Snowe Wonder How She'll Vote
Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME), a pro-choice GOPer who openly lobbied Pres. Bush to nominate a female successor to Sandra Day O'Connor, today showed a strong grasp on the Senate nomination process. But Snowe gave few, if any, clues on how she feels about Bush's nomination of conservative judge Samuel Alito to the High Court.
"Today the Senate again takes up its 'consent' role as expressed under the 'advice and consent' clause of the Constitution. The task before the Senate Judiciary Committee is to thoroughly and independently evaluate Judge Alito's qualifications, and I am confident that will occur under Chairman Specter's leadership. I will evaluate Judge Alito based on his lengthy record including all of his opinions, scholarship, judicial methodology and philosophy," Snowe said in a statement.
"As the Senate begins considering this nomination, I will be in close contact with my Senate colleagues, including our group of fourteen senators who brokered the compromise earlier this year to move us past a deadlock on judicial nominees."