Orrin Hatch: “today on this floor the distinguished Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy, accused me of misrepresenting him when I earlier…”

“today on this floor the distinguished Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy, accused me of misrepresenting him when I earlier characterized comments he has made about the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. He would not yield to me at that time, and I want to set the record straight. This is how I characterized the Senator from Vermont's previous comments: ``The Senator from Vermont, Senator Leahy, has repeatedly said that, all by himself, Judge Alito is a threat to the rights and liberties of all Americans literally for generations to come.'' The Senator from Vermont reacted by saying that I was not even ``within the ballpark of accuracy.'' This reaction was particularly perplexing because the latest example of the Senator from Vermont making such a statement had occurred just hours before. This time, I will be careful to quote, rather than characterize, what he said. In his opening remarks today on the Alito nomination, the Senator from Vermont said: ``This is a nomination that I fear threatens the fundamental rights and liberties of all Americans, now and for generations to come.'' That language is simply cut and pasted from the statement as it appears on the Senator from Vermont's Web site. The Senator from Vermont made the exact statement yesterday, during the Judiciary Committee's business meeting at which we considered the Alito nomination.…”