Forget the filibuster, vote on Alito, for or against

Some Democratic senators are talking about a filibuster to block the appointment of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. They fear he would shift the court rightward on abortion rights, affirmative action, the death penalty and would weaken the protection of individuals against government intrusion and the hand of workers in disputes with employers.
The Democrats are probably right -- not about the filibuster, that would be a lesson in futility. But they are probably right about where Alito will take the court.
That's what happens to the Supreme Court when one party controls the White House for 25 out of the last 37 years: the court tends to reflect the philosophies of the party in power. And when the Senate is controlled by the same party as the president, the effect is slightly magnified.
President Bush said Saturday that Alito "understands the role of a judge is not to advance a personal and political agenda." Perhaps. But if the nation's anti-abortion forces believed that for a minute they would not have made getting Alito confirmed their prime objective (and they would not have marshaled their forces to kill the president's first choice, Harriet Mier, who was seen as soft on the issue they care most about).
Those Democrats who believe that Alito is an ideologue unfit for the High Court bench are free to vote their consciences. Polls indicate that most Americans do not see Alito in the same light.
A waiting game
History will tell the story. And if the court swings too far to the right, history will not only record that fact, but the voters of America will be free to react.
Judge Alito gave the impression that he recognizes the value of court precedent, even regarding the court's most controversial ruling in the last three decades, Roe vs. Wade. It will not be long before his commitment to precedent is tested.
Several state legislatures are poised to pass legislation written as a direct challenge to Roe. The strategy is to get a case before the court that will give the Roberts court the opportunity to overturn the 1973 decision that gave American women the right to choose to have an abortion.
If that strategy succeeds -- if Alito provides the vote that says the state, not a woman, has control over her body, Democrats will be able to say "I told you so" and will be able to campaign accordingly.
But for now, the Senate should give Alito the up-or-down vote that President Bush says he's entitled to. The result of that vote is already assured. He will be confirmed with the votes of every Republican and minority of Democrats.
Alito will be free to attend the president's State of the Union Address Tuesday night, and, no doubt, the reception he receives will stick in the craw of many Democrats. But that's politics.