DU Activist Corps Action, January 18 2006: Last push to stop Alito

[EarlG]

The DU Activist Corps has been largely inactive since August 2005, and for that we apologize. But this is the last chance to oppose Samuel Alito's dangerous nomination, and now is the perfect time for DUers to come together and participate in an action which we hope, combined with the actions of other activists across the country, can derail his chances of a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Please participiate in this action - even if you have already contacted your Senators about Alito.

EVIDENCE OF EXTREMISM
Judge Alito's extraordinary praise of Judge Bork is unsettling, given that Judge Bork's radical legal views included rejecting the Supreme Court's entire line of privacy cases, even its 1965 ruling striking down a state law banning sales of contraceptives. Judge Alito's membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton - a group whose offensive views about women, minorities and AIDS victims were discussed in greater detail at yesterday's hearing - is also deeply troubling, as is his unconvincing claim not to remember joining it.

OPPOSITION TO ROE V. WADE
In 1985, Judge Alito made it clear that he believed the Constitution does not protect abortion rights. He had many chances this week to say he had changed his mind, but he refused. When offered the chance to say that Roe is a "super-precedent," entitled to special deference because it has been upheld so often, he refused that, too. As Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, noted in particularly pointed questioning, since Judge Alito was willing to say that other doctrines, like one person one vote, are settled law, his unwillingness to say the same about Roe strongly suggests that he still believes what he believed in 1985.

SUPPORT FOR AN IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY
Judge Alito has backed a controversial theory known as the "unitary executive," and argued that the attorney general should be immune from lawsuits when he installs illegal wiretaps. Judge Alito backed away from one of his most extreme statements in this area - his assertion, in a 1985 job application, that he believed "very strongly" in "the supremacy of the elected branches of government." But he left a disturbing impression that as a justice, he would undermine the Supreme Court's critical role in putting a check on presidential excesses.

INSENSITIVITY TO ORDINARY AMERICANS' RIGHTS
Time and again, as a lawyer and a judge, the nominee has taken the side of big corporations against the "little guy," supported employers against employees, and routinely rejected the claims of women, racial minorities and the disabled. The hearing shed new light on his especially troubling dissent from a ruling by two Reagan-appointed judges, who said that workers at a coal-processing site were covered by Mine Safety and Health Act protections.

DOUBTS ABOUT THE NOMINEE'S HONESTY
Judge Alito's explanation of his involvement with Concerned Alumni of Princeton is hard to believe. In a 1985 job application, he proudly pointed to his membership in the organization. Now he says he remembers nothing of it - except why he joined, which he insists had nothing to do with the group's core concerns. His explanation for why he broke his promise to Congress to recuse himself in any case involving Vanguard companies is also unpersuasive. As for his repeated claims that his past statements on subjects like abortion and Judge Bork never represented his personal views or were intended to impress prospective employers - all that did was make us wonder why we should give any credence to what he says now....

-- Source: New York Times editorial, 1/12/06

DU ACTIVIST CORPS TASK: CONTACT YOUR SENATORS, TELL THEM TO SAY "NO" TO SAMUEL ALITO


TASK:

Call or fax your Senators and tell them that enough is enough. Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court is unacceptable and must not be allowed to proceed. DO NOT EMAIL YOUR SENATORS. A phone call or fax will be far more effective.


CONTACT INFORMATION:

Senate phone numbers
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Fax numbers for Senate Democrats
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x122095

Fax numbers for Senate Republicans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x122095#122144


TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

Be brief... be polite... be coherent!!


ADDITIONAL THREADS ON THIS TOPIC:

Stop Alito Resource Thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x25890

National Call In Day to Defeat Alito
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2375236

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DEADLINE:

ASAP.

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