Conservative Base Should Rally Around Alito

Nicknamed "Scalito" for views resembling those of conservative Supreme Court
Justice Antonin Scalia, Samuel Alito Jr. is a favorite son of the political
right.

Appointed in 1990 by George H.W. Bush to the Third Circuit Court
of Appeals, Alito has earned a reputation for intellectual rigor and polite but
frequent dissent in a court that has been historically liberal.

His
mettle, as well as a personable demeanor and ties to former Republican
administrations, has long had observers buzzing about his potential rise to the
high court.

"Sam Alito is in my mind the strongest candidate on the
list," says Pepperdine law Prof. Douglas Kmiec. "I know them all . . . but I
think Sam is a standout because he's a judge's judge. He approaches cases with
impartiality and open-mindedness."

A New Jersey native, the 55-year-old
Alito received a bachelor's degree from Princeton and graduated from Yale Law
School.

He worked in the solicitor general's office during the Reagan
administration and was a U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey when
George H.W. Bush nominated him to the Third Circuit. His 15 years on the bench
have been marked by strong conservatism on a case-by-case basis that avoids
sweeping opinions on constitutionality.

In 1997, Alito authored the
majority opinion upholding a city's right to stage a holiday display that
included a Nativity scene and a menorah because the city also included secular
symbols and a banner emphasizing the importance of diversity. In Planned
Parenthood v. Casey, Alito was the sole dissenter on the Third Circuit, which
struck a Pennsylvania law that required women seeking abortions to consult their
husbands.

He argued that many of the potential reasons for an abortion,
such as "economic constraints, future plans, or the husbands' previously
expressed opposition . . . may be obviated by discussion prior to
abortion.

" The case went on to the Supreme Court, which upheld the lower
court's decision 6 to 3.

Reaction is already coming out on the nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court. Although President George W. Bush’s comments of a justice in the mold of Scalia or Thomas were not stated as emphatically as a “read my lips, no new taxes” pledge, conservatives took it as such and thus were justifiably dismayed at the president’s first pick to replace O’Connor. Now, the president has given America a nominee with a proven judicial record – one that steers clear of judicial activism.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has called Alito a “man of outstanding character, who is deeply committed to public service, and has a distinguished history of professional achievement and leadership.” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that an Alito nomination would create problems for the Democrats and noted on CNN’s Late Edition that Alito was “not one of the names that I’ve suggested to the president.”

It appears that the battle lines are being drawn, and it’s now time for the entire Republican Party to come together around a solid nominee of stellar credentials and a proven judicial track record.

In remarks on Monday morning, President Bush said that Judge Alito “is one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America, and his long career in public service has given him an extraordinary breadth of experience.”

As a Justice Department official, federal prosecutor and judge on the United States Court of Appeals, Sam Alito has shown a mastery of the law, a deep commitment of justice, … and he is a man of enormous character. He’s scholarly, fair-minded and principled, and these qualities will serve our nation well on the highest court of the land.

In accepting the nomination, Judge Alito thanked President Bush and said that the U.S. Supreme Court is an institution “that I have long held in reverence.”

During my 29 years as a public servant, I’ve had the opportunity to view the Supreme Court from a variety of perspectives — as an attorney in the Solicitor General’s Office, arguing and briefing cases before the Supreme Court, as a federal prosecutor, and most recently for the last 15 years as a judge of the Court of Appeals. During all of that time, my appreciation of the vital role that the Supreme Court plays in our constitutional system has greatly deepened.

Judge Samuel A. Alito was born in 1950 in Trenton, NJ. He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit by President George H.W. Bush on February 20, 1990 and was confirmed by the Senate on April 27 of that year. Alito received his B.A. from Princeton in 1972 and his law degree from Yale in 1975.

Judge Alito was a law clerk for Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit from 1976-1977. Judge Alito then served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1977-1981. He then served as assistant to the U.S. solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC from 1981-1985. Alito was also deputy assistant U.S. attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, from 1985-1987 and then the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1987-1990.
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Get ready fellow conservatives. It's gonna be a lot of fun, watching the self-destructive democrats, as they attempt to keep Alito off the SCOTUS. I predict a minimum of a temper tantrum, kicking, screaming, semi-meltdown from the likes of Harry Reid, and Dianne Feinstein, speaking nothing of Edward Kennedy, and Chuckie Schumer.

God Bless,
Dan'L