No suprises here…

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Tuesday to narrowly approve President George W. Bush’s nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, moving the 55-year-old conservative a step closer to confirmation by the full Republican-led Senate.

With 10 Republicans voting yes and eight Democrats voting no, the committee sent the nomination to the 100-member Senate. The full chamber is to begin debate on Wednesday, with a confirmation vote, also largely along party lines, expected as early as the end of this week….

The committee’s vote on Alito marked the first time it had approved a Supreme Court nominee strictly along party lines since Democratic President Woodrow Wilson’s successful nomination of Louis Brandeis in 1916, a spokesman said.

He’s approved along party lines, & about to be confirmed 56-44 (Ben Nelson said he’d vote for him). How dull…

If the process is going to be politicized like it has been, then appointments shouldn’t be for life. There is a huge difference between independant judges ruling on the original intent of the Constitution with no regard for party identification & people given lifetime jobs with a wink & a nod that they’ll approve of whatever the party that got them there wants.

Update @ 12:57pm EST: make that 57-43, Tim Johnson just flipped.

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