Bloodless Coup

Both of these points strike me as things that could be used in narratives that could be constucted and plausibly used against him: 1) he doesn't respect women (the Concerned Students thing could be added to concerns about him relating to abortion and affirmative action) and 2) he's part of the Bush approach to politics - screwing the poor, protecting the rights of businesses, tolerating corruption among the powers that be and personally profiting from it ... I guess you could put them together and say he's more interested in protecting the rich and corrupt who have too much more in the status quo environment and not seeing that women and minorities have rights that should be respected.

I'm not saying those are necessarily fair charges to be made against him. But things like this do appear to be more ammunition that could be put to effective use by his opponents. Perhaps he will be filibustered after all.

I think his choice to join the Concerned Students body, and to remain affiliated with it long after it developed its inescapably revanchist agenda (which might not have been so clear at its inception when Alito first joined) -- from my readings this weekend, it looks a lot more blatantly racist than it does anti-affirmative action, and the anti-women stuff is even more disturbing -- comprise, together, my greatest source of concern about Alito yet to emerge.

I have trouble explaining this one away in a way that leaves me reasonably confident in his restraint and humility as a judge and would-be justice. I really do.

UPDATE: Hilzoy on CAP.