Sen. Charles Schumer plays the “dupe” card. Yes, you can question his competency now. He admits it–he’s an idiot:

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito “duped” the U.S. Senate into confirming them, a top Democratic lawmaker charged on Friday, days after a key Republican questioned if they had lived up to their promises.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, a member of the Judiciary Committee that held hearings on the two, said they staked out moderate positions in congressional testimony but became part of a conservative bloc that issued restrictive rulings on issues from free speech to civil rights.

Schumer, in a speech to the American Constitution Society, talked about the confirmation of Roberts and Alito in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

“Were we duped?” he asked.

“Were we too easily impressed by the charm of nominee Roberts and the erudition of nominee Alito?” Schumer asked. “Did we mistakenly vote our hopes when our fears were more than justified by the ultraconservative records of these two men?”

“Yes,” he said

As penance for the Democrats’ self-admitted stupidity, Schumer is now threatening to snuff any new confirmations of Bush high court nominees. Via Politico:

ew York Sen. Charles E. Schumer, a powerful member of the Democratic leadership, said Friday the Senate should not confirm another U.S. Supreme Court nominee under President Bush “except in extraordinary circumstances.”

“We should reverse the presumption of confirmation,” Schumer told the American Constitution Society convention in Washington. “The Supreme Court is dangerously out of balance. We cannot afford to see Justice Stevens replaced by another Roberts, or Justice Ginsburg by another Alito.”

Just a reminder that Chuck Schumer was the ringleader of the appalling circus that the Alito hearings devolved into last year. The made-for-TV antics and bloviating prompted none other than Robert Byrd to take to the floor to condemn the proceedings. Remember:

Regardless of any Senator’s particular view of Judge Alito, I think we can all agree that there is room for improvement in the way in which the Senate and indeed the nation have undertaken the examination of this nominee.

Let me be clear. I mean no criticism of the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee or any particular member of that ccommittee. I feel compelled to address this issue. Not to point fingers. Not to scold. Not to assign blame. But only to address specific, sincere, heartfelt concerns that have been brought to my attention by the people of West Virginia in particular.

The people of West Viriginia in no uncertain terms were, frankly, appalled by the Alito hearings. I don’t want to say it, but I must. They were appalled. In the reams of correspondece that I received during the Alito hearings, West Virginians–the people I represent–West Virignians who wrote to criticize the way in which the hearings were conducted used the same two words. People with no connection to one another. People of different faiths. Different views. Different opinions. [They] independently and respectively used the same two words to describe the hearings. They called them called an outrage and a disgrace.

And these were not form letters ginned up by special interest groups on either the right or the left. These were hand-written, contemplative, old-fashioned letters written on lined paper and personal stationary. They were the sort of letters that people write while watching television in the comfort of their living rooms or sitting at the kitchen table. It is especially telling that many who objected to the way in which the Alito hearings were conducted do not support Judge Alito. In fact, it is sorely apparent that many who opposed Judge Alito’s nomination also opposed the seemingly made-for-TV antics that accompanied the hearings…

Here’s another reminder of the atrocious behavior of the Dems.

And now Schumer has the gumballs to bleat that the Dems were “duped” and “hoodwinked?”

Gag.

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