WASHINGTON - A conservative group supportive of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is targeting North Dakota Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad in the week before the Senate holds confirmation hearings.

Progress for America said Tuesday that it will spend $500,000 on television ads in North Dakota, Maine and Louisiana in an attempt to influence senators considered swing votes on the nomination.

A spokeswoman for the group said it is targeting Democrats Conrad and Dorgan, along with Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.

Alito has met opposition from such abortion rights groups as Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America. Those groups, along with some Democrats, point to 20-year-old documents in which Alito expressed his opposition to abortion. Several environmental groups also have come out against the judge.

Progress for America are the same folks who set up this meeting I'm attending in Bismarck today.

Honestly, I think North Dakota's Senators will likely end up supporting Alito. Or, at least Conrad (who is up for re-election this year) will vote for Alito and neither of ND's Senators are going to be very vocal in criticizing him. Dorgan may vote against Alito, but only because he isn't up for re-election for a few more years and probably won't have to answer then for what he does on this nomination.

I believe that if Conrad and Dorgan want to truly represent their constituents in this matter they will vote for the appointment of Judge Alito. He has received the nomination and endorsement of a President North Dakotans strongly favored in the November elections and his views on Constitutional law and the the Roe vs. Wade ruling match up with those held by most in this state. If either, or both, of them vote against the Alito nomination then I think its clear that they are putting their party's politics ahead of their consitituent's wishes.