I wish I had an automatic transcript device. Judge Alito just blew Chuck Schumer out of the water on abortion. After holding up his Robert Byrd^TM mini-Constitution, Schumer demanded several times whether he still believes as he wrote in his 1985 memo that he doesn't think abortion has Constitutional protection. Alito demurred each time, saying that he would have to weigh each case in light of its facts and its reliance on precedence. Like the bad lawyer he has proven himself to be, Schumer asked one question too many:

SCHUMER: Does the Constitution protect the right to free speech?

ALITO: Certainly it does. That's in the First Amendment.

SCHUMER: So why can't you answer the question of: Does the Constitution protect the right to an abortion the same way without talking about stare decisis, without talking about cases, et cetera?

ALITO: Because answering the question of whether the Constitution provides a right to free speech is simply responding to whether there is language in the First Amendment that says that the freedom of speech and freedom of the press can't be abridged. Asking about the issue of abortion has to do with the interpretation of certain provisions of the Constitution.

SCHUMER: Well, OK. I know you're not going to answer the question…

Case closed. It's like watching the Washington Generals play the Harlem Globetrotters.

UPDATE: I corrected this with the updated transcript, which only differs in the vocabulary used. This transctipt wass provided by Barbara Ledeen.

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Just heard Senator Chuck Schumer try to bait Judge Alito into giving his opinion on whether or not the US Constitution protects the “right” for a woman to have an abortion. He must have spent at least five to ten minutes trying every which ... [Read More]

Tracked on January 25, 2006 9:49 PM