A Peek Under Judge Alito's Robe: It Looks Ugly

Attempts to Cover Up His Sortcomings
It’s one of those opportunities for me to waste lots of time in Washington DC, this time by watching the pageantry of the Alito hearings. The only consolation is hitting the pubs later in the day for some local fare and some cold refreshing ale. So, maybe it’s not such a waste of time after all. It’s no accident that, with Bush’s capturing of the White House, we needed a group like Drinking Liberally for liberals to gather and commiserate together. Hopefully, starting this year with the mid-term elections, we’ll have lots to celebrate in the near future.

As of today, it seems that ScAlito is a confirmable case. Not that we’ve learned anything new about Bush’s SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the US) nominee; nor do I think that the American people are being served well by these confirmation hearings the way they run. Alito’s performing up to the standards of being quite boring and evasive. Everything is so over-rehearsed that there is no spontaneity and no real answers from the nominee. The Dems on the committee, for the most part, have been asking good questions, while the Repubs are there just to promote Alito. They’ve learned how to coach a conservative nominee to avoid the mistakes of Judge R. Bork, and they have the votes to push him through.

Speaking of Bork, Alito said that this guy should have been confirmed to SCOTUS and that “he was the best nominee to the high court in the 20th century”! Isn’t this alone a disqualifier? Alito has agreed with Bork’s accessory to Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre [Click on the link to read the WaPo article to further understand Alito’s views on placing the executive above the law and to refresh your memory about tricky Dick’s last gasps to remain in power]. Maybe we’ll see a repeat when Shrub is consumed by the serious scandals engulfing him already.

Anyway, at least Alito has a long history, on and off the bench, so it’s not hard to figure out that this guy will swing SCOTUS way over to the conservative side. It doesn’t look pretty to us liberals, but this is no surprise. Elections have consequences and we’re paying the high price for having the worst president in office.

When it comes to privacy issues, the imperial presidency, the rights of the corporations versus the rights of the individual, cases of habeas corpus (including torture), the environment, judge Alito’s views are very clear. Check Think Progress has a good summary, and the People for the American Way has a comprehensive review of judge Alito.

As for the so-called strict constructionist argument that the Repubs often refer to as a criticism against the activist “liberals who legislate from the bench”, Alito refused to say where he stood on the most activist case of SCOTUS--that of Bush v. Gore (2000). The conservatives are just as activists as anyone else when it comes to promoting their agenda via the courts. Those members of the Federalist Society (yes, the ScAlitos & Roberts are members) don’t believe that the government, and for that matter the constitution, exist to protect the rights and the life of the individual.

“No one is above the law”, and “no one is beneath it either”—two phrases heard these days. But, this doesn’t mean much unless we define with precision the boundaries of the law. If the executive can claim that in times of war the President has the authority to spy with no restrictions, to arrest & indefinitely confine in isolation any person, etc, and such actions are deemed legal, then the ceiling of presidential “legal actions” stretches to the boundaries of the solar system—quite high in my estimate. And, there are those persons who are indeed below the law, deserving little or no rights when the Emperor declares them “enemy combatants” or, when they are part of a “rendition program.” [Read: flown to other countries to be tortured]


Much has been made of Roe v. Wade, precedent (starre decisis), and “settled law.” Though, the ScAlitos don’t mean that any law can’t be re-examined and even totally overturned! Especially when they don’t “see” rights of privacy in the Constitution! As strict constructionists, they don’t want to invent rights the Founding Fathers didn’t put specifically in the Constitution. So, according to the conservatives' interpretation, this great document is a dead document, written by the infallible, the wisest people ever to walk this earth, who, by the way, also knew everything about the future! Hmmm. I wonder why we changed our ways regarding slavery and treating our women as chattel... The abortion issue is a peculiar one as it is no secret that the Cons don’t want to overturn Roe v. Wade. This has been a very important weapon in their strategy to mobilize their conservative base, along with the anti-homosexual measures of the recent years.

Alito’s membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) also shows his attitudes towards women, minorities, and homosexuals. Check out what this vile organization stood for. Alito touted his membership in CAP in his resume as a great credential in order to get a politically-appointed job in the Reagan administration (late 1980s). Conveniently, he’s forgotten about CAP today. Yeah, right.

Friends, I know we’re seeing things that we don’t like because they're harmful to our country. We can’t give up. It’s not that hope dies last, but there is hope. We can solidify our base in the Blue states and begin taking back Congress in this year’s midterm election. Who knows, maybe god will listen to loony Pat and strike down those cuckoos. Here’s my list of people who have misused god and America: The whole Bush clique, the theologs, any fundamentalist who kills, torture, exploits in the name of god. There's nothing like an angry and vengeful god. Go Zeus!

Ah, the hope for the future soothes the soul, blunts the unbearable of today (and those dull Senate hearings), and gives us energy to move on and fight on. As Homer might say when thinking about his reward: mmmm sacrilicious beer! [insert your own pleasure here, and enjoy life!].