"I'm sure other members of the Gang of 14 agree that the process should unfold fairly and that Judge Alito should have his day before the Judiciary Committee," Nelson said.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), leader of the group's GOP members, said today the Gang of 14 would meet in the next couple of days, "and we'll try to see what everybody's temperature is." In an interview on MSNBC's "Imus in the Morning" program, McCain said, "I certainly would like to avoid filibustering and blowing up the Senate. . . . So we'll meet, and I'm sure that most people will want to, I hope, give Judge Alito a fair hearing and reserve judgment until he performs before the Judiciary Committee."
Sen. Harry M. Reid of Nevada, the Senate Democratic leader, said he was "disappointed" in the choice of Alito, whom he said will require "an especially long hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers," the White House counsel and long-time Bush loyalist whose nomination for the same Supreme Court seat was withdrawn in the face of conservative opposition.
"Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them," Reid said in a statement. "Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people." He also complained that Bush "has chosen a man" to replace O'Connor, one of two women on the nine-member court, and did not opt for a Hispanic or someone who is not federal appellate judge.
"President Bush would leave the Supreme Court looking less like America and more like an old boys club," Reid said
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, called the choice "a needlessly provocative nomination" and charged that Bush "has chosen to reward one faction of his party, at the risk of dividing the country."
He said the Miers nomination exposed a "right-wing litmus test" for Supreme Court nominees.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, said the nomination was "based on weakness, not on strength." In a statement, he said Bush "picked a nominee whom he hopes will stop the massive hemorrhaging of support on his right wing."
Although Alito "is clearly intelligent and experienced on the bench," Kennedy said, he could, if confirmed, "fundamentally alter the balance of the court and push it dangerously to the right."
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