The Black Commentator - Radio BC: Samuel Alito: Reactionary Activist

The more we learn about Samuel Alito, the worse he looks. The man who Geo rge Bush wants to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court is clearly a hard, rightwing activist. That's why Bush nominated him. Recently released memos from Alito's tenure in the mid-Eighties Reagan administration prove him to be so.

Alito claims that his memos were just the work of a young lawyer doing his job for his client, the Reagan government. But he got the job in the first place by swearing absolute loyalty to the rightwing cause. In his job application, the young Alito described himself as a "fierce" conservative, an opponent of women's right to abortion, and to what he called "racial quotas." Alito stated baldly that abortion rights were not covered by the Constitution, and that he would welcome any opportunity to challenge the Roe ver sus Wade decision. He later bragged that he was especially pleased with his work on cases in which he opposed affirmative action. Alito criticized the Warren Supreme Court, the court that ushered in school desegregation.

Clearly, this judge is an unredeemed, Reaganite reactionary. He is also profoundly dishonest - which no doubt endeared him to the Bush men, who universally share this character defect. So do most of the corporate media, who strain themselves to find evidence of "moderation" in Alito's record - evidence that does not exist. If this, the second of George Bush's appointments to the High Court is allowed to pass, there can be no doubt that what is left of affirmative action is doomed. And if Roe versus Wade is overturned - as Alito said two decades ago that he was eager to do - then the groundwork will have been laid for a social revolt among women across the nation.

It is, indeed, ironic that rightwing lawyers who claim to be against "activist" courts are, in fact, the most activist of all. It takes great zeal and energy to turn back the hands of time, but that is what they are determined to do.

Alito is especially attractive to the Bush men at this juncture in history, when the president is claiming unlimited powers to do whateve r he chooses in the name of the War on Terror. Bush places himself above the law, claiming that his role as Commander-In-Chief in a war he himself proclaimed - and that will have no end until he un-proclaims it - empowers him to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure the security of the nation. Literally, anything. In other words, George Bush believes that he has the right to rule as a military dictator. Samuel Alito gives every indication of agreeing with him. Back in 1984, Alito advised that the U.S. Attorney General should have blanket immunity from lawsuits in wiretap cases, even if the wiretaps were illegal. Again, he wants to put the executive branch of government above the law. What kind of judge is that, who would enshrine lawlessness at the heights of government? A George Bush kind of judge, who functions on behalf of Caesar - which is what Alito wanted the day he applied for a job with Ronald Reagan. He is a career rightwing activist, seeking a lifetime job of oppress ing the poor, the female, and the non-white. For Radio BC, I'm Glen Ford.

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