The real Alito?
By Thomas JeffreyArticle Posted: Thursday December 1, 2005
The controversy surrounding Samuel Alito’s nomination to the US Supreme Court heated up yesterday when the National Archives released a memo from 1985 when, in his capacity as assistant to the solicitor general, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals judge expressed hope that Roe v Wade would one day be overturned.
The revelation has renewed calls by Democrats for the White House to release any and all documents from Mr. Alito’s tenure in the solicitor general’s office, as well as documents from when he worked for the Office of Legal Counsel. The Bush Administration is resisting such requests, as they did during Chief Justice John Roberts’ confirmation, claiming that the documents are privileged information.
The memo outlines a strategy suggested by Alito that the Justice Department should focus its attention on arguing for cases at the state level that advocate placing restrictions on access to abortion rather than mounting an all-out attack against Roe v. Wade.
This approach [would be] “free of the disadvantages that would accompany a major effort to overturn Roe. When the court hands down its decision and Roe is not overruled, the decision will not be portrayed as a stinging rebuke.” Samuel Alito May 30, 1985
Alito went on to remark that “no one seriously believes that the court is about to overrule Roe v. Wade,” and that the strategy he outlined would be a good compromise until the landmark ruling could be overturned.
Critics of Judge Alito’s nomination, like Senator Barbara Boxer of California, are pointing to this memo as another indication that he may not have been entirely forthcoming in his comments about Roe v. Wade when he met with senators on the hill last month, and that the “great respect” that he professed for the ruling may merely be a smoke screen in order to get his Christian Fundamentalist ass on the bench.
But the bigger question may just be who the hell is it in the National Archives that keeps leaking this information to the press? Or better yet, how can I PayPal him a donation to show my support?
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Podcast #117
By Thomas JeffreyArticle Posted: Tuesday April 15, 2008
Leftwing Nutjob Podcast, Episode 117, for Sunday, April 13, 2008
Penn hits the bricks, Iran in the spotlight again, the Obama money machine, al Qaeda’s rising star and more!