SIGN PETITION TO STOP SAMUEL ALITO'S NOMINATION

[Guest guest]

Dear MoveOn member,

This morning, with his administration growing weaker by the day,

President Bush caved to pressure from the radical fringe of the

Republican Party and nominated Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day

O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Alito is a notoriously right-wing

judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has consistently

ruled to strip basic protections from workers, women, minorities and

the disabled in favor of unchecked power for corporations and special

interests.

 

That's why today we're joining the fight with an emergency petition

to the Senate, calling on them to stand up for ordinary Americans and

reject Alito's nomination. We're aiming to gather a quarter million

signatures and comments in the next 48 hours.

 

Can you sign today?

 

http://www.moveonpac.org/stopalito/?id=6240-5399270-

Q81Bwi.rP2ITp7P0AoWKYA & t=2

 

Bush's ploy to woo the far-right could reshape the High Court for

decades to come—but we don't have to let that happen. The president's

rock-bottom approval ratings and the scandals engulfing virtually

every Republican leader have broken the spell of the right-wing spin

machine. If we all speak up, together we have the power to stop this

radical nominee.

 

 

Only hours after the nomination, the battle lines are already clear.

Leading progressive groups that specialize in protecting the Court

(including People For the American Way and the Alliance for Justice)

have already launched an emergency campaign to defeat Alito's

nomination1—a step they did not take with either John Roberts or

Harriet Miers.

 

The far-right, on the other hand, is thrilled. Organizations who

vigorously opposed Harriet Miers for not being conservative enough

are " elated, " 2 and far-right leaders from Pat Robertson3 to Trent

Lott4 are singing Alito's praise.

 

Judge Samuel Alito is widely known as " Scalito " because he so closely

follows the far-right judicial philosophy of Supreme Court Justice

Antonin Scalia.5

 

Here's a summary of just some of the core protections that Alito

would threaten:6

 

Basic Rights for Working Families

As a judge on the Appeals Court, Alito issued a ruling to gut the

Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees most workers up to 12

weeks of unpaid leave to care for a loved one in an emergency. The

Supreme Court effectively overturned that ruling in 2003—but if Alito

were on the Supreme Court he would pose a grave threat to the basic

rights of working families.

 

Civil Rights (in the workplace and beyond)

In separate cases, Alito wrote dissenting opinions that would have

made it essentially impossible to prove employment discrimination

based on race or disability. He was overruled and harshly criticized

by his colleagues, but if he were on the Supreme Court he could turn

back the clock on decades of progress in securing civil rights for

minorities and the disabled.

 

A Woman's Right to Choose

Alito's judicial record and published views make him widely regarded

as a sure vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. The extremist anti-abortion

group Operation Rescue (who opposed Harriet Miers) responded to

Alito's nomination today by saying: " Roe's days are numbered...We are

trusting that we are now on the fast-track to derailing Roe v. Wade

as the law of the land. " 7 If Alito were on the Supreme Court,

reproductive freedom would be in serious jeopardy.

 

Privacy and Civil Liberties

In one significant case, Alito wrote a dissenting oppinion that would

have allowed an unauthorized strip search of a woman and her 10 year-

old daughter, in their own home, without a warrant. Again, Alito was

outvoted and strongly criticized by his fellow judges, but if he were

to join Thomas and Scalia on the Supreme Court he would pose a grave

threat to civil liberties and individual freedoms.

 

Democrats in Washington are already speaking out. Here are few

highlights:

 

" If confirmed, Alito could very well fundamentally alter the balance

of the court and push it dangerously to the right, placing at risk

decades of American progress in safeguarding our fundamental rights

and freedoms. "

–Sen. Ted Kennedy8

 

 

" It's sad that [bush] felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide

America. "

–Sen Charles Schumer9

 

" Has the right wing now forced a weakened President to nominate a

divisive justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia? "

–Sen. John Kerry10

 

" President Bush has...made a selection to appease the far right-wing

of the Republican Party. "

–Sen. Barak Obama11

 

" Last week after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination, I asked the

President: Who was in charge? Today, the President answered: the

radical conservative right is in charge of this Administration. "

–House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi12

 

" I look forward to...learning why those who want to pack the Court

with judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about him than

they were about Harriet Miers. "

–Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid13

 

 

 

If we can gather 250,000 signatures in the next 48 hours, it will

make a powerful first impression in the media, and the Senate. We can

show that ordinary Americans will not let a failing president

sacrifice the Supreme Court, and all the rights it protects, in a

political game.

 

 

No one knows how this nomination will end, but the Supreme Court is

the last chance at justice for millions of Americans, and we all have

a stake in this fight.

 

Please sign today:

 

http://www.moveonpac.org/stopalito/?id=6240-5399270-

Q81Bwi.rP2ITp7P0AoWKYA & t=3

 

Thanks for all you do.

 

 

–Ben, Joan, Wes, Tanya and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team

Monday, October 31st 2005

 

 

Sources:

 

 

1. See People for the American Way and The Alliance for Justice

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/

http://www.supremecourtwatch.org/

 

2. See the statement of Manuel Miranda, Chair of the Third Branch

Conference

" This time, Liberals Voice Oppostion " CNSNews.com, October 31st, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1087

3 " Bush Picks Alito for Supreme Court " NBC News, October 31st, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1088

 

4 Statement by Senator Trent Lott, October 31st, 2005

http://lott.senate.gov/

 

 

5 " Bloggers React to Supreme Court Nomination, " Reuters, October

31st, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1089

 

 

6 The issues and cases highlighted above are cited from The American

Progress Action Fund fact sheet, available at:

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/10/31/samuel-alitos-america

 

For more information on these issues and cases, please see the

extended reports prepared by People for the American Way, and the

Alliance for Justice , available at:

* http://www.supremecourtwatch.org/alitoprelim1031.pdf

* http://media.pfaw.org/stc/AlitoPreliminary.pdf

 

7 Statement of Operation Rescue, October 31st, 2005

http://www.earnedmedia.org/or1031.htm

 

8 Statement of Senator Edward Kennedy, October 31st, 2005

http://kennedy.senate.gov/index_high.html

 

9 " Why Bish Picked Alito " Time October 31st, 2005

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1124426,00.html?

promoid=rss_top

 

10 CBS4 Boston, October 31st, 2005

http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_304111218.html

 

11 Satement of Senator Barak Obama, October 31st, 2005

http://obama.senate.gov/

 

12 Statement of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, October 31st, 2005

http://www.dccc.org/stakeholder/

 

 

13 Statement of Senator Harry Reid, October 31st, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1085