“By now Judge Alito has responded to many questions, but he has truly answered too few of them.  I did not agree with many of the answers that Judge Roberts gave at his confirmation hearing, but the clarity of his answers at the hearings and in our meetings convinced me to vote for his confirmation.  His candor at this moment stands in contrast to Judge Alito’s testimony, which has blurred instead of clarified the question of what kind of justice he would be.   

“So far, Judge Alito has failed to provide the Committee or the American people with a clear sense of his legal philosophy or what kind of justice he would be if confirmed.  Instead he has retreated from his record and offered too many answers that have been inconsistent with his past statements.

“Judge Alito testified Wednesday that he saw no connection between the Unitary Executive theory and the use of presidential signing statements.  In doing so, Judge Alito glossed over his own record which shows he had a hand in pioneering a strategy to use these statements to expand presidential power.  It is a troubling tactic that President Bush is prodigiously using today.

“We know that Judge Alito has advocated his personal legal view about the Unitary Executive theory in public remarks he made just a few years ago, as a sitting judge.  We also know that while in the Reagan Administration in 1984 he helped craft the scheme of expanding presidential power through increased use of presidential signing statements.

“Efforts to expand presidential power have led to troubling actions by this President, and so far we have had insufficient and troubling responses from his nominee for this vitally important job.  The Supreme Court, after all, is the ultimate check and balance in our system of government.” 

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