
"[Harry] Reid, who will vote on Monday with Democrats who want to filibuster Alito and against confirmation on Tuesday, said those votes are 'an opportunity to people to express their opinion on what a bad choice it was to replace Sandra Day O'Connor.' "--Associated Press, Jan. 27

Bar vs. Grill
Blogger "Leon H" on RedState.com makes an interesting argument: "The legal profession as a whole--conservatives and liberals alike--intends to end the practice of Borking, if it possibly can":

Despite the somewhat justified negative perception of lawyers by the general public, it's important to understand that the legal profession takes itself very seriously. And, as best it can, it takes very seriously the task of policing the bar for unsavory characters, and rooting them out before they get too far up the food chain. . . .

My theory is that sometime between 1986 and now, folks in the legal profession began to understand that it maybe wasn't a good thing for the reputation of the bar to stand by while a 15-year judge for the second-highest appellate court in the country got tarred and feathered as an unethical racist, who failed to apply the rule of law fairly in his courtroom. If Alito truly had that character, he would have had difficulty passing his character and fitness test, much less receiving a "well-qualified" rating from the ABA (And I can assure you, the ABA is not a conservative body--but they do take their job very seriously).

And indeed, during the Alito hearings, the outside witnesses who came from the legal profession--ABA representatives, ex-Alito clerks, Alito's fellow Third Circuit judges--all backed his nomination. The only ones who didn't were far-left academics and interest-group crazies. Today's New York Sun interviews various lawyers who once served as clerks for the ultraliberal Justice William Brennan and finds similar pro-Alito sentiment. It seems clearer and clearer that it is the Democrats and their Angry Left base that are out of the mainstream.

Americans Want Their Government to Listen
Today's New York Times carries the results of a poll on the kerfuffle over surveillance of terrorists. According to the Times, the poll finds that "public opinion about the trade-offs between national security and individual rights is nuanced and remains highly unresolved." Translated into English, this means that the public is on the opposite side of the issue from the Times.

Complete results are here, in PDF, but the crucial question in No. 60, which appears on page 30:

In order to reduce the threat of terrorism, would you be willing or not willing to allow government agencies to monitor the telephone calls and e-mails of Americans that the government is suspicious of?

Answer: 68% are willing, just 29% not willing--and by the way, the number who are willing is up, from 63% in 2003 and 56% in 2005. It's possible that by revealing the surveillance program, the Times succeeded in both damaging national security and diminishing public support for "civil liberties."

Even more astonishing is the answer to No. 59:

In order to reduce the threat of terrorism, would you be willing or not willing to allow government agencies to monitor the telephone calls and e-mail of ordinary Americans on a regular basis?

Here 70% are unwilling, but 28% are willing. Think about that: More than one American out of four are willing to have the government listen in on "ordinary Americans on a regular basis"--a position that shows an extreme lack of concern for civil liberties.

This number would surely increase in the event of another major terrorist attack--indeed, it was as high as 45% after Sept. 11. Even if civil libertarians are perfectly content to see thousands of Americans die in an attack, they have reason to be concerned about the consequences.

He Should've Gone to H&R Block

"You can be a millionaire, and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire, and never pay taxes! You say, 'Steve, how can I be a millionaire and never pay taxes?' First, get a million dollars. Now, you say, 'Steve, what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, "You have never paid taxes"?' Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: 'I forgot!' "--Steve Martin, "Saturday Night Live," Jan. 21, 1978

"Richard Hatch, who won $1 million in the debut season of the reality show 'Survivor,' was found guilty Wednesday of failing to pay taxes on his winnings and taken straight to jail."--Associated Press, Jan. 25, 2006

Then What Happened?
"A starving Kenyan woman placed a powerful tribal curse on God, accusing him of sending famine, and died in her sleep. . . . 'She accomplished the feat at 10 a.m. and waited for the results, but God's wrath struck at night. She died peacefully in her sleep,' the Kenya Times newspaper said."--Reuters, Jan. 26

We Blame Global Warming
"Woods Can't Hit Fairways, Blames Self"--headline, San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan. 27

Shouldn't He Be Heading to Jail?
"As Wife Heads to Jail, Daly Shoots 69"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 26

That's a Lot of Slayings!
"Indiana Man Executed for 1981 Slayings"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 27

These Death Penalty Appeals Take an Eternity
"Judge to Rule on Merit of Christ Case"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 27

What Would We Do Without Excerpts?
"Excerpt: 'The Secrets of Happily Married Men' by Dr. Scott Haltzman"--headline, ABCNews.com, Jan. 26

Thanks for the Tip!--XLI
"Health Tip: Don't Play Doctor With Over-the-Counter Drugs"--headline, HealthDayNews, Jan. 26

Bottom Story of the Day
"Kerry Won't Rule Out Presidential Run"--headline, Associated Press, Jan. 26

Exporting Nuts
"Former U.S. vice-president Al Gore has accused the oil industry of financially backing the Tories and their "ultra-conservative leader" to protect its stake in Alberta's lucrative oilsands," the Calgary Herald reports:

Canadians, Gore said, should vigilantly keep watch over prime minister-designate Stephen Harper because he has a pro-oil agenda and wants to pull out of the Kyoto accord--an international agreement to combat climate change.

"The election in Canada was partly about the tar sands projects in Alberta," Gore said Wednesday.

In response, Canada said, "This strange man seems lost. I think he's yours. Please take him home and make sure he stays there."

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