Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

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October 31, 2005

Who Wants a Fight?

The fight over Samuel Alito's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court is clearly on, The Fix reports. "Which side benefits most from a brawl over Alito? The long-term winner is still hard to gauge, but Republicans were generally elated this morning about the prospect of a major dust-up."

"A high-profile skirmish over Alito and the conservative ideas he allegedly represents is seen by Republicans as a two-fer: It helps unite the party's base, which had been unhappy with the selection of Harriet Miers as well as the administration's policies on immigration and spending, and it serves as a major distraction for a press corps and American public that would otherwise be focused on the indictment of White House deputy chief of staff Scooter Libby."

Daily Kos thinks Democrats will win this fight: "Now we have a true-blood conservative on tap, and this now sets up the showdown of ideas that I think we've all craved. Thanks to Miers, ideology is now absolutely open to debate, and it's now time for America to see what conservatism really looks like."

Meanwhile, here are some initial reactions among the key senators:

For: Frist (R-TN), Brownback (R-KS), Hatch (R-UT)

Against: Reid (D-NV), Leahy (D-VT), Schumer (D-NY), Kennedy (D-MA)

Neutral: Snowe (R-ME), Feingold (D-WS), Clinton (D-NY)

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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