// BEGIN editorial data
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AlitoReax051031.ID_WB = 9876397;
AlitoReax051031.sPubDate = "10/31/2005 8:07:46 PM GMT";
AlitoReax051031.navsectionID = "3032552"
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AlitoReax051031.appHeader = "Reaction to Alito announcement";
AlitoReax051031.appDeck = "Reactions from members of Congress and other figures to President Bush's nomination of federal appellate court Judge Samuel Alito Monday for the U.S. Supreme Court: ";
AlitoReax051031.appFooter = "Source: The Associated Press";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"Judge Alito is unquestionably qualified to serve on our nation's highest court. And on the bench, he has displayed a judicial philosophy marked by judicial restraint and respect for the limited role of the judiciary to interpret the law and not legislate from the bench.\"
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.
";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"The nomination of Judge Alito requires an especially long, hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers. Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for this same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them. Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people.\"
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"Rather than selecting a nominee for the good of the nation and the court, President Bush has picked a nominee whom he hopes will stop the massive hemorrhaging of support on his right wing. This is a nomination based on weakness, not strength.\"
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.
";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"Judge Alito is the best there is. The Democrat-controlled Senate recognized these qualities in Judge Alito when it unanimously confirmed him to the court of appeals.\"
Wendy Long, counsel for the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"President Bush put the demands of his far-right political base above Americans' constitutional rights and legal protections by nominating federal appeals court Judge Samuel Alito to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.\"
Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People For the American Way";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"The president has made an excellent choice today which reflects his commitment to appoint judges in the mold of (Antonin) Scalia and (Clarence) Thomas. Sam Alito, a 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals judge, has consistently embraced the original intent of the Constitution.\"
Kay Daly, president of the conservative Coalition for a Fair Judiciary";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"It is sad that the president felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who would unify us. This controversial nominee, who would make the court less diverse and far more conservative, will get very careful scrutiny from the Senate and from the American people.\"
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"The president has repeatedly said that he is looking for someone with strong intellect, temperament and reverence for the Constitution to replace Justice O'Connor. Judge Alito is a triple play.\"
Adam Ciongoli, a former law clerk for Judge Alito and former counsel to Attorney General John Ashcroft ";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"I believe this nomination is aimed at appeasing the most right-wing elements of the president’s political base.\"
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif ";
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AlitoReax051031[i-1].body = "\"There is nobody that I believe would give my case a more fair and balanced treatment. He’s open-minded, he’s fair and he’s balanced.\"
Former appellate judge Timothy Lewis, who served with Alito ";
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