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Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand

By Jeralyn, Section Sam Alito
Posted on Mon Nov 14, 2005 at 11:18:04 PM EST
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And the hits, they just keep coming. This one sounds well-deserved.

Alito put his personal opinion out there in 1985 when he sent a document to the Reagan administration, along with his application to become a deputy assistant attorney general, saying his previous government work had included helping "to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly."

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," wrote Alito, who was then working for the solicitor general's office.

Could it get any worse? Yes.

In the document, Alito declared himself a "lifelong registered" Republican and a Federalist Society member and said he had donated money to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Conservative Political Action Committee and several GOP candidates.

"I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this administration," Alito said. Alito also wrote that he believed "very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values."

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    Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand | 10 comments (10 topical)
    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:07 PM EST
    I've typed up the full text of Alito's statement for cut and pasting here. The whole statement needs to be read. The "recent cases" Alito refers to appear to be Thornburgh and Wygant, both discussed here.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#2)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:08 PM EST
    Yep. No surprise here. Now, are the Dems going to have the heuvos, the passion, and the IMAGINATION it will take to send this guy packing? Sadly, I doubt it. Imagine if the Dems had their own suggested nominee out there right now, to contrast clearly with Alito, someone with a personality, a sense of humor, an actual multi-faceted human being. Imagine. But that seems to be the problem, the Democratic party can't imagine anything. Wake up, donkey!!

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#3)
    by Slado on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:09 PM EST
    I still can't believe the moxy of a twice elected conservative president to actually nominate a conservative jurist to the supreme court, especially given the fact that his party controls the both houses of the legislature. Doesn't he realize that the court is reserved exclusively for liberal jurists? That liberal policies should be turned into law through the court system when the democratic party isn't able to inact them through the legislative or executive branches? I mean for goodness sakes it's the God (non believing secular) given right of all liberals to have exclusively liberal judges nominated no matter the election results. That's what the founding fathers wanted. Note: Pleas note humor.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#4)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:09 PM EST
    I just heard on NPR that Fienstein met with Alito and accepts his explanation of 1) Trying to get a job 20 years ago and 2) Not letting his personal beliefs get in the way of the Constitution. fwiw.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#5)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:09 PM EST
    ...and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values.
    Ahh crap. So close; so, so, close.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:09 PM EST
    Yeah, PW. It's funny how the same elitists that support Corporate behemoths abusing the lower economic classes around the world in the name of excessive greed always seem to believe that their exclusive religious and social ideologies should be forced upon the population en masse. Funny how that fits.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    Tampa Student, you've peaked my interest.... which of Alito's decisions have advocated Corporate behemoths abusing the lower economic classes around the world in the name of excessive greed? Didn't realize the U.S. Appellate Court system ruled on cases concerning the global oppression of the masses. For a lighthearted play on your words, how much greed is acceptable before it becomes excessive?

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    You're reading the comment out of context of the meaning. PW the libertarian wants a Conservative without the Social agenda. He and I have discussed his libertarian beliefs before. The comment, therefore, is made in reference to PW's ideology, not specific to Alito's rulings. Now, if that helped you prove a smart ellick point, then whatever. However, no amount of garbage propaganda media will convince me that Scalito isn't a pro-business and social Conservative. His memorandum, the topic of this thread, infers that he is. I agree, that isn't a valid data sample from which to draw a conclusion. But you see, good will and trust is like a bank of gold coins. Conservatives used up their account with me somewhere back with Reagan, Buckley, and Falwell. Finally, I'd be very happy to comment about the definition of excessive. Let's see, where to begin. Excessive -- as in record oil profits immediately following a manufactured energy crisis. As in record oil profits, immediately following a manufactured Neoconservative war desired by Neoliberal corporate interests. Go find a reference source and look up military-industrial complex. 2000 U.S. military lives and countless thousands of others (which in America, are valued on a sliding scale), in exchange for record oil profits. That is, in my book, excessive. If you don't like my answer, tough ****. Anyone who swallowed the line that 200 Billion dollars were spent to bring freedom to Iraq and protect Israel from a handful of rusted 1980's SCUD missles doesn't have the requisite comprehension skills to begin to make me question my instincts.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#9)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    TS- Huh? Here, let me try. Funny how the same champions of the proletariat can’t be bothered with the willful starvation of tens of millions, or the brutal oppression of their people to satisfy a personal perverted ideology of ‘economic justice’. Hyperbole. Here’s a riddle; when are gun free school zones interstate commerce and medical marijuana not, or vice versa? It’s the same capricious choice; left or right. Arbitrary, absolutely arbitrary.
    “as in record oil profits immediately following a manufactured energy crisis. As in record oil profits,”
    This means nothing; well, nothing other than Americans use a lot of oil. The profit margin, which is really the meaningful metric of profiteering, wasn’t unreasonable. That is, unless you are an investor; unfortunately for those folks oil profit margins were lower than the S&P industry wide average. But, I do agree that the US military shouldn’t be a tool of economic/energy policy.

    Re: Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 01:06:10 PM EST
    I won't continue the discussion of oil profits on a thread about Scalito except to state simply that Corporate elements have an extra agenda outside of what should be the primary function of meeting a market demand and charging a reasonable profit. It is an extra agenda that most definitely isn't concerned with any moral obligation to American society-at-large (which itself would be outside of it's primary function). It is nefarious and involves short-term profit taking and specific private interests. It and the defense industry are the most corrupted elements in modern American capitalism. I return this thread to it's discussion of Scalito and his pro-Corporatist, pro-social conservative slant.

    Alito Boasted of Anti-Abortion Stand | 10 comments (10 topical)