Reply-to: "Alex J. Sagady & Associates" <ajs@sagady.com>
From: "Ben Brandzel, MoveOn.org Political Action"
<moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
To: "Alexander J. Sagady" <ajs@sagady.com>
Subject: Emergency petition to stop Alito
Today President Bush caved to
pressure from the far right and nominated the notoriously radical judge
Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Today we're joining the campaign to
stop him by aiming to collect 250,000 signatures in 48 hours. Can you
sign today?
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.
Bush's ploy to woo the far-right could reshape the High Court for decades
to comebut 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
nomination1a 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 2003but 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.
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
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