Fair? To whom?
I was reading Andy’s account of a Fox News political ad advocating a “fair up or down vote” on the Alito nomination.
“Fair” is such an interesting word, isn’t it? It gives an air or objectivity, while serving any point of view you’d like.
In this case, “fair up or down vote” is how the conservative majority is attempting to socially engineer the confirmation process out of committee and onto the floor of the senate where the republican majority can slam Alito through. But to WHOM would this be fair? To the republican majority, of course!
What they’re really afraid of is that the democratic half of our society might actually get a say in who is appointed to the Court. Fairness for those not in the majority seems a founding American value, and this attempt to change the rules is disingenuous of the republican leadership. Of course, their integrity is already rather tarnished, so that’s no surprise.
In the end, though, it’s got nothing to do with fairness. It’s all politics. I also find it ironic that this was aired on Fox News, which uses the word “fair” in exactly the same way and for the same slanted, political purpose.