Posted on 01/23/2006 3:02:24 PM PST by SmithL
WASHINGTON - Public support for Senate confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito grew slightly to 54 percent after his often stormy Senate hearing, a poll released on Monday showed.
The CNN/USA Today/Gallup survey also found that only about one in three Americans believe President George W. Bush's conservative candidate would vote, as critics fear, to reverse the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which held Alito's confirmation hearing this month, was to vote on Tuesday on whether to recommend that he be confirmed by the full Republican-led, 100-member Senate.
With the Senate to begin debate on Wednesday, Alito, a federal appeals judge since 1990, appeared headed toward confirmation.
If approved, Alito would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate conservative who often has been the swing vote on the nine-member court on social issues such as abortion rights and civil rights.
At his hearing, Republicans hailed Alito as "mainstream conservative" who had received the American Bar Association's top rating.
Democrats voiced concerns that he would move the court too far to the right.
The three-day telephone poll of 1,006 adult Americans was begun on January 20, a week after his confirmation hearing ended.
According to the survey, the percentage of Americans who believed Alito should be confirmed rose to 54 percent from 49 percent. Those opposed remained unchanged at 30 percent.
Most of the Senate's 44 Democrats and one independent are expected to oppose Alito. But none has threatened a filibuster, which would permit unlimited debate intended to kill the nomination.
Bush noted on Monday that 14 senators -- seven Democrats and seven Republicans -- agreed last year to oppose filibusters of judicial nominees unless there are "extraordinary circumstances."
"There has been no sign of any extraordinary circumstance except for this extraordinary thing -- he's extraordinarily capable to serve on the Supreme Court," Bush said in fielding questions at Kansas State University.
Huh?
My guess is that it would be in the single digits.
Huh?
Once a moderate Republican, some 20+ years ago...lost her moorings, such as they were, many, many, many years ago.
ABC News Poll. July 16-20, 2003. N=1,027 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3. Fieldwork by TNS Intersearch.
"Do you think the late-term abortion procedure known as dilation and extraction, or partial-birth abortion, should be legal or illegal?"
Legal 20%
Illegal 62%
Depends 12%
No opinion 5%
Most likely Alito will see cases such as this, and will be able to limit this fairly easy. Even dems appear to be in favor of limiting this form of abortion (roughly 53% according to LA times), which makes a great deal of sense.
http://www.pollingreport.com/abortion.htm
No means of sounding negative, but anything more than this really depends on Kennedy (the justice) and the future presidents of America. If a pro-life wins the next election it will ultimately determine that position more than likely; otherwise the courts will probably just put limits on it in the future.
Well, remember that when she joined the court the only justice that was more conservative then her was William Rehnquist. So back then everybody considered her to be a "moderate conservative".
I think the 20% is overstated on the grounds that over half of those so responding are too dumb to understand what it means.
Bader-Ginsberg was called a CENTRIST during her nomination process.
You might be right.
I think this aptly describes what most pro-lifers are against. If used effectively, abortions would/could be highly limited. For some that might not be acceptable, but atleast it's highly plausible.
What strikes me now, is that dems seem to personify abortions as a rock solid principle that can't be reviewed over and adjusted..as though america whole-heartly supports ALL forms of abortion, when it's clearly not true.
CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll. Jan. 10-12, 2003. N=1,002 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.
"Thinking more generally: Do you think abortion should generally be legal or generally illegal during each of the following stages of pregnancy? How about [see below]?"
"In the first three months of pregnancy"
Legal 66%
Illegal 29%
"In the second three months of pregnancy"
Legal 25%
Illegal 68%
"In the last three months of pregnancy"
Legal 10%
Illegal 84%
Paging Dr. Phil...needed at the DU ward!!
I have a hard time believing that most Americans even know who Alito is.
correct. only the base on each side knows who he is. the sheeple don't know who is he.
This is not surprising. The public has rightly concluded that there is no compelling reason to oppose Samuel Alito.
Of course, it helps that Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee made complete arses of themselves while badgering Alito.
Interesting poll. They could have added "In the last 24 hours before delivery" to the sequence and probably got the number down to 5%. For all their noise and influence, feminazis are a very small minority, probably smaller than white supremicists.
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