26 Miles

Alito Hearings Expose…Nothing

// January 17th, 2006 // Business & Politics

In case you missed the mind-bending Supreme Court Nomination play-by-play of Judge Samuel Alito on the three dozen odd 24 hour cable news networks, what you missed was truly the most disheartening display not so much of partisan ideology (which it also was), but of a mangled confirmation process.

Never before did the reputation of Congress as a body of old, white men engaged in a daily ritual of lengthy, incoherent monologues ring more true than during these hearings. I tuned into National Public Radio one afternoon when leaving work to listen in. I believe it was Joe Biden who was speaking when I tuned in. Presuming a pointed, if highly partisan, question was forthcoming, I didn’t change the station. I listened to Biden’s diatribe for what seemed like an eternity. I was nearly home from my 30-minute commute before an actual question was posed to Judge Alito. Judge Alito was about 5 seconds into his answer before the Senator interrupted him and continued to speak for several more minutes before allowing Alito to continue.

I thought this behavior might be an exception, until I saw The Daily Show with John Stewart that evening, which dedicated an entire bit to comparing how long different senators held the floor before asking an actual question. I forget the winner/loser but the examples given stretched from 4 to over 9 minutes of “I’m on TV so I’m going to show the folks back home what a tough interrogator I am” scenarios.

I tuned in again several times during the hearings. In each case I tired of listening to Senators endless jawing and tuned elsewhere. Searching the web for a balanced review of his qualifications and positions is clearly a better solution that tuning into the caricature formerly known as television news. History shows that little is gained from these hearings anyway, aside from the Bork and Thomas hearings. Perhaps I expect too much, or perhaps the introduction of excessive media spin into the mix prevent a genuine dialogue from taking place, and that is a loss for all of us.

It was political theater, and little more. I say, if theater is what they’re after, then let’s spice it up. I’m sure in a group that size somebody can carry a tune. There must be some great voices in the Senate. Maybe we could get a McCain-Leiberman-Schumer version of the Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love” or a nice Tom Jones classic by John Kerry. Maybe a dramatic reading from Hamlet by Senator Byrd or a scene from The Godfather with Frank Lautenberg. Or better yet, a celebrity boxing match between Ted Kennedy and Arlen Specter. Enough with the polite banter, lets see some life in there!

HA HA! Let’s see you yield the rest of your time now!