LIE OF THE WEEK: 01-24-2006

For our inaugural lie of the week:

In regards to her vote against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said things are different from when the Senate considered Breyer and Ginsburg, who were confirmed 87-9 and 96-3 respectively. "There was not the polarization within America that is there today, and not the defined move to take this court in a singular direction," she said. (Source of quote: Forbes)

THE TRUTH: The American political scene was more polarized in 1993 and 1994 with Congress being closely divided (just before the Democrats finally lost their 40 year old majority to the Republicans in 1994) and a Democrat president, but conservatives did defer to President Clinton's choice honorably and voted for the very qualified nominees despite significant philosophical differences. Liberals today, in the minority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and in the Senate, are not honorable enough to do the same as they openly admit that President Bush's nominees are very qualified. They have always been very strong in their push to make the Supreme Court their legislative arm, especially as the democratic legislative process shows again and again that the American public does not support their positions on a host of social issues.