Day of the Justice

Samuel Alito should not be confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court. He will be a conservative activist, limiting and restricting personal liberties and slavishly deferring to a president who acknowledges no limits on his power. Samuel Alito will support the unchecked presidential power and limit Congress’s role as a co-equal branch of government.

Alito is all the more dangerous because he is so qualified. His background and experience are everything I could ask in a Supreme Court justice: education, prior service as a prosecutor and judge, intellectually curious and pragmatic. He can write. No doubt, a Justice Alito would be an intellectual force on the Court.

Not a force that a civil libertarian and believer in Constitutional government would welcome. I sure don’t. Jonathan Schell writes in The Nation about the dangers of dictatorship in much of BuschCheney’s unprecedented assertion of the right to executive action without review or limit. A Justice Alito will do nothing to protect America’s history as a government of laws, not men.

The Washington Post profiles Alito today. Samuel Alito comes across as an intelligent, pleasant individual who has performed capably in a variety of public positions. He also comes across as a legacy of Edwin Meese, who sought to propagate Reagan’s legacy by appointing conservative judges. But for my reservations about his beliefs, I can easily see Alito as a good addition to the Court.

Perhaps Samuel Alito can establish his credibility as a judge to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Perhaps.... He has a record as a conservative activist; as a judge he has supported governmental authority at the expense of civil liberties. Disavowing long held beliefs and former actions don’t enhance Alito’s credibility in my book. He should tell us who he is, what he believes and how he interprets the tConstitution, separation of powers, law and precedent. Then Senators can fairly judge him. I think Alito should be rejected. He is not the justice that this Court needs to protect Americans from unbridled

The Democratic minority and thoughtful Republican senators have a solemn obligation to fully explore Samuel Alito’s record and background. In doing so, they will be able to show why he will not protect Constitutional government in this country. Reason enough to filibuster.