Emotions run high in Alito hearing’s 3rd day

Accused of inconsistencies
Earlier Wednesday, Alito was aggressively questioned by Democrats who accused him of inconsistencies on issues ranging from voting rights to ethics to his membership in a conservative organization.

On the third day of confirmation hearings, Democrats also expressed frustration as Alito described the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion as “an important precedent” but declined to echo Chief Justice John Roberts, who has called it settled law.

Republicans on the panel dismissed the criticism and defended Alito, President Bush’s choice to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, as a conservative jurist with a solid 15-year record on the federal appeals court.

“Your critics are grasping at any straw to tarnish your record,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Frist weighs in
Another senator, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, also a Princeton alumnus, issued a statement Wednesday saying, "Judge Alito has condemned discrimination, and his record of more than 15 years demonstrates his commitment to equal rights for women and minorities.”

Frist called the Democrats' focus on Alito's activities at Princeton “another transparent attempt by the Democrats to wage an unfair smear campaign against an exceptionally qualified nominee.”

Republicans hold the majority in the Senate — 55-44 with one independent — and Alito is expected to win confirmation to the high court when the Senate votes later this month. The Democrats’ only hope of scuttling the nomination rests with defections among the GOP ranks and solid opposition among it own members.

After challenging the 55-year-old Alito’s court record and Reagan-era writings on Tuesday, Democrats took a new tack in accusing him of inconsistency.

“A number of us have been troubled by what we see as inconsistencies in some of the answers,” Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont, the panel’s ranking Democrat, told Alito.

Abortion resurfaces
Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois cited Alito’s testimony Tuesday in which he said he would have an open mind if faced with the question of abortion on the Supreme Court. The senator said the nominee’s writings and testimony suggested otherwise, with “a mind that sadly is closed in some instances.”

Roberts has described Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling, as settled law. Alito said the ruling “is an important precedent of the Supreme Court,” but he declined Durbin’s repeated prodding to use the term “settled law.”

On the Republican side, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas said some Supreme Court decisions are indefensible and invite reconsideration. The court, Brownback said, had revisited some 200 cases for that very reason.

“Some precedents are undeserving of respect,” he told Alito.

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