This week the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings on Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States. Despite Judge Alito's impressive qualifications, he faces a difficult road to confirmation. Why? Because Alito is a conservative, and he has been named to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, the pivotal swing vote on a divided court.
In reading transcripts of the hearings it would seem that Senate liberals had set out to portray Alito as an "extremist", particularly on issues such as abortion. However Alito was not an easy target. The New York Times described him as "placid, monochromatic and, it seemed, mostly untouchable."
What exactly is making Senate liberals so nervous? Well, much of the controversy surrounds Alito's previous court opinions and writings. In 1985, for example, Alito applied to be the Assistant Attorney General under then-President Ronald Reagan. With his application he submitted an essay outlining his personal qualifications, following is an excerpt from that essay:
"I am and always have been a conservative...I believe 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 protection traditional values. In the field of law, I disagree strenuously with the usurpation by the judiciary of decision making authority that should be exercised by the branches of government responsible to the electorate...
In college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause, and reapportionment. I discovered the writings of Alexander Bickel advocating judicial restraint, and it was largely for this reason that I decided to go to Yale Law School...
I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
In light of Alito's words it is no wonder Senate liberals are shaking in their shoes. Alito's appointment to the Supreme Court threatens to tilt the balance of the Court in favor of traditional Judeo-Christian values. If appointed to the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito will hold one of the most powerful positions in the US government. The decisions he makes will have a dramatic impact on the future of our nation.
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