Last week, former President Jimmy Carter did something rare for a politician: He chastised his own party. In short, Carter said Democrats in Congress hurt themselves when they impose an abortion litmus test for assessing judicial nominees.
I concur. Our North Dakota senators have teetered from time to time between being conservative-to-moderate - to occasionally liberal. Their votes on Judge Samuel Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court will tell us a lot about where their core values are.
For one, I hope North Dakota's senators opt to be more like Jimmy Carter than Ted Kennedy. I urge Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad to give Judge Alito a fair shake. That will be good for America, and it will cement our populist image as having moderate Democrats from a Midwestern state.
Nathan Miller
Fargo
