Frist calls Alito Democrats’ “nightmare”

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
told Republican Party activists on Friday night that U.S.
Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito was the “worst nightmare of
liberal Democrats.”

Frist, a Tennessee Republican, made the remark to fellow
Republicans during a private tour he gave them of the Senate
chamber when the Senate was not in session.

Frist was not available for comment following his remarks.

Asked about the senator’s remark, Frist spokesman Bob
Stevenson said that Alito “is a thoughtful mainstream
conservative jurist who is well respected by his peers, by
Democrats and Republicans alike.”

Stevenson added, “There are liberals, many of them
represented by the outside groups, who will do anything to kill
any nominee put forward by this administration.”

Democrats have expressed concerns the conservative Alito
would push the nation’s highest court to the right in areas
such as abortion rights, civil rights and presidential powers.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on
Tuesday on the Alito nomination and the full Senate intends to
debate it next week.

Three top Democrats announced this week they would vote
against sending Alito to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme
Court. They are Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat
on the Judiciary Committee, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and
Dick Durbin of Illinois.

No Democrat so far has said he or she would try to block a
Senate floor vote on Alito through a procedure known as a
filibuster.

The Republican National Committee was holding a winter
meeting in Washington this week, and the 50 or so party
activists from across the United States were invited by Frist
to tour the Senate chamber.