Harry Reid: “in his opening statement to the Judiciary Committee, Judge Samuel Alito asked, ``How in the world did I get here?'' That…”

“in his opening statement to the Judiciary Committee, Judge Samuel Alito asked, ``How in the world did I get here?'' That rhetorical question raises a serious concern about him, and it has shadowed his nomination from the very beginning. The fact is, Judge Alito became President Bush's candidate to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor only after the radical rightwing torpedoed the nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers and insisted that someone with Sam Alito's ideology be put in her place. That is how Judge Alito ``got here.'' I continue to believe that Harriet Miers received a raw deal. She is an accomplished lawyer, a trailblazer for women, and a strong advocate of legal services for the poor. Not only was she denied the up-or-down vote that my Republican colleagues say every nominee deserves, but she was never even afforded the chance to make her case to the Judiciary Committee. I believe radical elements in the President's own party demanded that Miers withdraw not because of her lack of judicial experience as some exclaimed but because they were insufficiently confident she would support their extreme agenda. Remember, approximately 40 percent of all people who have ever served on the Supreme Court had no judicial experience. The rightwing distrust of Harriet Miers and their immediate elation when Judge Alito was named raised my suspicions on the day that he was nominated.…”