Lessons of Alito's Confirmation

Today the United States Senate voted to confirm Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. The inability of the Democrats to sustain a filibuster the nomination removed the final doubt, as there were clearly enough votes for him to win. This confirmation offers us several valuable lessons.

1) It is after all possible to nominate and get confirmed a candidate with a long and public conservative record. There is no reason to fly stealth candidates under the radar and end up with Souters as a result.

2) The Democrats are running scared for the 06 elections. Look at the votes of Nelson (NE), Byrd (KKK), and Johnson (SD). They abandoned their party masters because they're concerned about their reelection. Properly addressing this requires a separate post (which I've been trying to get to for a couple of days and will soon...maybe), but the fear is evident.

3) The conservative movement far into the future owes thsoe who stood up against the President's inexplicable and indefensible nomination of Harriet Miers a debt of gratitdue. Rather than an unqualified and unproven quantity, we have an enormously qualified man with a track record. That was a fight worth having and winning.

4) The Democrats will not vote (at least most of them) for any candidate President Bush puts forward, assuming we are blessed enough for him to get a third pick. So he may as well pick the very best, preferrably youngest, full-throated conservative candidate he can find and take the fight to the enemy.

5) The 2006 elections are critical. Republicans need to increase their majority in the Senate, and the chances for that happening are better than most people give them credit for (again, that's the other post).