Alito a dangerous choice

The direction our country takes for the next thirty years is being set now. We all know why President Bush nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. He is packing the court with conservative ideologues who will extend the "legacy" of his presidency for years to come. Ann Coulter, who last week suggested Justice Stevens should be poisoned, who denounced the nomination of John Roberts, celebrated Judge Alito's nomination, stating that Bush gave Democrats 'a right-hook' - high praise from an activist who said that Republicans need to nominate a person who 'wake[s] up every morning . . . chortling about how much his latest opinion will tick off the left.'

If you review Judge Alito's writings as a Department of Justice lawyer and a federal judge, there is no doubt why he is so heralded by the most extreme Republicans or about the kind of Justice Alito will be. He will make it harder for the most disadvantaged members of our society to have their day in court. He will allow the President's power to grow far beyond what the Framers of the Constitution intended. He will roll back women's privacy rights.

In his fifteen years on the Third Circuit, Judge Alito has almost never voted in favor of African-American plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases. An example: In a dissenting view, he declared that a police officer who shot a 15 year old unarmed purse-snatcher in the back of the head was justified in doing so. I should add that nearly ALL of his opinions are from a dissenting view because he is always wrong.

He routinely defers to government invasions into personal privacy, often going out of his way to excuse unlawful government actions. And the only statement he has ever made regarding a woman's right to privacy is that she does not have one. People who believe in privacy rights, who fight for the rights of the most disadvantaged, who believe in balancing the power between the President and Congress have no choice but to stand up against Judge Alito.

Alito is the wrong choice for America. In fact, he is a dangerous choice for America. This is a rare moment in Washington. We are facing the vote of a lifetime - a vote that will shape the law for generations to come. The direction our country takes for the next thirty years is being set now. And I, quite frankly, am very worried.