Spectral Specter Blows It

Yeah.

There's "no time" for the Senate to confirm Alito, although there are likely 65+ votes to do so.

"Spectral" Specter, (or Spectre, if you prefer) has decided that it's better to have Sandra O'Connor make new policy than to have a Justice who concentrates on the Constitution.

As Thomas Sowell observes:

Senator Specter did not wimp out. The Senate Republican "leadership" wimped out when they made him chairman of the Judiciary Committee after he had fired a shot across the bow of his own President, right after the election, publicly warning President Bush not to nominate anyone to the Supreme Court who would stir up controversy in the Senate.

That was the time to replace Senator Specter with a chairman who would support, or at least not sabotage, the President's attempt to put the kind of people on the courts that he had pledged to appoint during the election campaign. Instead, the Senate "leadership" accepted Senator Specter's assurances that he would cooperate.

Well, now he is cooperating — with the Democrats on his committee.

The delay in Judge Alito's confirmation hearings gives the Senate Democrats and all the liberal-left interest groups time to orchestrate a fear and smear campaign and raise the money to advertise those fears and smears, both directly and by organized protests that will get much free publicity in the liberal media.

One is reminded that GWB campaigned for Spectral, and AGAINST a conservative (Toomey) in the last cycle. So it's not just the Senate "leadership" which made a serious error in judgment.