As an initial matter, let me set out the lame disclaimer that I am a fan of many on this board, come here often to read the various takes on issues and use this resource as a base to find out what is going on in the progressive world. Having said all of that however, I am very disappointed in what I have seen by some (and I recognize it is not even close to all) in recent days.
Let me begin my saying that I am an attorney and I have major reservations about the nomination of Judge Alito to the Supreme Court. Unlike with the earlier nomination of Judge Roberts, who I knew personally and was sure had nothing close to a personal agenda, I have more questions about Alito. Specifically, in a career that has included many political jobs (which are no crime), can we be sure that some of his stated positions truly were just his and had no effect on his judicial philosophy? When judges on both side of the judicial divide make the claim that their personal beliefs dont have an effect on their judicial decisions, I always laugh....of course they do. Questions such as whether the Constitution protects a women's right to choose are at their heart a reflection on the amount of importance you as a person place on this "privacy" right. Thus I think Senator has a duty to ask about these issues.
Having said that however, the tone of many individuals on here concerning Alito has been embarrasing and is as bad as much of the right-wing garbage written about Democratic or liberal politicians over the years. Folks on here have claimed that Alito is a "wingnut", "Nazi", "moron", etc, simply because they disagree with him on his positions on these issues. I believe that Roe v. Wade was correctly decided (although only tenuously based on the Constitution) and that most of the precedent that many Conservatives seek to overturn is correct. Having said that, I recognize that intelligent, thoughtful people who care about America and its people can disagree.
If you are against Alito because you believe that he is too conservative, that is fine. I tend to think that many live in a pipe dream world where they hope that George W will appoint a liberal judge to reflect their views, and thus anyone who Bush would appoint is automatically awful. I try to take the view of judging the individual on his merits and seeking to approve of a judge that is not too far out of the mainstream (a la Bork or for me, even Thomas) but still reflects the principles of the President....after all elections do have consequences. But I can accept, even if I may disagree with, people who think Alito is too conservative. However to act like he is an awful human being who wants to see segregation, poor people on the streets begging and women as second-class citizens, simply because he disagrees with you on the role of the courts in our democracy strikes me as both ignorant and insensitive.
Similarly the thread began here yesterday and now recommended to the top of the page about Kate O Beirne is appalling. Let me be clear, I have no love for O Beirne. I find her brand of conservatism, which often lacks in caring for those less fortunate and is too individualistic in scope, very problematic and on a personal level she turns me off. And while I have not read her book, any book that puts caricatures of liberal female politicians on its cover strikes me as one that is of less serious intellectual importance than it is about selling books and getting on Hannity and Colmes. Plus, my guess is that her central thesis (that feminism hurts America) is one that I would disagree with her about on most issues.
Yet for someone to write that she should "drop dead" and that the world would be better if she jumped off a cliff is appalling. In an open society, there is surely room for debate amongst people with which you disagree. To act as if a person is so vile that you believe their life is of no importance simply because you think that her notion that the American military is not masculine enough is incorrect, strikes me as the worst of progressive thinking.
This board often gets in debate about dissent and whether you have to be 100% liberal in order to be a "real" Democrat or progressive. Whatever side of that debate one is on, the notion that the way to defeat those with which you disagree is to attack them personally and wish upon them awful fates is as bad as anything Michael Savage or other right-wing hate mongers would say. Samuel Alito and Kate O Beirne are, in my view, incorrect in their views about the judiciary and society. However that doesnt make them bad people or unworthy of respect and tolerance. I would hope others would come to see that as well.