Ralph Neas Quotes

"This was a defeat,"

"While we vigorously disagreed with much of his jurisprudence, we remember with respect the Chief Justice's love for the court, his success in creating comity among his colleagues, and his courage in continuing to work."

"Part of the story at this point is keeping the next nomination in mind. We want to be sure we're talking about the right issues."

"He's spent his time talking about baseball, now he's playing dodgeball. I think the American people have a right to know the judicial philosophy of Judge Roberts."

"Yesterday he talked about baseball. Today he played dodgeball."

"Of course membership in or participation in Federalist Society events doesn't disqualify someone from office but it can help people understand the judicial philosophy of the nominee, ... The Federalist Society likes to pretend it's just a debating club, but for last 20 years it has been at the forefront of the efforts to push a right-wing counterrevolution in the courts and undo decades worth of precedent."

"The conventional wisdom going into the hearings for (high court nominees Clarence) Thomas and (Robert) Bork was that they were going to get confirmed. One (Thomas) was barely confirmed, and the other was resoundingly defeated."

"A titanic clash between two competing and radically different versions of the Constitution."

"It's a titanic clash between two radically different interpretations of the Constitution. . . . It's not good versus evil. It's a tremendous battle over judicial philosophy."

"It's an open-minded country right now. The hearings always decide what happens to the nominee, and I believe we're in store for a very spirited and robust confirmation process."

"The events of the past week have only underscored that we need Supreme Court justices who value the role of the courts in protecting individuals' rights and freedoms, who understand the nature of discrimination and its continuing impact on our country, and who will uphold the role of the federal government in preserving those rights and acting to protect the common good."

"There is growing evidence that the confirmation would move the court dramatically to the right, and that is information that the senators did not have before the end of July,"

"the importance of who is confirmed to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist cannot be overstated."

"With life expectancy these days, he could be a Supreme Court justice for seven or eight or nine presidential terms. That's why we have to take these nominees so seriously - because they're going to have a dramatic impact on the daily lives of all of us, all Americans and our children and our grandchildren."

"Obviously, there's the temptation to sit back and smile, ... But there's so much at stake, we have to do our due diligence."

"This one so far is in a class by itself. I'm not sure what's going to happen ... In my three decades plus, I've never seen such immediate and widespread disrespect for a president's decision by activists in his own party. It really is quite extraordinary."

"This is a debate about two completely different judicial philosophies. It's not about a litmus test issue. It's not about one or two issues. It's about literally dozens of issues that are part of a judicial philosophy."

"We hope that Senator Reid 's colleagues will reach the same conclusion and take the same strong stand."

"We hope that Senator Reid's colleagues will reach the same conclusion and take the same strong stand."

"His record, his silence, and the power of the position to which he's been nominated, make John Roberts a dangerous bet — one that senators shouldn't take."