Alito & Abortion
Hopefully, Senate Republicans like Arlen Specter are learning why, exactly, the President wanted hearings for the Alito nomination to be scheduled before Christmas.
The long gap between the nomination and the hearing offers liberal plenty of time to manufacture arguments against his confirmation.
Case in point: Liberals are going to go crazy over the information contained in this piece -- which notes that Judge Alito wrote, back in 1985, that he didn't believe there was a constitutional right to abortion.
But even liberals should, in fairness, consider that (1) Judge Alito's views may have shifted over time; and (2) that he may have gained greater appreciation for the virtues of stare decisis during his tenure as a judge.
But above all, it should be made crystal clear to everyone in America that believing that abortion isn't a right secured by the constitution is hardly out of the mainstream. Chief Justice William Rehnquist didn't believe it, nor did Justice Byron White -- nor has any Republican presidential candidate since 1980 -- nor, most consequentially, does a sizable proportion of the American public.
The long gap between the nomination and the hearing offers liberal plenty of time to manufacture arguments against his confirmation.
Case in point: Liberals are going to go crazy over the information contained in this piece -- which notes that Judge Alito wrote, back in 1985, that he didn't believe there was a constitutional right to abortion.
But even liberals should, in fairness, consider that (1) Judge Alito's views may have shifted over time; and (2) that he may have gained greater appreciation for the virtues of stare decisis during his tenure as a judge.
But above all, it should be made crystal clear to everyone in America that believing that abortion isn't a right secured by the constitution is hardly out of the mainstream. Chief Justice William Rehnquist didn't believe it, nor did Justice Byron White -- nor has any Republican presidential candidate since 1980 -- nor, most consequentially, does a sizable proportion of the American public.
posted by LadybugUSA at 11:57 AM
2 Comments:
There! It's been said. A nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States has (in the distant past) stated that he didn't believe the Constitution supports a right to abortion.
Good.
Now let the debate begin!
I agree with the above comments that Republican nominees should not have to sneak into the court. I believe the conservative views more closely match the views of the majority of Americans than do the liberal views.
The memo is the "smoking gun" for those seeking evidence on where Alito stands on these basic issues.
Who needs a smoking gun? Every conservative nominee is a threat to Roe... if they weren't who would need Nan Aron and the like?
Don't shy away from the debate. Either SCOTUS is for any way the windblows, or it is about the text of the Constitution.
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