I couldn't have said it better.

Too bad it won't be answered, if asked.

None of the Senators participating in this endeavor are on the Judiciary Committee, so I'm not sure how serious a venture this is. When are they going to ask those questions?

Also, I don't think the "Are you now or have you ever been" line will work with the Federalist Society. It's a glorified debating society that doesn't take positions on candidates, legislation or issues & doesn't lobby. Its members run the gamut of conservative and libertarian thought. A quick glance at its website show a long list of Democrats & liberals have spoken at its functions,  including:

Justice Stephen Breyer (while on 1st Cir.)
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (while on D.C. Cir.)
Griffin Bell, Attny. Gen., Carter Admin.
Lloyd Cutler, WH Counsel to Carter & Clinton
Abner Mikva, WH Counsel to Clinton
Bernard Nussbaum, WH Counsel to Clinton
John Podesta, Dep. Chief of Staff to Clinton
Norma Cantu, Asst. Sec., Civil Rights, U.S. Dept. of Ed., Clinton Administration
Walter Dellinger, Solicitor General under Clinton
William Marshall, Assoc. WH Counsel to Clinton
Randy Moss, Asst. Atty. Gen., Office of Legal Counsel under Clinton
Beth Nolan, Assoc. WH Counsel to Clinton
Michael Dukakis, Former Governor, Massachusetts
Barney Frank, House of Representatives (D-MA)
Eugene McCarthy, U.S. Senate (D-MN)
Guido Calabresi, U. S. Court of Appeals, 2d Cir.
Steve Reinhardt, U. S. Court of Appeals, 9th Cir.
Pat Wald, U. S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Cir.
Scott Harshbarger, Atty. Gen., Mass.
Hubert Humphrey III, Atty. Gen., Minn.
Elliott Spitzer, Atty. Gen, NY
Robert Pitofsky, Chairman, FTC
Willie Brown, Mayor, San Francisco
Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky, UCLA Law School
Professor Jamin Raskin, American Univ. & former General Counsel, National Rainbow Coalition
Prof. Cass Sunstein, Univ. of Chicago Law School
Prof. Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School
Prof. Nadine Strossen, President, ACLU
Vivian Berger, ACLU Counsel & Columbia Law School
Alvin Bronstein, ACLU Prison Project
Harvey Grossman, Legal Director, Illinois ACLU
Morton Halperin, past ACLU Washington Director
Laura Murphy, ACLU, Washington Office
Ramona Ripsten, Los Angeles ACLU
Steve Shapiro, General Counsel, ACLU
Art Spitzer, ACLU
Larry Gold, AFL-CIO
Damon Silvers, AFL-CIO
Nan Aron, Exec. Dir., Alliance for Justice
Julius Chambers, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Charles Drayden, NAACP Counsel
Clyde Murphy, Dep. Dir., NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Patricia Ireland, National Organization for Women
Marcia Greenburger, National Women's Law Center
Elliott Mincberg, People for the American Way
Anthony Podesta, People for the American Way
Ralph Nader, Public Citizen Litigation Group
Alan Morrison, Public Citizen Litigation Group
David Vladeck, Public Citizen Litigation Group
Brian Wolfman, Public Citizen Litigation Group
Nat Hentoff, The Village Voice

I don't think folks of this caliber make it a habit to appear before extremist organizations. Some reports indicate that the steering committee designation was merely an honorific title handed out by the DC chapter without regard to actual membership. There's a lot of potential for people making a big deal of this to be left with egg on their face.

I asked the usual "do we have a right to privacy" question, but added - do we have a right to control our own bodies as our personal property like other property rights (paraphrasing)?  We're pretty clear that most right-wingers see real estate, business, etc., as personal property that shouldn't be regulated by the state.  But those same property rights folks don't see one's own body as one's own property that should be free from government regulation.

I hope this or some similar question is asked.  It would be interesting to see how it is answered.

Do you really expect anyone to believe that you can't remember belonging to the ultra-conservative Federalist Society or being on its steering committee?

Follow up: If your answer is "yes," do you think anyone with such obviously impaired mental capabilities is qualified to preside over a traffic court, much less sit on the highest court in the land for life?

mr. roberts, do you believe that the president, in times of war or emergency, has the right to ignore, subvert or suspend aspects of the constitution, or overrule decisions by the legislative or judicial branches of government, in "defense of the country"?what is your opinion on the separation and the balance of powers enumerated in the constitution?

This is not just a "woman's" issue... where the hell is the rest of the Democratic Party???

Does this mean when the Voting Rights Act comes up for renewal it will only be a Black thing...

It reminds me of being in school (high school and college) when the administrators seemed to never be able to find appropriate minorities candidates they alwaya left it up to the minority students to "search".

Sorry but this sucks and is a pathetic showing of our party.

Josh Marshall had a good question up on his site a couple of days ago:

"I'm wondering what the argument is, precisely, for the White House having access to any more information in the process of nominating Roberts than the Senate should have in confirming him."

In Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, 118 U.S. 394 (1886) Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite announced before the court even took oral argument: "The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of the opinion that it does." Thus, the court extended the constitutional concept of person to non-humans. Do you think this decision is consistent with the concept of person at the time the constitution was written by the framers and, if so, does this mean the constitution's concept of person also includes a fetus and, if so, to what degree?

Judge Roberts, America is engaged in a war against radical terrorism.  Do you believe an American citizen who is accused of planning terrorist attacks on American soil should be provided a speedy trial by jury in accordinace with the 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution or treated as an "enemy combatant" who is unprotected by the Constitution?

Judge Roberts, do you believe the President of the United States has the authority to contravene federal law such as the War Crimes Act or the Anti-Torture Act by executive order during times of war?  

Must the President adhere to international treaties, such as the Geneva Conventions during times of war?

Executive Privilege:

Judge Roberts, what limits, if any do you see on the use of Executive Privilege to keep secret the names of advisory groups formed to guide national policy?

In a related question, which, in your opinion, takes precedence, the ability of our citizenry to know who is promoting policy and how, or the ability of the Executive or Legislative Branches to keep such information secret?

Finally, to what extent, if any should an Administration be held responsible for leaks that cause demonstrable threats to national security?

Voting Rights:

What  obligation, if any, do you see on the part of the Federal Government to ensure that elections to Federal office are conducted fairly and in a manner that maximizes the ability of voters to gain timely access to accurate and verifiable means of voting?

Judge Roberts, would you limit the commerce clause for the Endangered Species Act to cover only those species who migrate, or would you include those species that do not migrate, but which may attract the interest of out-of-state observers (scientists, conservationists, etc.)?

The latter, broader interpretation is the one that has traditionally been applied to the ESA, and one that Roberts appeared to reject on the D.C. Circuit.

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