home

Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest

By Jeralyn, Section Sam Alito
Posted on Tue Nov 01, 2005 at 11:26:48 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

My latest edition of Scoring Scotus about Judge Sam Alito is up at Eric Alterman's Altercation. It's about how this nomination, even if it succeeds, is unlikely to help Bush's presidency or the Republicans. Here's a snippet, I hope you will go over and read the whole thing:

With Alito's nomination, Bush has turned flames of dissent into a rip-roaring wildfire. His transparent attempt to regroup from the debacle of the Harriet Miers nomination and the scandal of the indictment of Scooter Libby by caving in to the radical right through the nomination of an anti-abortion Supreme Court Justice with a troubling record on civil rights and criminal justice issues, has unleashed a maelstrom.

Bloggers had a great conference call last night with many of the liberal groups opposing him. It was the first time I got to be a presenter on one of these call and my theme was asking the liberal groups not to leave criminal justice issues out of the debate. Half the cases before the Supreme Court are criminal cases - it's not all about abortion and choice. Just like TalkLeft voices support for the messages of PFAW's Save the Court, Alliance for Justice, NARAL and American Progress, we'd like to hear some support for our issues.

On a related note, organized reaction to Judge Alito's nomination already has begun. Say hello to Dear Senator.org - another effort by Progressive Law Blogs. It will serve as a clearinghouse of information on Alito through his confirmation hearings.

Law Prof Jack Balkin has a great find today that he calls the "go to" site for information about Judge Alito. Links to each of his opinions are already in place, and there's so much more.

< Matthew Cooper Speaks on Libby and Rove | Reid Takes Senate Into Closed Session on Iraq Intelligence >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#1)
    by Pete Guither on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:37 PM EST
    Thank you, JM! We've got to get liberal groups to realize that criminal justice (and things like the drug war) are a huge issue for them.

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#2)
    by Lww on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    "Bloggers will combine it with Plamegate as the treasonous act of the century." (The nomination of Alito) You wrote that TL? Thankfully, the century is only a few yrs old. When you posted a link to Alito's First Amendment rulings I came away with the impression of Alito as more libertarian than conservative. Anyone who reads his rulings can't with a clear concience declare him some type of rightwing lunatic. But clear conciences are not the norm these days, just look at your statement above...

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#3)
    by ras on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    TL, Having read your essay, I couldn't be happier with it. Thank you for the help you (inadvertently) provide. BTW, my q from yesterday still stands: if it were solely your decision, and knowing what you know now, would you filibuster? Y/N? What about the rest of you? Would you filibuster? Y/N? No fb and Alito is in. Do you really believe him as dangerous as you say? Or is that just a pose? Cuz if he really is that bad, why just go thru the motions, knowing it will not make a diff? You'll never rally support to your cause that way. But if he really isn't that bad, why bother to oppose at all? He's qualified.

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#4)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    I would fillibuster the hell out of it. I'd say, no, a woman does not belong to a man and should not have to tell him about getting an abortion. I'd say prez Bush has failed in every possible way, has a track record of deceit and cronyism -- from energy policy to foreign policy -- that have sunk the nation morally and economically and socially and politically as far as we've been (especially as perceived overseas) as WE'VE EVER BEEN, and he has lost every right to be considered a prudent leader of the nation. And I'd sell my own nominee harder and with more imagination than the right could muster in ten lives. You will not do to the Supreme Court, and thus to the legal future of this nation, what you have done to the rest of the nation. To the people of Iraq, whom you consigned to a botched "war". To the people of Afghanistan, whom you forgot in the dust of Iraq. Forget it. This justice is ours.

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#5)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    ras, From what I've seen, he seems like a Libertarian to me too. Though I am pro-choice, I will never need an abortion. Libertarians (under the reasoning of the machine gun case) would let the states legalize marijuana He doesnt seem that bad on criminal issues (heck, Peter G likes him!) I would not FB, and, IMHO, he seems about as good as we'll get with shrub

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    Hey TalkLefters, Perhaps one of you will know the answer to something I was just pondering. If the GOP, facing a filibuster, announced their attention to pursue the nuclear option, what would happen if the Senate Democrats simply refused to show up for the vote? Don't they need quorum to change the rules? I'm sure it wouldn't look good, but from what I've read, it seems preferable to an Alito confirmation. Is this possible? Has it ever been done?

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    mk-search, quorum means half of the total number of senators present. In this case, it is 50 senators, and the Republicans have that number. Otherwise, there would be no need to filibuster, because it would be enough to stay at home. No majority could ever govern a country in such circumstances. Too easy I'm affraid :).

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#8)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    Is he really that bad?

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:38 PM EST
    I would say it's good news that different points of view on Alito begin to surface. Let's be patient. He's obviously not a person whom I would like to see on the Court, but I haven't yet made up my mind whether he is THAT BAD. It's important to see how the hearings go, it's important to wait for further comments (and other additional information) on this nomination. In a month we will know more that today. What I would like to know is how Chief Justice Roberts actually votes on important questions. If he turns out to be somehow moderate than the risk of confirming Alito is considerably smaller. But if Roberts joins Thomas and Scalia, than than it would be a terrible mistake to add another member to such a coalition. Can anyone tell us when we will be able to have some insight into Roberts' performance?

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:39 PM EST
    Good for you, Jeralynn! And if you can get the attention of these liberal groups away from a sole focus on abortion and "church-state" issues, make sure they see the elephant in the room with our failed war on drugs. No more nanny state dems like Joe Biden!

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:39 PM EST
    Alito voiced in an opinion to reverse a ban on partial birth abortion in New Jersey because: 1) is void for vagueness; and (2) places an undue burden on a woman's constitutional right to obtain an abortion. I to think he is more libertarian. The Bushies are duping their base.

    Re: Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:05:40 PM EST
    debbiehamil, I think you get it wrong. In this opinion Alito only concurrs with the majority because of the need to follow the US Supreme Court's precedent. However his concurrence is meaningful. If you read the actual majority's decision you will see that the judges present a very detailed description of the abortion procedures, in which they, so to say, confirm the reasoning of both Roe and Casey. Alito clearly doesn't want to be involved in such a discussion. He writes it "was never necessary and is now obsolete". It implies that he doesn't necessarily agrees personally with the outcome, but has no option - as an appellate judge - other than to aplly a respective precedent: Stenberg v. Carhart in this instance. Of course as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Alito's options will be significantly expanded. He will no longer have to follow precedents, but will have the ability to abolish them. In my opinion, this case only adds to the worries...

    Sam Alito and the Hornet's Nest | 12 comments (12 topical)