Alito's Hidden Agenda
Alito Watch:
Today, we learned that Alito, as a Reagan administration lawyer, proposed a strategy in 1985 to limit abortion rights without generating headlines by overturning Roe v. Wade.
Alito memo article
"No one seriously believes that the court is about to overrule Roe v. Wade" he wrote regarding two cases to be reviewed by the Court in 1985, "What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling ... and in the meantime, of mitigating its effects?"
Though I have not seen the actual memo yet, it appears that Alito's advice was taken to heart by the Reagan administration and pro-life zealots.
In the last 20 years, pro-lifers have gradually chipped away at abortion rights by limiting how and when abortions can be provided, by adding notification rights that invade a woman's right to privacy, and by increasing requirements for abortion providers to the point where it is not feasible to comply with the laws. Today, there is only one abortion provider in the entire backwater state of Mississippi. One. And a recent law looks like it's going to shut the doors of that last clinic any day now.
I will follow up with more posts once I can find a copy of the memo, but it certainly appears that Alito is firmly in the pro-life camp and will do anything to force his views on the public -- the majority of which does not support the pro-life position. It appears that Alito endorses gradual insidious changes to laws that fall below the public's radar yet limit our freedoms nevertheless. Alito's views appear more in line with a fundamentalist philosophy than the typical middle-of-the-road American.
Furthermore, this newly released memo appears to be a lot more significant than Alito's 1985 job application letter (that stated Alito's view that the Constitution does not provide the right to an abortion), which the Republicans have subsequently argued that Alito was just saying what is required (i.e. lying) to get the job.
-John Locke
PS. Relating to lying:
David Espo writes...
On another matter, Alito stepped carefully around his one-time membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a conservative organization that sparked controversy two decades ago by saying school officials had lowered admission standards to accept women and minority applicants. "A document I recently reviewed reflects that I was a member of the group in the 1980s. Apart from that document, I have no recollection of being a member, of attending meetings or otherwise participating in the activities of the group," Alito wrote the Senate.
Alito's current recollections differ from his memory when he was seeking appointment to the Reagan administration. In a 1985 job application letter in which he said the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion, he wrote that he was currently a member of "the Concerned Alumni of Princeton University, a conservative alumni group."
Hmmmm... I'm pretty sure I can remember what organizations I participated in when I was in high school 20 years ago (or in college 15 years ago). Especially if they helped get me a job.
Today, we learned that Alito, as a Reagan administration lawyer, proposed a strategy in 1985 to limit abortion rights without generating headlines by overturning Roe v. Wade.
Alito memo article
"No one seriously believes that the court is about to overrule Roe v. Wade" he wrote regarding two cases to be reviewed by the Court in 1985, "What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling ... and in the meantime, of mitigating its effects?"
Though I have not seen the actual memo yet, it appears that Alito's advice was taken to heart by the Reagan administration and pro-life zealots.
In the last 20 years, pro-lifers have gradually chipped away at abortion rights by limiting how and when abortions can be provided, by adding notification rights that invade a woman's right to privacy, and by increasing requirements for abortion providers to the point where it is not feasible to comply with the laws. Today, there is only one abortion provider in the entire backwater state of Mississippi. One. And a recent law looks like it's going to shut the doors of that last clinic any day now.
I will follow up with more posts once I can find a copy of the memo, but it certainly appears that Alito is firmly in the pro-life camp and will do anything to force his views on the public -- the majority of which does not support the pro-life position. It appears that Alito endorses gradual insidious changes to laws that fall below the public's radar yet limit our freedoms nevertheless. Alito's views appear more in line with a fundamentalist philosophy than the typical middle-of-the-road American.
Furthermore, this newly released memo appears to be a lot more significant than Alito's 1985 job application letter (that stated Alito's view that the Constitution does not provide the right to an abortion), which the Republicans have subsequently argued that Alito was just saying what is required (i.e. lying) to get the job.
-John Locke
PS. Relating to lying:
David Espo writes...
On another matter, Alito stepped carefully around his one-time membership in Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a conservative organization that sparked controversy two decades ago by saying school officials had lowered admission standards to accept women and minority applicants. "A document I recently reviewed reflects that I was a member of the group in the 1980s. Apart from that document, I have no recollection of being a member, of attending meetings or otherwise participating in the activities of the group," Alito wrote the Senate.
Alito's current recollections differ from his memory when he was seeking appointment to the Reagan administration. In a 1985 job application letter in which he said the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion, he wrote that he was currently a member of "the Concerned Alumni of Princeton University, a conservative alumni group."
Hmmmm... I'm pretty sure I can remember what organizations I participated in when I was in high school 20 years ago (or in college 15 years ago). Especially if they helped get me a job.
posted by John Locke | 6:42 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home