ALITO'S HATRED OF THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE AND THE EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE Democrats Have All the Ammo They Need, If They Choose to Use It As the Alito hearings reach day 4, so far no revelation has emerged that will sink his nomination, at least in the eyes of Democrats like Dianne Feinstein. The Democrats may have just decided that they don't want to attempt a filibuster because then Bill Frist will make good on his promise to eliminate it for good. On the other hand, if we have the power to filibuster but never use it, it's as good as dead. Two incidents in Judge Alito's past make him unfit for the Supreme Court and should be used as a basis for a filibuster: 1. Alito Explicitly Admitted that He Believes No Constitutional Right to Abortion Exists In a 1985 "Personal Qualifications Statement" that Alito submitted as part of a job interview for Ronald Reagan's Solicitor General office, Alito wrote the following: Most recently it has been an honor and source of personal satisfaction for me to serve in the office of the Solicitor General during President Reagan's administration and to help 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 has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion. The right-wing's lie machine is on overload regarding this statement. First, they claim it was part of his job to support the administration's policies. But he didn't have the job yet and he didn't have to mention this as some sort of "personal qualification." Second, and more importantly, Alito was not giving a personal opinion. The key word in his statement "legal" positions, not personal ones. Supreme Court Justices do not have personal opinions on constitutional issues. Here's an example that makes it painfully obvious. My personal opinion may be that abortion is immoral, but I might feel the constitution requires choice. My personal opinion may be that the death penalty is evil, but I might feel the constitution fails to forbid it. But one cannot have the personal opinion that the Constitution doesn't protect abortion, but feel that the Constitution does protect abortion. Alito expressly gave a constitutional opinion, not a personal opinion. As an accomplished 34 year old, Alito should have known that this constitutional opinion would be known to the entire world forever. Perhaps in the midst of the Regan Revolution Alito thought that his interpretation would win him points. History, however, has shown the anti-choice crowd to be a distinct minority in the United States. As such, Alito should have to pay the price for his opinion and be filibustered. He's a lock to overturn Roe v. Wade if given the choice and that constitutes extreme judicial activism of the highest order. 2. Alito's membership in the Racist Organization "CAP" In 1972, Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) was formed as a classic old, rich, white boys network. It's main purpose was to discourage the admission of women and minorities, hence the name "Concerned". CAP's magazine, Prospect, contained some of the following hate: "the makeup of the Princeton student body has changed drastically for the worse" "Everywhere one turns blacks and hispanics are demanding jobs simply because they're black and hispanic, the physically handicapped are trying to gain equal representation in professional sports, and homosexuals are demanding that government vouchsafe them the right to bear children." The second comment was written in 1983 when Dinesh D'Souza, a well-known conservative liar and racist, was in charge of Prospect. Just 2 years later, Alito boasted about his membership in CAP in his hateful job application with Ronald Reagan. (Sidenote: It's almost like trying to join the mob. He had to brag about how many guys he's killed, which in this case is memberships in right-wing hate groups like CAP and the Federalist Society.) Most important, he touted his membership 13 years after graduating. Although he had an entire adult life to build new connections after school, his longtime membership in CAP indicates that it was of some importance to him. If he "could not recall" it, he wouldn't have been putting on his resume for over 13 years. It's just not plausible. But that's the crock of shit lie that Alito and his right-wing cronies want you to believe. Alito claims he cannot recall membership in CAP. Circumstantial evidence proves this to be a lie and prevaricators have no place on this nation's highest court. Worse yet, CAP is committed to fighting the goals of Equal Protection and the fundamental rights that are essential to the Constitution. CONCLUSION Another scandal is his decision to rule in the Vanguard case even though he explicitly promised not to years before. In my opinion, however, conflicts of this sort are 1) unavoidable, since both Scalia and Ginsburg do it all the time, and 2) petty, at least in a Constitutional sense. The issues of the Right to Choose and Equal Protection mean so much more to the debate. Americans are highly concerned about freedom of choice and equality of people across race and sex. Membership in a racial or sexist hate group should preclude entry onto this nation's highest court no matter your sorry excuse for joining. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that Democrats will filibuster. They talk of "concern" and "alarm" instead of anger and outrage. They talk of the Vanguard scandal instead of Alito's amazingly dumb admissions regarding his constitutional view of abortion. They talk of "thumbs up or down" votes instead of using the power they have to protect our Constitution from those who wish to destroy it. Hope is not lost; even Corporate Tool Joe Lieberman hasn't publicly taken filibuster off the table. But knowing the Democrats in the Senate like I do, don't expect any brave stances. They'll sign off on Alito and then shrug their shoulders when young girls are dying in alleys from coat hanger abortions.