Senators Brownback And Coburn, Are You Listening?

In Jay Anderson's fantasy land, these are the opening remarks delivered by either Senator Sam Brownback or Senator Tom Coburn (the only members of the Judiciary Committee who, in my opinion, have the stones to do it) at the beginning of Judge Alito's confirmation hearings:

I would like to preface my remarks concerning our esteemed nominee by first addressing the baseless and utterly nonsensical notion put forward earlier today by my colleagues in the minority that Judge Samuel Alito is "an extremist" and "outside the mainstream" in his views and judicial philosophy.

First, for argument's sake only, let's accept the assertion that the nominee has, in the past, expressed his strong opposition to the decision in Roe v. Wade. Let me ask: what exactly is "extreme" about this position? After all, that is the official policy position of the majority political party in this country. That policy has been reflected in every Republican Party platform since 1980.

For over 25 years, the Republican Party has espoused the position that Roe v. Wade's mandate of abortion-on-demand must be overturned. During that 25-year period, Republicans have controlled the White House for 17 of those years. During that 25-year period, the Republican Party has increased its representation in Congress such that they have been the majority in the House of Representatives now for 11 straight years, and have been the majority in this Senate body for 16 of those 25 years. During that 25-year period, the Republican Party has made steady gains across this great nation at the state level, so that Republicans now sit in 30 of this country's 5O governors' mansions, including those in the 4 most populous states in the Union.

And lest we forget, our President has won 2 elections in which he promised to nominate judges just like Samuel Alito to the federal bench.

In short, since 1980, when the Republican Party adopted the policy positions that our colleagues in the minority wish to dismiss as "extreme" and "outside the mainstream", the American people have chosen to see it otherwise. They know that the common-sense policies of the Republican Party with regard to this tragic issue are anything but "outside the mainstream".

Now, let me tell you what IS extreme. Abortion-on-demand up to and including the 9th month of pregnancy is extreme. Partial-birth abortion, wherein a child is partially delivered only to have scissors thrust into its skull to end its life, is extreme. Denying the parents of a minor child the opportunity to know that their child is having a medical procedure - namely an abortion - is extreme. A minor girl can't have her ears pierced in this country without receiving her parents' consent, yet we are told that a parent cannot even KNOW that his or her child is having an abortion. THAT is extreme.

Now, let me also tell you that every one of those extreme positions is held by the same members of this body who today have tried to paint Judge Alito as "an extremist". If those who disparage Judge Alito as "outside the mainstream" had their way, the only judges who could get lifetime appointments to the federal judiciary would be those who hold the extreme positions that I have just described.

Those who favor placing common-sense restrictions on abortion - a ban on the barbaric partial-birth abortion, parental notification and consent laws, an end to abortion-on-demand and late-term abortions - have been frustrated at every step by activist judges and their supporters on the extreme left of the American political spectrum. And, I am sad to say, by our Senate colleagues in the Democrat Party who insist that judicial nominees who share the mainstream philosophy of the Republican Party and the President who nominates them are not fit to sit on the federal judiciary.

I ask the American people to remember - whenever you hear someone refer to Judge Alito as "an extremist" or "outside the mainstream" - I ask you to remember who it is that supports late-term abortions on demand, who supports the gruesome and barbaric partial birth abortion, and who supports a minor child going through an anguishing and life-changing experience like abortion without her parents being notified so that they may provide her with the comfort and support any parent would want to give. And then I ask you to ask yourself: "Now, just who is it that is 'extreme' and 'outside the mainstream'?"

I yield back the balance of my time.

UPDATE:
I have updated the text of the statement above to exclude the reference to "Leaving children born alive during the course of an abortion alone to die - unloved and without medical attention". I had assumed that some of the more hard left members of the Judiciary Committee had opposed the "Born Alive Infants Protection Act", but such act, in fact, passed the Senate with unanimous consent. I have no idea how the vote went in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but I thought it best not to speculate.