in my opinion he is no farther to the left than alito was to the right. >> bill: alito?yeah. >> bill: give me one statement judge alito has made that puts him in any kind of a category. >> no. he doesn't say things like this. he is a conservative jury list and this guy is a liberal jury list. here is my point. either you believe a judge's ideology should come into the analysis when you are confirming them or you shouldn't. it didn't used to be that way in the country. we used to put it aside. scalia was unanimously confirmed. one of the most conservative justices on the bench. now we got a new place starting with the democrats they started to make ideology irrelevant. >> bill: would you vote for a judge who said gee i wish we could have the cuban system of economics here. would you vote for that judge? no. you wouldn't. that is against who we're then you have a lu who says, yeah, even the white families who didn't have anything to do with it, they have to owe and pony up something which would tear this country apart by the way. >> you can imagine some of the things ruth

do you really believe that what you spoke is justice alito's vision of america? " senator, i think the phrase -- >> senator, i think that phrase is perhaps unnecessarily fiery language to make a simple point. i was trying to give examples -- >> so, you do not really believe it represents his vision of america. >> i do not think that it represents his vision of america that he would implement as policy, the practices described in that paragraph. it was only meant to say that as a judge, he believed those practices were permissible in america. >> why did you not say it that way then? this calls into question your judicial temperament. that is a key consideration for members of this committee. that is not tempered language. you would acknowledge that, i gather. would you a knowledge that is not tempered language? >> perhaps not considered in isolation. but it comes after 14 pages of analysis of judge alito's opinions and i believe it was the penultimate paragraph. >> i see it as vicious and very racially charged, very in temperature -- barry in temperate and, to me,

do you really believe that what you spoke is justice alito's vision of america? " senator, i think the phrase -- >> senator, i think that phrase is perhaps unnecessarily fiery language to make a simple point. i was trying to give examples -- >> so, you do not really believe it represents his vision of america. >> i do not think that it represents his vision of america that he would implement as policy, the practices described in that paragraph. it was only meant to say that as a judge, he believed those practices were permissible in america. >> why did you not say it that way then? this calls into question your judicial temperament. that is a key consideration for members of this committee. that is not tempered language. you would acknowledge that, i gather. would you a knowledge that is not tempered language? >> perhaps not considered in isolation. but it comes after 14 pages of analysis of judge alito's opinions and i believe it was the penultimate paragraph. >> i see it as vicious and very racially charged, very in temperature -- barry in temperate and, to me,

do you really believe that what you spoke is justice alito's vision of america? senator, i think the phrase -- >> senator, i think that phrase is perhaps unnecessarily fiery language to make a simple point. i was trying to give examples -- >> so, you do not really believe it represents his vision of america. >> i do not think that it represents his vision of america that he would implement as policy, the practices described in that paragraph. it was only meant to say that as a judge, he believed those practices were permissible in america. >> why did you not say it that way then? this calls into question your judicial temperament. that is a key consideration for members of this committee. that is not tempered language. you would acknowledge that, i gather. would you a knowledge that is not tempered language? >> perhaps not considered in isolation. but it comes after 14 pages of analysis of judge alito's opinions and i believe it was the penultimate paragraph. >> i see it as vicious and very racially charged, very in temperature -- barry in temperate and, to me, i

likewise, i think you would acknowledge that justice alito had an extraordinary record. he served for three years as a solicitor general, the office of legal counsel in the department of justice, a united states attorney for new jersey, had argued 12 cases before the supreme court, at least two dozen cases before the federal court of appeals. have you argued any cases before the supreme court or any case before the federal court of appeals? >> i have not argued any before the supreme court, but i have argued yuan for the federal court of appeals for the d.c. circuit. >> i want to be fair about this. i know senator feinstein believes that we should not personally attacked nominees, but you and your testimony in the alito nomination use said " did judge's envisions an america where the police may shoot an unarmed boy to stop him to run away with a purse, where the fbi may install a camera where you sleep on the promise that they will not turn it on unless an informant is in the room, where a black man might be sentenced to death by an all-white jersey -- jerry, and where p

. >> and he said things that they called a little unwise or intemperate or whatever about sam alito. senator jon kyl called him intemperate about samuel alito when he was nominated to the supreme court. senators were raising the question of his judicial temperament. and that's always kind of an unknown. that came up with sonia sotomayor if you will recall. republicans were not hold linging back. i think they were putting down markers here today. sending a signal to the white house, you know, we may not be able to win this but we're not going to roll over either. question -- to go back to your question about whether it will be ugly, i think that that's going to be a political decision republicans will have to make depending on what happens with financial regulation and all sorts of other things because there's a line, you walk up to that and if you step over it, you can turn off a lot of voters. >> do they worry, do republicans worry they're against financial reform, they're against health care, they're against start? some of the aim arguments necessity make on financial reform, some

who voted against justice roberts and justice alito?ator from illinois maimmaim -- illinois named barack obama and joe biden. i don't think they can say when they voted against the republican in the senate and conservatives. >> we are entitled to say we respect elena kagan o or diane wood but their view of the constitution isn't one we want. >> chris: doesn't it get fuzzed up. when roberts is there and he says i believe in precedent -- >> it's a great charade there. >> chris: and sonia sotomayor said i'm a constitutionalist and she gets on the court and does what she wants. >> there is a certain role that any supreme court nominee of any ideological stripe has to fit themselves into. they have to be very cautious, precedent-approving. conservative. you're not going to find out much about these people through the hearings, i can assure you of that. >> chris: but we will cover them exhaustively. we have to take a break here. when we come back, president obama signs arms control treaty and presents a new strategy for u.s. nuclear weapons.

two models of who we ought to support, faithful to the constitution, judge roberts and judge samuel alitore great additions. >> it is one question that is very important in today's government. the judicial branch is the third branch of government. i look at the judges as umpires to keep the rules of the game and not to be legislating new rules. if it is very important that those judges who are nominated by our president for the supreme court understand that. they are not to be changing the law, they are to be interpreting it. i would agree in the 1990 possible and senator coats voted for justice ginsberg, that that is not good for the process. confirmation hearings are there for a reason. it is more important that we've that each one of those nominations for how they viewed the constitution and what role they play in interpreting the law. i would support making sure we applied strict constructionists. >> i had an american by s. -- i have an american bias. i believe our constitution protects life through its inception, disability, age, all the way until our father in heaven calls us home.

i did not hear the kind of ad hominem accusations i did during the riots and alito hearings.but i think we are stuck in the process for the foreseeable future and i have no suggestions as to how to fix it. >> thank you for having me here, and having this panel. we have done this a couple of years in a row. speaking of the press, i knew steve when he was a reporter for "the wall street journal." i just remember your stories about the d.c. circuit. this guy knew the judges in made -- and made a real effort trying to bring to life that circuit switches, sounds very parochial, but the d.c. circuit took many of us -- look what they did yesterday in the case. i really credit steve for setting the standard for reporters. much of what i think i had to say has been covered by both bill and rachel. in the run-up to a supreme court nomination and is always a very exciting time to me. i do not know what justice stevens will decide. within a week or two we may have an idea whether he will announce his retirement this year or next. but for us, it is always, and i know this sounds of cliche

>> they did get some skeptical questioning, primarily from chief justice roberts and from justice alito. washington attorney general robert mckenna argued that the state did not have a limited interest here plaz bob claimed, but his interest was in combating fraud and also in correcting errors. he pointed to 2006 in massachusetts where a similar petition drive, the signature identification information was made public under their public record raw -- law, and 2,000 voters found their names on petitions they claimed they had never signed. so it is a very effect itch way, they said, to check for fraud and basic errors. >> suarez: and he insisted, in effect, the that it was a public document any petition attempt to get a question on a ballot was a public petition. >> yes, justice alito, said, isn't there some way you can do this without having the information posted on the internet? and mr. mckenna again countered that the state doesn't put the information on the internet. it's available under the public roars law, and if you get it, you can put it on the internet. and it still is a valuabl

bush picked two conservatives, of course robert and alito. so can we really expect obama to go liberal? or do you believe to beef up that side of the court after george bush picked two definite conservatives? representative paul? >> well, once again, i think that obama will pick liberals for various reasons. and i do think the mushy middle doesn't really help that much. that's why i stick to my guns, that somebody who believes in the constitution and believes in personal liberty will be the kind of person we need. it used to be that way, you know. there used to be -- the document is libertarian. and we used to have libertarian presidents a long time ago. but i think he'll pick some very liberal one, and there will probably be a big fight over it. and, you know, maybe the libertarians will luck out. every once in a while a good liberal, a good progressive, you know, they're don't do too bad on personal liberties and they would be okay on tortures. but they're terrible on the real important issue of personal property and contracts and economica

and justice stevens and justice alito are the only justices who read, chambers read each of the pitcheshimself. one of the things that does is it gives you an independent mind about each of the petitions. i actually think you know even apart from his jurisprudence which i think is something that is going to be missed in the court. i think a lot of the behind the scenes going on at the court in terms of how cases get accepted is one of the ways in which he actually, his absence will be felt quite strongly. >> in terms of his jurisprudence where were his passions for what issues? >> certainly national security issues, terrorism cases. he is a world war ii veteran. he was a law clerk to wiley rut lige who was a major dissenter in some of the cases from world war ii involving detention of what we now call enemy combatants. and i think that experience had a profound effect on him. he has a basic sense of justice. he thinks that his job is to have a basic sense of justice. and those cases present issues of justice in the starkest possible terms. these are not sympathetic characters we're talk

it's the only time i have ever agreed with sam yilt -- samuel alito -- >> that part of your italian heritage that you're coming around? >> it's an amazing fact that as a pilot you may create. air force one made it from j.f.k. to andrews air force base yesterday after the president spoke on wall street. they made that trip in 35 minutes. that is really putting the pedal to the metal. >> there were no holding patterns. somehow the president gets help there. terrence? >> i know, earth day this week, lots and lots of attention. people paying attention to the health of the planet. and the senate actually talking about taking up an energy bill. >> and last but certainly never least, robert. >> one of the house democrats raised the white flag this week on voting rights for citizens in the district of columbia. half a million americans who are sub citizens simply because they live in the capitol of the country. it is an offense against the basic values of our nation. >> ok. that's our show for today. i would mention the great civil rights leader has died at 98. she will be missed because she was a b

most of pour alito mr. president come i'm looking forward to providing the american people with the sound economies and financial regulatory system that they truly deserve. thank you mr. president and i yield the floor. >> thir. >> mr. president, thank you mr. president health and i'll say more about thune and my conclusion remarks but to, first of all, senator dodd and senator shelby, thanks for continuing the dialogue and thanks for coming through the agreement that has allowed to get this important bill on the floor with a financial collapse of 2008. there are a number of issues that have to be addressed and this is the appropriate forum now for all of those and have come on the date to hopefully at the end of the day, up with a right kind of product that is going to make sure that situations like 2008 never occur again until my chairman and harder on the committee on agriculture she is my dear friend and we work closely together on some issues including this one. and when we have ordinances' we're able

alito, pointed as a relatively young man. ruth bader ginsburg has been on the court. so president obama may yet get another choice. he still has more than two and a half years in just his his first term. one of the things you have as as president is look at impact. justice souter no long or the court. look at the impact these republican nominees have had. if you're barack obama you're thinking i want 20 years from now to be in retirement and looking at the faces that i put on the court the faces that are shaping american society. >> let's bring in for a moment here, i believe our cnn political director mark preston is with us as well, and i'm trying to sort through e-mails here. i know you've got a letter from patrick leahy, who is the chair of the senate judiciary committee. do you have that handy? >> i do, tony. it's actually a rather lengthy statement that patrick leahy has put out which further shows that in fact, people expected justice steve tones step down, but among other things he just talks about how his legacy on the court will be long lasting and, you know

. >> reporter: justice alito, the lone dissenter felt the line was cropped writing -- >> reporter: while the underlying comment in this is illegal nationwide, but animal rights groups worry decriminalizing the sale of imma'ams of those events means there is still a demand for them. >> we wouldn't let people commit murder for purpose of selling video and showing it on the internet for money and we should don't the same for animals either. >> reporter: sportsman organization are among those lauding the opinion, saying they were fearful in engaging in lawful hunting activity but risking criminal hardship if they report it for commercials or dvds. they said the only thing standing between the group and five years in jail at this point may have been nothing more than a merciful prosecutor. bret? >> bret: thank you. the senate homeland security committee is using the force of law to compel theous to reveal important details concerning last november fort hood shooting. they tell us what the lawmakers want and why the administration is resisting. >> they are the first congressional subpoena of t

roberts and i a -- think alito may have done it too.are case that is are wrongly decided. >> i think we need to move beyond dred scott. >> robert has gave a list of three or four case. of there's no conceivable chance that dred scott is going to be revisited by the supreme court. so it is not inappropriate for me to say what my views on that case. i think that's where you draw the line. if you start to say, okay, roe v wade, what about some only, how aboutwood -- woodburn versus bilburn. it's difficult to know what is going to come up again. >> how about justice scalia's refusal to discuss marbury versus madison. >> you know, i'm trying to remember how he handled that. that's not open for revisitation in any realistic sense so. >> actually, i had a very specific question, bill, that maybe it goes to a broader point about whether there is the possibility of change in the senate's process. it seems to me from observation but maybe you know specifically how this has happened, that it used to appear to me that one of the big flaws in the co

. >> you have said judge alito -- your very critical of that. -- you are very critical of that.would you like to create a fourth element of a tort? that is a fairly mechanical way of deciding how particular case gets decided. >> i think this goes back to your earlier question, senator kyl. the application of a tort or contract, there is a human aspect to judging. is not white -- is why we do not put this through a formula. >> what is the human aspect? i can understand that with sentencing, but i am not sure i can understand it in the case of defendant verses plaintiff. >> i think they must surely apply the law as it is given and followed it to the logical consequence the matter with the result is. i think in the application of legal principle that judges are called on to exercise judgment with respect to the particular case. judges are human beings and there is often disagreement about the application of law and facts. the task for all judges remains the same which is applying lot to the facts of a specific case. >> that is a fair statement of the way it should be. we come to ou

and i remember what was said about justice alito and all the concern on that but he is clearly worried the tea party activists are going to get on to this and it will be a circus. >> that is right. the political context is different than a year ago. the first nomination of president obama happened right after the inauguration and the republicans were trying to figure how to read as a party this a time of obama. they had a firmer feeling about that and the tea party activists among others, are engaged the last year and they will be engaged this time. the tone will be different. even than last year where sotomayor was never seriously this doubt. there were questions of the number. no matter who he chooses we will see more bitter, more divided debate and part of this is an election year, with a benefit on both sides to getting a lot of this. >> and i mentioned what conservatives should take heart in, the fact that conservatives love the constitutional arguments, they love having the big discussions of the role of government. and rick touched on something: the movement, the tea party movem

republican presidents have appointed relatively young men for a reason, scalia's on the court, thomas, alito, justice roberts if you're president obama now i assume, a, you want to go young, but b you need somebody to go into the jousting. >> that's why his experience as a constitutional law prose fepr important. he wants someone to sway the court. >> who that is person? >> lots of people. elena kagan has an incredible inter-lech. >> not a judge. is that important to go outside? it's a skill to have someone who isn't a judge, who has lived a policy making experience, who has lived amongst real people and understand what that means to people. so at the end of the day, i think the most important attribute really is to ensure that you can sway the court over the long term and move it in a progressive direction because this court is an extreme core over the history. >> he's a harvard law guy. you're a yale law graduate. you spent a lot of time working for hillary clinton. how about hillary clinton for the supreme court? >> i'm not going to make news on hillary joining the supreme court. i think

. >> from 2000 to now you see more votes going against a nominee and saw it with roberts versus alitod that continues. garland, a lot of liberals thought he would be the person to go in there if you had a conservative justice retire and have him go in. now it seems the politics have gotten so difficult he becomes more positive. he was the crucial liberal. he could build coalitions. if obama is going to be strategic, that's his intention he's going to want to find someone to do that. republicans understand that they basically have to put up a fight whoever it is, even if it's someone more congenial like garland or kagan. >> look at where candy is. that's today's republican party. we talk about the base of the party. that's all there is is the base of a party. there are no more moderate republicans and that is a republican party that is going to oppose regardless of which nominee it is. >> so, candy, for all the talk of being the party of yes to newt gingrich's hopes on this they may be again the parrott of they may be the party of no. >> well, listen, i mean just let me give you some n

philosophy, we covered the white house together and these questions came up all the time with roberts and alito. this court has moved for to the right. justice stevens said he didn't change, the court changed, and they want a progressive pushback here. is that where the president's heart is? >> it may be where his heart is. but it may not be where his mind is by the time he's done making this selection. he's thinking this is going to be the dominant domestic political issue between now and the november electionless. he's got to decide how big a fight he wants. i think that's why you heard him lay out his four criteria yesterday for who the next supreme court justice should be, but also why he played up what david pointed out which is that justice stevens really does come from a different era where ideology did not seem to be the dominant issue in a confirmation battle. i think he'd like to get back to that. >> just to return to that point, david, you recall back during the state of the union when the president references the citizens united verse the fcc case, a 5-4 decision. the court rules th

conservatives have that in a sam alito.ow. >> thanks for joining us tonight. >> thank you very much. >>> the republican running to defeat harry reid has a message for sick people. go pluck yourselves. >>> and jon stewart has a new musical message for fox news that rhymes with go pluck yourselves. it can happen anytime, when you least expect it... a regular moment can become romantic. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis. with two clinically proven dosing options, you can choose the moment that's right for you and your partner. 36-hour cialis and cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a low-dose tablet you take every day, so you can be ready anytime the moment's right. >> tell your doctor about your medical condition and all medications and ask if you're healthy enough for sexual activity. >> don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. >> don't drink alcohol in excess with cialis. si

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. >> i was going to say alito, but you're totally right.alia. >> appreciate it. >>> all right. last week could not have gone more poorly for the republican national committee. it started with a fake lesbian club scandal and that was actually the highlight. the headlines are getting worse even today and chairman michael steele has chosen to defend himself on live tv. which is always risky. the nation's chris hayes joins us next. having the right real estate agent on your side is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find the experts you need, whether you're trying to sell of hoping to buy. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. ♪ this one is. ♪ new purefitness from crystal light. ♪ the first crystal light with no artificial sweeteners, flavors, or preservatives. ♪ new purefitness from crystal light. a pure way to water your body. ah! silver one. that's not a volkswagen. ♪ [ tires screech ] ♪ [ sighs ] ♪ that's two for doubting. [ chuckles ] you hit like my sister. really? i'd like to meet her. [ male anno

and the moderate sandra day o'connor being succeeded by samp alito.ourt pivoted around stevens, and what was a far right liberal disappears, the moderates become the wing nuts and the right is never cob te contemplated on the court. >> we could do this all night, but who do you think he's going to nominate? who should be considered on the short list? >> you know, it's whether or not obama has a stomach for a big fight or little fight, and i don't know the contents of obama's stomach. if he wants a little fight, garlland on the d.c. court of appeals is a smart liberal. if he wants a medium fight, alena kagan, if he wants a big, big fight, he can take diane wood from the seventh circuit court of appeals. harold koh, there's a long list. >>> steven bright suggesting brian stevenson at the equal justice initiative. those guys, i have to say just personally, are two of my heroes. would that be the biggest fight ever? >> i think that would be one of the biggest fights ever. i suspect a pam carlin or a kathleen sullivan might be on that same richter scale. >

supreme court justices john roberts and samuel alito. but republican jeff sessions contrasted their experience, when nominated, with liu's. >> have you argued any cases before the supreme court or any cases before the federal courts of appeals? >> senator, i have not argued any cases before the u.s. supreme court. i have argued one case before the united states court of appeals for the d.c. circuit. >> holman: liu won support from committee chairman patrick leahy and other democrats. they accused republicans of being unfair. >> let's leave these straw men kind of complaints out of it. we have so many people sitting on our courts of appeals, nominated by republican presidents, supported by both republicans and democrats, who do not begin to have the kind of background that you do. >> holman: the hearing was considered a test for the larger fight to come, when the president nominates someone for the new vacancy on the supreme court. >> toyota announced a new recall. the auto maker said it will check 600,000 siena minivans for corrosion in

president obama himself attempted to filibuster justice alito who now sits on the supreme court. if the president is not going to take it off the table i'm not going to take it off the table. i think it can be easily avoided by appointing frankly the kind of person senator schumer just mentioned. someone that's mainstream enough with intellect and application of good law can persuade colleagues to support his position. >> only good news i say, jake, i think it's just a certainty that the president will nominate someone in the mainstream. so the likelihood of filibuster is tiny. >> we only have a couple minutes left. i'm going to exercise my prerogative. bear with me and be quick. i want to ask about a couple international issues. senator schumer, the israeli nepaper quoted an anonymous confidant to prime minister netanyahu called president obama, quote, the greatest disaster for israel, strategic disaster. i'm sure you have constituents to share those view and concerns. do you think that the white house has behaved for rael and prime minister of israel as you would want them to?

there have been eight, with this one exception last year justice alito decided. there are several justices who share their law clerks and memos in preparation for the cert. >> why did you decide not to join it? >> i thought i could handle the cases more efficiently independently and as part of the cert board, because the memos to prepare our very throw in a carefully written but there were a lot of. i thought was necessary -- but they were a lot longer than i thought was necessary in order to give an opinion. >> what does that do to your personal workload or your clark's? that you have to ask them. i think it makes it less, but they go through every cert petition and divide them up. they did not have to write memorandums. they read more petitions, but they write fewer memorandums. econo balances out. >> -- a kind of balance is out. >> once it is accepted, where does that happen? >> as the week, except when we recess and miss a week, we have a conference on friday and we review all the cert petitions that have come in since the last conference and we vote on wheth

justice alito said he thought this policy was just weird.e said you're requiring a christian group to allow atheists to conduct bible studies. but other justices thought, well, now, wait a minute. you know, you're saying you should be allowed to discriminate on the basis of belief. this doesn't sound quite right. why isn't it reasonable for the school to say, we don't want to draw lines here? let's have everybody come in. they also... the law school's attorney greg garr pointed out there has never been any evidence that a group has been sabotaged by members who don't believe in the group's purpose or objectives. in the 20 years, he said, that this policy has been in effect. >> woodruff: all right. two interesting cases. two important cases. we'll be watching for the court's ruling. marcia coyle, thanks very much. >> my pleasure. >> brown: next, american catholics respond to the troubles of their church. at the vatican today, pope benedict xvi celebrated his fifth anniversary as pontiff with a private lunch with cardinals. the official vatica

. >> warner: justice alito wrote his lone dissent. what were his arguments. >> he had two problems. he felt that the court should not have examined the law to see if it was overbroad. that's a doctrine that the court uses as last resort. he said the case should have been sent back to the lower court to see if the law was unconstitutional as applied to these three videos. he also took on the overbroad argument. he said most of the examples the court relied on here-- hunting, fishing regulations-- they were exempted under state animal cruelty laws, and they would fall under an exception in the federal law. he said this was not substantially overbroad. it had many constitutional applications. >> warner: was justice roberts essentially saying that he doesn't think this kind of cruelty to animals is in the same category as child pornography in terms of the damage it does to society? >> no, not at all. he was saying that the depictions of animal cruelty that this law tackled did not have... did not have the same kind of tradition of prohibition in the law as other categories of unprotecte

only justices who have been tested in washington like justice alito or justice roberts tend to stay faithful to the vision of the presidents that have a appointed them. so i think there is a story there as well. >> marcia coyle you observed him regularly almost every day, every day the court was in session. you saw him, talk about his influence on the court. >> i think first as a person if you only knew him from watching him on the bench you would see somebody who is unfailingly polite. even to the point of apologizing when he interrupts a lawyer's statement to ask him a question. someone who asks very direct questions, no agenda , incredibly smart hypotheticals that can find a lawyer's weakness in his argument very quickly. and very modest person. i remember, for example, chief justice rehnquist once coming down very hard on a lawyer who represent referring to the justices as judges. and when justice stevens finally had a chance to ask a question, he prefaced it by saying he believed the constitution referred to them as judges. that's on the bench. but he also is a voice inside the court an

the president and vice president and leahy and reid had all filibustered justice alito.d a big debate about that around the time that you just pointed out on the screen. and unfortunately, the no filibuster ever on judges lost. that was my position and position of senate republicans but democrats established that is a possibility. it's highly unlikely, however, unless the nominee is an extraordinary individual outside the mainstream with really bizarre views. but now that the democrats established that as a precedent, against my better judgment, that is the precedent of the senate and remains a possibility. >> chris: but you put it out as pretty remote and extraordinary circumstance. >> yeah, i never filibustered a nominee. the vice president and senator reid have. so far i've never done that. it would take an unusual nominee to justify that. >> chris: finally, i want to ask about florida politics, which everyone seems to be getting swept into these days. several top republicans, including mitt romney and dick cheney this week endor endorsed the former house speaker marc

we have alito -- it is an activist right lane of cowing c. he needs to balance it out by going extremely left. host: how would you define that? that is on the left side of the ledger. women's rights and generally where there are issues of social concern and things of nature that are more relaxed for the general public and not so right wing. when they let a crimes bill gunter, that was a crime against humanity. it was -- crimes bill goes through, it was a crime against humanity. it was just ridiculous. our society is beginning to reflect the aggravation. i think we just need to lighten up a little bit in deal in little bit more left wing. host: do you think the president is willing to do that? caller: you are breaking up, can you repeat that? host: do you think the president will find the type of person you are looking for. i know there is a bad connection. we will have to let you go. democrats line. caller: good morning. i am hoping that even the the public fans are fed up with the court at this point. the one i think of all the time is the o

and we have justice roberts and justice alito.use] i will tell you that i the it's easy to stand and cheer and say you violated your principles. i can just say that i prayed and i used what i thought was prudential judgment to do what's best for the millions of unborn children who die every year in this country. you can question my judgment and you have every right to do so, but please don't question my intention to do what's right for the little babies. >> rick, i know that we have praised the tea party group. but the ones we should praise the most are these women's republican organizations. >> absolutely. [applause] >> i would not be today if not for the volunteer activities. i was always supposed to lose. republican women's organizations provided the fuel to whenever fire i could provide. thank you, ladies. god bless you. [applause] doh ahead. -- go ahead. >> my mother and father's first language was french. they were here illegally. they were hit the recalled speaking french on school grounds or in the classroom. today, we hav

justice samuel alito, a dog owner, was the lone dissenter.ted animals would suffer because of the decision. >>> now here is a look at your weather. heavy rain expected in california, utah and arizona. the sierra nevada mountains could get 12 inches of snow. thunderstorms and gusty winds in kansas, oklahoma, and missouri. rain will stretch from the carolinas to new jersey. >> temperatures should reach 71 in new york. 59 for boston. warm across the great lakes and the south today. 68 in detroit. 66 in minneapolis. 74 in atlanta. another gorgeous day across much of the country. >>> how many gnomes are in your home? that is the sort of question residents of strassberg, illinois, might get this weekend. some residents are planning to conduct a gnome census along with a food drive. >> gnomes are statues of bearded men that often populate front lawns. they're the village mascot and seem to be everywhere in town. the count is being modeled after the u.s. census. is a gnome like a troll? you call me a troll a lot. would i count in this census? >> ther

they took issue that liu gave in 2006 during alito's confirmation hearing. he said the judge's record and visions where police may shoot and unarmed boy to stop him from running away from stolen purse on -- black men may be sentenced to death by an all white jury. >> would you acknowledge that temperate language. i see it as vicious and racially charged. >> reporter: democrats rushed to his defense praising his record. >> i cannot in my time on in this committee quite so young that has done so much. i have great respect for that. >> the senate judiciary committee has to schedule a vote on him before the vote goes to the senate floor. >> gregg: a convicted sex offender john albert gardner pleading guilty to raping and killing two girls. he raped and strangled chelsea king and pleading kidnapping amber dubois. take a listen. >> the charges here with the crime that on or about february 13th, 2009, you did unlawfully murderer chelsea. what is your plea? >> part of a plea deal, he admitted trying to rape a female jogger last year in san diego. she managed to esca

a female version of justice alito. i like that name. i like elena kagan. i like all of them.it's okay with you? >> absolutely. >> with 50/50 in the nation, and not there on the court, that makes a lot of sense. >> you actually have more than 50% of the population. >> 51%. >> that's right. >> and i'm intrigued, when we hear that people say, no litmus test on this or that. from a sports perspective here, you win. to the victor goes the spoils. and the president has absolutely every right, as any other president, to pick whoever he wants. >> he's come clean on that. he said, there's no litmus test. on the other hand, when it comes to females using their body, we know where he stands. >> he respects individuals rights. and also women's rights. he has high regards for the supreme court. he's a constitutional lawyer. he did a fantastic job with judge sotomayor. >> only a minute left. i can't let you go. put you on the spot a little bit about larry king. his divorce. on again. off again. what's going on? >> i hate to hear the idea that he maybe had an extramarital affair. i think or