Jon Adler linked to this Mobile Register editorial yesterday (scroll down–there was Corner actitivity yesterday–if you were offline) that bears re-highlighting in case you missed it.
There is no reason Pryor should have to go through another hearing. He was qualified last time he went through hearings. He is qualified now—and with a year on the bench, has an even firmer record to make that clear. And not because he has come down with “progressive” decisions. He, uh, upholds the law. (What a concept.) Like a judge does. And can still believe Roe is an abomination.
Let me direct you to an earlier Byron York piece for a reminder about Pryor’s record in Alabama:
Pryor chose the latter. “I have a record as attorney general that is separate from my personal beliefs,” he told Hatch. “I am able to put aside personal beliefs and follow the law, even when I strongly disagree with it.”
On abortion, Pryor argued that, despite his personal opposition, he had ordered Alabama’s district attorneys to take “the narrowest construction available” of the state’s newly passed partial-birth-abortion ban. Pryor told the committee that he believed Supreme Court precedent, specifically the Casey decision, dictated a more moderate reading of the law than the aggressive stance favored by some pro-life groups in Alabama. “Look at my record,” he told the committee. “I have done my duty.”
Senate Democrats already wrongly filibustered Pryor. If the expectation is that they are going to again, why give them another hearing show-trial opportunity (where they can get back to the really big relevant questions—like Pryor family vacation choices)?