Alito brushes attacks aside

The judge's wife became upset at the questioning and left the hearing room.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito turned aside Democratic attacks on his judicial record and credibility at contentious confirmation hearings Wednesday, declaring his impartiality and saying, "If I'm confirmed I'll be myself."
Judge Alito, named to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor for a swing seat on the court, was unflappable for hours on end during a second day of marathon questioning.
But his wife, Martha-Ann Bomgardner, left the hearing room in tears near the end of a day in which he had been questioned sharply.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was vouching for her husband's character at the time, and as she left, he said, "Judge Alito, I'm sorry that you've had to go through this. I am sorry that your family has had to sit here and listen to this."
She later returned.
Controversial group
Challenged by Democrats about his membership in a controversial Princeton alumni group, Judge Alito repudiated the opinions expressed in articles in the organization's magazine.
"They're not my views ... I deplore them," he said of writing that contained material that was racist, sexist and homophobic.
Under persistent questioning, Judge Alito declined for a second straight day to say whether he believes, as he did in 1985, that the Constitution contains no right to an abortion. "I don't think it's appropriate for me to speak about issues that could realistically come up" before the courts, he said.
Judge Alito commands the support of all 10 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and while Democrats can delay his approval by the panel they cannot block it. His prospects for confirmation by the full Senate are also strong, although Democrats have not ruled out the possibility of a filibuster that could require supporters to post 60 votes.
Still, unlike Chief Justice John Roberts last fall, Judge Alito may draw the opposition of all eight Democrats on the panel, and partisan maneuvering was evident Wednesday.
Abortion issue
Abortion triggered one incident. Sen. Richard Durbin, who supports abortion rights, told Judge Alito that his 1985 written view on abortion "does not evidence an open mind. It evidences a mind that sadly is closed in some areas."
Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, saying he wanted to "razz" Durbin, soon noted that the Illinois Democrat had himself changed his mind on abortion. "For 45 years, Senator Durbin was adamantly pro-life, and he wrote multiple, multiple letters expressing that up until 1989," said Republican Coburn.
Later, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy pressed the committee's chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to subpoena records at the Library of Congress that might shed light on Judge Alito's membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton.
"If I'm going to be denied that, I'd want to give notice to the chair that you're going to hear it again and again and again and we're going to have votes of this committee again and again and again until we have a resolution," said the Massachusetts Democrat.
Specter, bristling, said, "I'm not concerned about your threats to have votes again, again and again. And I'm the chairman of this committee. ... And I'm not going to have you run this committee."
The tempest proved short-lived. Specter later announced the committee would have access to the records.
Kennedy questioned Judge Alito sharply about the organization, which drew notice for opposing admission practices that resulted in rising numbers of women and minority students at the Ivy League school.
"If I had received any information at any point regarding any of the matters you referred to ... I would never have had anything to do with it," said Judge Alito, who listed his membership in the group on a 1985 job application for the Reagan administration but now says he does not recall anything about it.
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