Then and Now

Some things need no commentary:

Biden Then
You not only have a right to choose what you will answer and not answer, but in my view, you should not answer"
-- Hearings for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1993
http://judgeroberts.com/docs/videos/precedent.pdf

Biden Now
"For 70 years, there has been a consensus in our Supreme Court on these issues. And this consensus has been fully embraced by the American people.
But there are those who strongly disagree with this consensus – and they seek to unravel it. And, Judge, you have the unenviable position of being right in the middle of this fundamentally important debate.
And, quite frankly, we need to know on which side you stand. For whoever replaces Chief Justice Rehnquist, as well as Justice O’Connor, will play pivotal roles in this debate."
-- Opening Statement at the hearing of Judge John Roberts 9/12/05
http://biden.senate.gov/newsroom/details.cfm?id=245583

Durbin Then
"My record of opposition to abortion on demand has been public for eight years. ... I worked closely with Springfield Right-to-Life and served as a master of ceremonies at the annual banquet... I oppose abortion on demans. I support the Hatch Federalism Amendment which has been endorsed by the National COnference of Catholic Bishops."
-- Letter to Supporters, 1982
http://nrlc.org/Judicial/Durbin/Durbin1982Letter.pdf

Durbin Now
Concerns have also been raised about some of the things you wrote relative to the right of privacy.
We've gone through Griswold. We know what that Supreme Court decision meant in 1965, 40 years ago, when the court struck down the Connecticut statute which made it a crime for married couples to buy and use birth control. They said there was a fundamental right of privacy in that Constitution, though you can search every word of it, and not find the word privacy. But it's far from settled law in the minds of many.
Forty years later, there have been new efforts to restrict the right of privacy, attempts to impose gag rules on doctors when they speak to their patients about family planning.
You saw it in the sad debate over the tragedy of Terri Schiavo, a debate that led some members of Congress to threaten judges who disagree with their point of view with impeachment.
And you can find it in the eagerness to authorize the government to pry into our financial records, medical records and library records.
Whether the court continues to recognize and protect America's right to privacy will have a profound impact on every American from birth to death.
In your early writings that we have to rely on here, you referred to this right of privacy as an abstraction. We need to know if that's what you believe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/politics/politicsspecial1/12text-roberts.html?pagewanted=47