On Jan 14, 2006, at 4:56 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
>
> Marta, they are NOT spineless, nor are they stupid. They (the DP
> leadership as a whole) are pursuing a policy that they believe in.
> Part
> of that policy, perhaps its very core, is that the opposition between
> the two parties must be a non-antagonistic contradiction; pursuing
> that
> contradiction must never disrupt or present a challenge to the normal
> operations of U.S. Society. And essential to those operations is the
> principle that the Supreme Court is "above politics," that one can
> object to the personal honesty or legal competence of a nominee, but
> that one cannot, except marginally, oppose a nomination on
> "ideological"
> grounds.
>
So does Howard Dean and this part of the Democratic Party just not count? There have been ideological objections from the Democrats - the DNC. See below. Marta
> Dear Marta,
>
> 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:
>
> http://www.democrats.org/alito
>
> 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.
>
> P.S. -- For more information about Judge Alito's deeply concerning
> ethical lapses and ideological rulings, see these resources:
>
> http://www.democrats.org/alitoresources