Excerpts: Senators' Opening Statements

Excerpts from opening statements during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to be an associate justice on the Supreme Court:

Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.:

"As chairman, I am committed to conducting a full, fair and dignified hearing. Hearings for a Supreme Court nominee should not have a political tilt for either Republicans or Democrats. They should, in substantive fact and in perception, be for all Americans. ...While I personally consider it inappropriate to ask a nominee how he would vote on a specific matter likely to come before the court, senators may ask whatever they choose and the nominee is similarly free to respond as he chooses. It has been my experience that the hearings are a subtle minuet with nominees answering as many questions as they think they have to in order to be confirmed."

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.:

"The challenge for Judge Alito in the course of these hearings is to demonstrate that he will protect the rights and liberties of all Americans and serve as an effective check on government overreaching. The president has not helped his cause by withdrawing his earlier nomination of Harriet Miers in the face of criticism from an extreme faction of his own party."

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas:

"Groups are trying to defeat your nomination because you will not support their liberal agenda. And the reason they oppose you is precisely why I support you. I want judges on the Supreme Court who will not use their position to impose a political agenda on the American people. I want judges on the Supreme Court who will respect the words and meaning of the Constitution, the laws enacted by Congress, and the laws enacted by state legislatures. ... the meanings of the Constitution and other laws should not change unless the people change them. A Supreme Court appointment is not a free ticket to rewrite our laws however you and your colleagues see fit."

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.:

"While every Supreme Court nominee has a great burden, yours, Judge Alito, is triply high. First, because you have been named to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the pivotal swing vote on a divided court; second, because you have been picked to placate the extreme right wing after the hasty withdrawal of Harriet Miers; and, finally, because your record of opinions and statements on a number of critical Constitutional questions seems quite extreme.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah:

"I know that there is a pitched battle going on outside the Senate, with dueling press conferences, television ads, e-mail petition drives, and stacks of reports and press releases. The Senate can rise above that battle if we remember the proper role for the Senate and the proper role for judges. We can rise above that battle if we respect that judicial nominees are limited in what they may discuss, take each part of Judge Alito's record on its own terms, consider Judge Alito's entire record, and apply a judicial rather than a political standard.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.:

"Time and again the vacancy you seek to fill was the most important vote on the court for civil rights, human rights, women's rights, workers' rights, and restraining an overreaching president... The person who fills the O'Connor vacancy will truly tip the balance of the scales of justice in America.

Judge Alito, millions of Americans are very concerned about your nomination. They are worried that you would be a judicial activist who would restrict our rights and freedoms."

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa:

Judge Alito has an impressive and extensive legal and judicial record, certainly one worthy of a Supreme Court justice ... .equal to any Supreme Court nominee I've considered over the 25 years I've been on this committee. ... Yet, some liberal interest groups have come out in full force, and have attempted to paint Judge Alito to be an extremist and an activist. ... I don't like to see facts twisted or untruths fabricated to give the nominee a black eye, even before he sets foot in front of the judiciary committee. So, Judge Alito, now you have an opportunity to set everyone straight on your record and your approach to deciding cases."

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.:

"In an era when the White House is abusing power, is excusing and authorizing torture, and is spying on American citizens, I find Judge Alito's support for an all-powerful executive branch to be genuinely troubling. Under the presidents spying program, there are no checks and no balances. There is no outside review of the legality of this brazen infringement on the civil rights and liberties of the American people. Undeterred by the public outcry, the president vows to continue spying on American citizens.

Ultimately, the courts will make the final judgment whether the White House has gone too far. Independent and impartial judges must assess the proper balance between protecting our liberties and protecting our national security."

Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio:

"Your decisions are usually brief and to the point. You write with clarity and common sense. And, in most cases, you defer to the decision-making of those closest to the problem at hand. I don't expect to agree with every case you decide. But, your modest approach to judging seems to bode well for our democracy."

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis.:

"Before we give you the keys to the car, we would like to know where you plan to take us. ... We will need to examine whether _ as your critics contend _ you will consistently side against the individual or whether your supporters are correct that you are a mainstream conservative who will fairly decide all cases."

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz.:

"It appears to me that you easily fit into the mold of what this nation has come to expect from its Supreme Court justices. A first-rate intellect. Demonstrated academic excellence. A life of engagement with serious constitutional analysis. And a reputation for fair-mindedness and modesty. These are the standards for a Supreme Court Justice, and you plainly meet those expectations. As a consequence, I view your nomination with a heavy presumption in favor of confirmation."

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.:

"We need judges who will stand up and tell the executive branch it is wrong when it ignores or distorts the laws passed by Congress. We need judges who see themselves as custodians of the rights and freedoms that the Constitution guarantees, even when the president of the United States is telling the country that he should be able to decide unilaterally how far those freedoms go.

To win my support, Judge Alito will have to show that he is up to this challenge."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.:

"I think it's fair for us to try to determine whether your legal reasoning is within the mainstream of American legal thought and whether you're going to follow the law regardless of your personal views about the law. And since you have provided personal and legal opinions in the past, I very much hope that you will be straightforward with us, share your thinking and share your legal reasoning."

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.:

"You have a record as a brilliant but modest jurist, one who follows the law, who exercises restraint and does not use the bench as an opportunity to promote any personal or political agenda. This is exactly what I believe the American people want in a justice to the Supreme Court. It's exactly what President Bush promised to nominate."