SCOTUS Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clone

The new, improved Supreme Court nominee, Samuel Alito Jr., is called “Scalito” for a reason: He’s regarded as a potential lockstep ally of Antonin Scalia on the Court. And, like John Roberts, he started off in politics as an employee of the Reagan administration. But, on the bright side, he’s not as abrasive as Scalia:

Alito is considered far less provocative a figure than Scalia both in personality and judicial temperament. His opinions and dissents tend to be dryly analytical rather than slashing.

One of those opinions established the importance of one of the most annoying Christmas-themed characters ever invented:

In the area of church and state, Alito has been consistently supportive of the conservative view that the courts should be more accommodating when considering state entanglement with religion. He wrote a majority opinion in ACLU v. Schundler, holding that a city’s holiday display that included a creche and menorah did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment because it included secular symbols as well, such as Frosty the Snowman.

If it had been the Grinch, or Yukon Cornelius, fine. But Frosty? Any parent who’s suffered through repeated viewings of Frosty the Snowman knows that this ruling alone should disqualify the man for a lifetime appointment on the highest court.

(By the way, I’m just kidding about him being disqualified. He’s perfectly qualified. After the requisite wailing and gnashing of teeth, it’s hard to imagine he won’t get approved.)

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