"We now know that George Bush personally ordered American intelligence services to spy on American citizens without the consent of any court and repeatedly directed officials to take actions that explicitly violated the law. Our courts are the last line of defense against abuses of power like this, and every judicial nominee must demonstrate that they will honor their most important responsibility: protecting our rights and freedoms.
Samuel Alito will not.
During the course of his judicial career, Samuel Alito has compiled a record of looking the other way when abuses of power threaten our basic freedoms. He has deferred to unscrupulous prosecutors who constructed all-white juries to try black defendants. He repeatedly failed to protect our right to privacy. He was even the lone judge voting to uphold the illegal strip-search of a 10-year old girl.
Next week Judge Alito's confirmation hearings will begin. Already over 750,000 people have signed a petition asking Senators to oppose Alito -- today I add my name.
Please join me.
A broad coalition of groups will deliver this petition to Senators in less than 48 hours. You and I have the chance to push the total over a million if we spread the word.
Moderate Republicans who have expressed concern about the domestic spying program also have serious questions about Judge Alito, and an outpouring from ordinary Americans could force them to do the right thing and vote against him.
Even before the domestic spying story broke, Senators in both parties had expressed concern about Judge Alito's credibility. On everything from his ideological streaks to his rulings in cases where he had a clear conflict of interest, Judge Alito seems to be willing to say whatever it takes to get confirmed. After bragging about his membership in an ultra-conservative group on his college campus to boost his right-wing credentials, he's now waffling on exactly what his relationship with the group was. And he explicitly broke a promise he made under oath to the Senate that he would recuse himself from cases where he had a personal financial interest.
Across the country more and more people are realizing that if Judge Alito is confirmed, the impact on our rights and our lives will be felt for generations.
Join the drive for a million people calling on the Senate to reject the Alito nomination.
Judge Alito's record of currying favor with the extreme right and favoring government power over individual liberties might make him qualified as a favorite speaker at conservative think tanks, but it does not qualify him to sit on the Supreme Court.
People who put politics over the rule of law cannot be trusted to guard our freedoms. Every American should shudder at the prospect of a judge with a history of ethical lapses and appeasing right-wing extremists getting a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.
Send a message to Senators now and join the 750,000 Americans speaking out against this dangerous nomination.
The Senate must reject Samuel Alito.
Thank you.
Governor Howard Dean, M.D."-from his email today.
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