Americans favor Alito confirmation with a caveat

Here's a short blurb of an article about a Gallup poll about Alito.

Charles M. Madigan of the Chicago Tribune writes:

A Gallup poll conducted before Senate confirmation hearings began found the public favors the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. But there are some conditions.

The poll, released today, shows 49 percent of Americans want the Senate to vote to confirm Alito while 30 percent do not and 21 percent have no opinion on the matter, according to Gallup News Service analyst Jeffrey M. Jones.

The polling company said opinion on Alito hasn't changed much since he was nominated by President Bush in early November.

Republicans strongly favor Alito's confirmation, with 73 percent in favor and just 11 percent opposed. Independents also slightly favor Alito, with 41 supporting confirmation and 36 percent opposing him.

Democrats are more likely to oppose the nomination than favor it, but their opposition is not very strong. Some 46 percent opposed Alito, while 34 percent expressed support.

These numbers aren't what's interesting. What's interesting is the caveat.

Gallup, which conducted the poll for CNN and USA Today, said Alito's position on one key issue, abortion, could change the numbers.

If Americans become convinced Alito would vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the privacy case that cleared the way for legalized abortion, then a majority of Americans--56 percent--said they would oppose his nomination.

"Just 34 percent said they would want the Senate to confirm Alito if they thought he would overturn Roe," said the Gallup analyst.

Gallup questioned 1,003 adults Jan. 6-8. The margin of error in a poll of that size is plus or minus 3 points.

What I don't get is the "if Americans become convinced" bit. Do you actually mean that they don't know what is happening here? Remember the memo that surfaced describing the process to pack the Supreme Court with Conservatives and them overturning Roe v Wade?

Come on people, come back to reality. This is actually what is happening.

Problem is, I don't think there's much we can do about it. We can push to get Alito out but someone else will take his place. Then another, and another, until Bush's term is up.

The article can be found here:
Chicago Tribune | Americans favor Alito confirmation