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From The Washington Times this morning:
"Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times.
"I personally believe very strongly" in this legal position, Mr. Alito wrote on his application to become deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin I. Meese III.
The document, which is likely to inflame liberals who oppose Judge Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court, is among many that the White House will release today from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library."
As Hugh Hewitt said: "Gotta love those Reagan Library document dumps".
Of course, the usual spin is always possible regarding the nuance of his chosen expressions. As you might note that the words "I personally believe very strongly" is actually where the Alito quote ends, and the the spin may begin with the author's "...in this legal position", which appears to be a continuation but obviously is not.
The sentence repeated later seems to read: "I believe very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement, and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values.", although could be a totally separate quote, as the word "personally " is missing. We will have to check once the document comes to light later today.
Either way, one thing is for sure, Judge Alito's conservatism is ever present, and the document is littered with solid, strong conservative views, expressed in direct and unambiguous language, which is what the nomination clearly needed to establish the guidelines of his judicial philosophy.
Scott Johnson @ Powerline, lists them all: "He represents the best of a generation of conservative lawyers who came to maturity in the aftermath of the Warren Court and its transformation of the judiciary into the most dangerous branch. His confirmation is both highly desirable and urgently necessary."
Thanks Jay.
For more on Judge Alito, and his views on abortion, check out my 'The Coming of The Apocalypse for The Left', and 'On Abortion The Nuanced Stand' , via Hugh Hewitt.
UPDATE: The latest from Hugh Hewitt's ' Get Schumer Some Smelling Salts':
"This document raises the stakes dramatically for the left, because while the twenty-year old job application says nothing about how Judge Alito would rule as Justice Alito, it does present the first ever case of a nominee with a decisive declaration on the subject of Roe. If Judge Alito is confirmed with such a declaration in his past, it will be a significant alteration in assumed dynamics of SCOTUS nominations.
Again, the old opinion offered by a young lawyer doesn't mean that Judge Alito would vote to overturn Roe/Casey. But it does mean that if the left cannot stop the nomination, they are broken as a force in the confirmation process for as long as the GOP maintains enough votes to threaten convincingly deployment of the constitutional option."
Matt Margolis @ Blogs For Bush hopes for opening the debate on the Constitutionality of abortion.
Andrew @ Confirm Them is simply glad to liven the debate, and Doug @ Below The Beltway has the left heading for the bunkers:
"This will undoubtedly be the "smoking gun" that will bring the pro-choice activists out of the woodwork.
[...]
....going on the defensive is not going to win the war that this nomination is likely to become. Let Alito defend his views on judicial restraint and let the left explain why they think the unelected branch of government should have supremacy over the other two."
Some of the media outlets have been "reporting" that Alito seems to be backtracking on the comments about abortion that he originally made. What sayest thou, Queen Alexandra?
Posted by: jeff Stiles | Saturday, November 19, 2005 at 12:45 PM