(The response from
members of the senior
judiciary observed that «a survey lasting a
few weeks is, we suggest, an inadequate foundation for recommending fundamental changes in our system
of sentencing offenders».
Traditionally, the Dems avoid putting their
few really conservative
members on
judiciary (e.g., Zell Miller wanted on
Judiciary in the early 2000s, but Daschle said no), but now there are only 51 Dems and a number
of them are pretty conservative (Tester, Webb, and a bunch
of the existing southerners)-- the sort who might not block the next Alito in committee.