Alito's Politicized Confirmation Hearings

Over time, the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices have really changed. Up until the 1980's, the approval of Justices was fairly quick. However, since Ronald Reagan's presidency, the confirmation hearings have taken more and more time. The Constitution is written in such a way that no one branch has any more power than any other. However, over time there has been more concern about the Court's political role. Rejections are relatively uncommon; the Senate has explicitly rejected only twelve Supreme Court nominees in its history. One of the more controversial and recent was Reagan's nominee Robert Bork. Judge Alito's recent confirmation hearing show this evolution towards a very politicized process.