"Big government conservative," what an oxymoron. Limited government is one of the defining principles of conservatism, at least that's my conception of it. He could've said "neoconservative," which is also contradictory.
I haven't researched Alito, but if he's pro-big government, then he's not a conservative.
Colonel_Reb said:
I don't consider Scalia a big government conservative, and Alito is being compared to Scalia by the liberal media.
Perhaps they're painting with a broad stroke. Would they even know the difference between a traditional conservative (small government, non-interventionist foreign policy, etc.) and a neoconservative (our President)? Probably not. They look at a few issues, like abortion and guns, and whoever "thinks like a conservative" regarding those issues is lumped into the same category. But Bush isn't the same kind of conservative as me, regardless of what he thinks about abortion and guns.
Of course conservatives probably do the same thing with liberals. What's the difference between Hillary Rodham and Teddy Kennedy? Darned if I know. They're simply stinkin' liberals, and they think of us as stinkin' conservatives.