Judge Roberts' Spokesmen

There's been a question resulting around in the back of my cranium over the past few days, and I think it deserves an honest, straightforward answer:

If Democrat senators like Dick Durbin, Pat Leahy and Ron Wyden are going to keep putting words in Judge Roberts' mouth, why do they care what he says for himself at his upcoming confirmation hearings, or, indeed, if he shows up at all?

~ ~ ~

In the mean time, even the New York Times is joining the burgeoning high rolling editorial boil in which NARAL is drowning for its libeling of Judge Roberts. But though he does offer up the now-obligatory condemnation of NARAL, the postscript that E.J. Dionne festoons on the sordid episode shows that the Left has learned nothing from their atrocity:

Precisely because he has such a thin record of public writings, Roberts himself has an obligation to be forthcoming in answering questions about his views, especially on cases that have already been decided. The debate over Roberts should be civil. But you cannot have a civil debate on "the issues" if Roberts's supporters insist that "the issues" cannot be discussed and that he is perfectly free to decline any exploration of his outlook on important matters that will face him as a justice. [emphasis added]

Is it just me, or does that sound like a blackmail threat? As in, "We won't slime your nominees if you'll capitulate to all our other unreasonable, obstructionist demands."

No, it isn't just me:

I disagree with Dionne on his conclusion, where he argues for a Civility Compact. It consists of Roberts and the Administration basically giving in to extortion to avoid smear jobs against him. It weakens his strong stance earlier in the piece on the injustice of NARAL's lies and innuendos. Those have no place in any fair political process, and potential victims shouldn't have to bargain to avoid them.

If libs have any genuine problem with NARAL's actions, it is (as flows as an undercurrent through all the Extreme Media denunciations of the past few days) that they were so clumsy and ham-fisted in carrying them out, making it far too easy for the mainstream media (NY Post, Washington Times, Boston Herald et al, Fox News, talk radio, the center-right blogosphere) and even elected Republicans to generate devastating blowback. The ferociously dishonest attacks against Judge Roberts aren't going to stop; they'll just be more intelligently crafted and effectively delivered.

My conclusion of the other day remains unchanged:

Those who have convinced themselves that Judge Roberts will be confirmed without a political death match are deluding themselves. If you think this NARAL attack is despicable, just wait. By the time they're through with him, Roberts will be (figuratively) sporting red skin, horns, a forked tail, a square mustache, a taste for human flesh, and a fondness for rectally gang-banging his adopted kids with his wife's strap-on power tools....

Their only possible recourse is to make the process so vicious that Republicans are either bulldozed away from breaking the filibuster or intimidated from sending up any more conservative nominees - even "stealth" ones.

E.J. Dionne has as much as confirmed it.