ACLU Dissapointed With Committee Approval of Alito
Posted on January 24, 2006
The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed its disappointment with the party-line approval of the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to be the new associate justice on the Supreme Court, and urged the full Senate to reject his confirmation.
The following can be attributed to Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office: “The American people deserve a nominee whose loyalty lies with the Constitution and not the whims of the president. Judge Alito’s record has shown an alarming and undue deference to executive powers. His legal and judicial philosophy shows a jurist who is all too willing to acquiesce to the harmful, and possibly illegal, demands of an executive branch set on extending its reach and power.
“At a time when the president and his surrogates are claiming unprecedented authority to break the rules, the nation’s highest court must uphold our fundamental civil liberties and freedoms, and recognize and sustain the balance of powers essential to our government. Judge Alito would upset that balance, to the detriment of our personal freedoms and privacy.”ACLU
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say Alito will upset the imbalance that their plant Justice Ginsburg has brought to the Courts. Speaking of balance of powers, if there is any branch that has too much power it is the judicial branch. Under the provisions of Article II of the United States Constitution, the President of the United States has the responsibility to appoint qualified individuals to the federal bench. This inflated process of Confirmation Hearings is a relatively recent development. It used to be that the Senate examined the record, the FBI report, the nomination based on qualifications alone would pass committee then a vote was taken on the floor of the Senate. Now, special interest groups like the ACLU pressure their puppets to carry out their agendas. The confirmation should be based on the nominee’s qualifications, not on whether they agree with his personal ideologies or not.
What the ACLU is really afraid of is that with a strict Constructionist majority on the high court they will no longer be able to influence the federal bench into expanding its reach beyond the limits set upon it by Article III of the US Constitution. Thank God Alito appears to be someone that will interpret the law instead of creating it. I’m glad that Justice Alito will be the kind of judge the ACLU doesn’t want.
An executive branch set on extending its reach of power? The power to protect its citizens perhaps? The ACLU and the media seem to be stuck on stupid over this NSA thing.
» Filed Under ACLU, News, Supreme Court
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7 Responses to “ACLU Dissapointed With Committee Approval of Alito”
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The Liberals are going to try to “Bork” Alito. This is so sad after all they have put this man through, what a circus event it is any time anyone from the Bush Cabinet, or anyone Bush appoint’s for any job, for any position has to go before this bunch of bafoons, sit there and take this rediculous show of grandstanding! I bet Cheney will have to be the tie breaker on this one.
Oops, I meant the bafoons like, Schumer, Lahey, Feinstien, Kennedy, etc. I meant the usual suspects.
It must really SUCK to be a Dem/Libber right now…
Oh well…
Awwwww-
The poor, poor commies.
Guess the ABA and the ACLUseless will have something to argue over now.
It would be extremely interesting if Cheney had to break the tie…talk about a close call. However, there is no reason for this vote to be that close! Alito is clearly qualified and has the support of the President, his former colleagues and the American public. I really think some red state Dems will come through and vote to confirm Alito.
Of course they are upset, but at the Republicans partisan vote, not the Democrats. Nevertheless, its obvious to everyone else that the Dems on the committee were incapable of ignoring the pressure to vote against Judge Alito, even with his impeccable credentials and high standing with the ABA.
And, from his record, its evident that he stands for the laws of the Constitution, not what the President commands (even thoug he too has the utmost regard for our Constitution).
The ACLU claims to protect civil liberties and the Dems on committee tried to paint Alito as a bigot. Yet Alito has a long history of sticking up for free speech and other civil rights. The ACLU’s support for civil rights apparently ends when it has to do with an issue they disagree with, like wearing religious symbols (ACLU v Schundler, 1999).