Right Wing on Alito: Week 14

Friday, February 3, 5 p.m.

Right Awaits Justice Stevens’ Retirement

NewsMax claims that there is “speculation … that Justice John Paul Stevens, the court's most liberal member, will retire in the near future, possibly as soon as this year.”  The article quotes Gary Marx of the Judicial Confirmation Network saying "The buzz in Washington is that Stevens was appointed by a Republican president and he considers himself one that plans to retire under a Republican president." The article also quotes Gary Bauer who says “the next vacancy, depending on who it is, will really be the mother of all battles” while Rush Limbaugh is reportedly “looking forward to the fight” saying “bring on the next vacancy. We are on a roll." Read

Radical Right Gains Access to White House to Celebrate Alito

The Bush administration invited representatives of the radical Right Wing who worked so hard to achieve the confirmation of Associate Justice Samuel Alito to a reception at the White House to celebrate their joint achievement on Wednesday, February 3. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was among those right-wing leaders stepping up to have a self-congratulatory photo taken with the new Justice. Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) Executive Director Andrea Lafferty delivered binders filled with more than 1500 “thank you” letters to President Bush, applauding his nomination of conservative justices to the Court. She was photographed with Alito and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. TVC’s photo caption of that picture notes “TVC worked hard for the confirmation of Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.” Concerned Women for America Chief Counsel Janet LaRue scored photos with Chief Justice John Roberts and well as Associate Justices Alito, Thomas, Antonin Scalia, and even Stephen G. Breyer.

[Photos: Justice Samuel Alito with Andrea Lafferty, Jan LaRue (in rotation), Gary Cass, and Tony Perkins.]

Clarence Thomas Reportedly Praises Religious Right Group for Role in Alito Confirmation – and in His Own

Dr. Gary Cass, executive director of D. James Kennedy’s Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, tells his supporters of his experience at a White House reception following Alito’s appointment, “where I was able to personally congratulate the new Justice and tell him of your efforts to support his nomination. I also assured him of the ongoing prayers from the Center for Reclaiming America for Christ’s team. He seemed sincerely grateful.” Cass adds that “When Justice Thomas heard that Dr. Kennedy and the Center supported Judge Alito, he became effusive in his thanks. He was quick to mention how appreciative he was of Dr. Kennedy’s support for his own nomination.” Cass writes to his supporters that “to the efforts of people like you, times seem to have certainly changed” and he encourages them to “Keep your powder dry” for “another Supreme Court vacancy.” Read

Thursday, February 2, 6 p.m.

“God’s Senator” Would be “Disappointed” If Alito Does Not Vote to Outlaw Abortion

Republican senator Sam Brownback of Kansas was quoted in the USA Today as saying he would be "disappointed” if Alito does not vote to outlaw abortion. Read Brownback was called “God’s Senator” in a recent Rolling Stone article which reported that Alito was nominated “largely because of [Sen. Sam] Brownback [R-Kansas]’s efforts.” In the profile by Jeff Sharlet of the far-right future presidential hopeful, Brownback was credited for “politely but thoroughly demolish[ing]” the nomination of Harriet Miers “on the grounds that she was insufficiently opposed to abortion." Sharlett recalls "The day Miers withdrew her name, Sen. John McCain surprised the mob of reporters clamoring around Brownback outside the Senate chamber by grabbing his colleague's shoulders.'Here's the man who did it!' McCain shouted in admiration, a big smile on his face.” Read

Alito: the Necessary Fifth Vote on Constitutionality of Abortion Restrictions

Jay Sekulow of the Pat Robertson-affiliated American Center for Law and Justice says the stage is set at the Supreme Court after two appellate courts ruled the Partial-Birth Abortion Act unconstitutional: “With the addition of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court, I believe we have the five necessary votes to sustain a ban on this practice. In Stenberg v. Carhart, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 against our position. Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justices Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy would have ruled in our favor, holding the ban constitutional. Justice O’Connor was the decisive swing vote in the case. With her retirement now in place and Sam Alito confirmed, I believe we have the fifth vote to see this practice no longer enshrined in our Constitution.” Read

Sekulow was quoted in the New York Sun making the same point on the partial-birth abortion issue: “It was 5-4 against us. Now I think it will be 5-4 for us. The Alito confirmation, I think, changes the way this one comes out.” Read

[BACKGROUND NOTE: Legal Times has called Jay Sekulow “the leading Supreme Court advocate of the Christian right“ and reported that “[t]hrough the ACLJ and a string of interconnected nonprofit and for-profit entities, [Sekulow] has built a financial empire that generates millions of dollars a year and supports a lavish lifestyle -- complete with multiple homes, chauffeur-driven cars, and a private jet that he once used to ferry Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.”]

Right Wing Wants Another Justice in the Mold of Scalia and Thomas – And Roberts and Alito!

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council writes on the prospect for future anti-abortion nominees: "I think this is a very significant turning point, in terms of our high court. No longer do we have to subscribe to this notion that, to advance candidates, they have to be a totally stealth nominee. I think that the record was very clear in the case of Judge Roberts and Judge Alito, that they were men that shared a pro-life view, and they were confirmed overwhelmingly.” If the president gets to appoint another nominee, Perkins urged him to “unapologetically subscribe to a judicial policy of restraint. I'm hopeful the president will do that with another nomination along the lines of a Scalia, a Thomas, an Alito or a Roberts.” Read

"We may long remember January 31, 2006, as the most important date in our republic's recent history. It is the day that one Samuel Alito was confirmed by the United States Senate to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor," lauds American Family Association (AFA) President Tim Wildmon on the confirmation of Justice Samuel Alito. Wildmon, ignoring the entire Harriet Miers imbroglio, commends President Bush for not disappointing his right-wing base and having "followed through with his campaign promise to appoint conservative judges to the federal bench." Wildmon concludes, "What we really need is for another liberal justice to retire so that President Bush can solidify a conservative majority on the Supreme Court." Read

Right Crows the Supreme Court Would Have Looked Very Different with President Kerry

Claiming that, had John Kerry been elected, “nothing close to” Alito and Roberts would “have been allowed within 200 miles of Democrat's short-list” for the Supreme Court, Chuck Muth, president of Citizen Outreach, writes that “Because of George W's re-election, the Supreme Court has now decidedly moved a large step in the ‘right’ direction. That alone was probably worth the vote in 2004.” Read

The Culmination of a Twenty Year Campaign – “High Hopes” For The Next Twenty

The New York Times reports that if Alito and Roberts live up to their right-wing reputations, they will “largely be consolidating a victory” started by the Reagan administration. The article notes that while the right-wing has been relatively successful in cases covering affirmative action, school vouchers, and executive powers, “it is the Roe v. Wade decision that continues to frustrate conservative lawyers most.” The article quotes Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy center saying “There is broad consensus among judicial conservatives that Roe is wrong and that its maintenance has done deep damage to the integrity of judicial decision making.” Elsewhere, it is noted that the Right Wing has high hopes for Roberts and Alito, with Whelan stating “Judicial imposition of same-sex marriage seems to be on the horizon …We also oppose efforts to strip God out of the Pledge of Allegiance." Read

Extreme Right Claims God on Their Side - Politically

Vision America’s Rick Scarborough says “God intervened in Florida [in 2000], and by a vote of the Supreme Court, a pro-life President was elected who has now appointed what appears to be two conservative jurists to the Supreme Court … This is a war for the soul of the nation and the world. We must not shrink back. I believe that Judge Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States of America is an answer to prayer. Liberals still control the court, but it appears that we are on the verge of seeing dramatic changes in America. No longer is it a given that a small, well-financed body of hard core leftists will get their way in our Courts. Partial-birth abortion, gay marriage and a host of other assaults on decency in America are now drawing their last breath.” Read

Wednesday, February 1, 5 p.m.

Extreme Right Wing Wants to Continue to Call Shots on Highest Court – By Asking for Retirements

Echoing sentiments expressed by Ann Coulter, Pat Robertson and others, Operation Rescue is now calling “for the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens from the United States Supreme Court as soon as possible to make way for a third Bush appointment that would restore the Court to its originally intended function of interpreting the Constitution.” The press release quotes Operation Rescue President Troy Newman saying “With all due respect, now is the time to move on and allow this Republican president to appoint your successor. Our nation is weary of your brand of judicial activism that has cost the lives of over 47 million innocent children. For the good of the nation, please announce your retirement as soon as possible.” Read

The Right Stands by Its Man – and Gains Access to the White House

Grassfire.org president Steve Elliot says he has “the tremendous privilege of representing you and the entire million-strong Grassfire team at a White House reception for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito hosted by President and Mrs. Bush today (Wednesday) at 4pm.” Read

The Traditional Values Coalition is asking activists to “Thank the President for Appointing Judicial Conservatives to the Supreme Court” by signing a letter to be hand-delivered to the White House by TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty. Lafferty has been invited to attend a White House reception for Justice Samuel Alito today, February 1, 2006.

The Right Rejoices …

James Dobson and Focus on the Family Action applauded Alito's confirmation, saying "Associate Justice Alito's experience on the bench and reverence for the Constitution will serve America well, we pray, for the next several decades.” Dobson was also quoted in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette saying “This is obviously a great day for us. We have not only been working toward this day, but praying for it for 20 years. There were times when it looked like we would never see a more conservative philosophy on the Supreme Court, and that makes today’s development all the sweeter.”

Concerned Women for America declares it “A Supreme Day for America as Justice Alito Takes the Bench” in its press release. CWA said the whole process “sends a clear message” that “No stealth nominees need apply.” CWA’s Chief Counsel Jan LaRue thanks President Bush “for keeping [his] word.” Read

… And Relishes a Fight Over the Next Vacancy

Traditional Values Coalition Executive Director Andrea Lafferty issued the following statement on the Senate vote to confirm Samuel Alito: “The Traditional Values Coalition will continue to promote the confirmation of federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, who are judicial conservatives. We are looking forward to a vigorous battle for the next vacancy on the Supreme Court.” Read

Gary Bauer exults in Alito’s confirmation and looks ahead to Bush’s next pick: “This is an important victory, my friends. I fully expect Justice Alito will make a crucial difference, especially when it comes to ending the high court's hostility to the free exercise of religion in the public square. But the battle is not over… Should President Bush get a third appointment, and many Washington insiders expect he will, that nominee could cement a true conservative majority on the Supreme Court for years to come. And that is why I believe many Senate liberals fought so viciously to block the confirmation of Judge Alito. Their unprecedented resistance to this nomination served as a warning shot for what we can expect if the next vacancy is for one of the liberal seats currently held by Justices Ginsburg or Stevens.” Read

For Others - The Future is Now

Operation Rescue also blasts the 9th Circuit Court and the 2nd Circuit Court for ruling that the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2004 is unconstitutional, saying “This schizophrenic and immoral misapplication of our laws can no longer be tolerated. These cases must go to the newly seated Supreme Court for adjudication. This will be a golden opportunity for Roberts and Alito [to] put their conservative judicial philosophies to good use.” Read

Focus on the Family quotes David Bereit, executive director of the American Life League saying “Justice Alito's confirmation to the nation's highest court offers pro-life Americans reason for hope and optimism about the future. His record suggests that he will help to ensure justice for all Americans — born and preborn.” Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage is also pleased to have Alito on the court because "With pending federal lawsuits in New Jersey and Washington state poised to strike down marriage as between one man and one woman and legislative action in both houses of Congress imminent, 2006 will be the defining year in the debate over marriage.” Read

Focus on the Family’s Reasons For Supporting Alito

In a newsletter just released, but written before Samuel Alito’s hearings even began, Focus on the Family Action said “The mounting concern among members of the liberal establishment over Judge Alito's nomination is a strong indicator that he is a nominee about whom conservative Christians should be enthusiastic …The makeup of the Supreme Court will determine how the critical moral issues facing our nation are decided — not only now, but for generations to come. The decisions the Court makes now may well determine whether our children grow up in a country that embraces the values of our founding fathers, or descends further into a quagmire in which parental rights are stripped away, religious expression in the public square is forbidden, the traditional understandings of marriage and family are eliminated, and helpless babies in the womb continue to be slaughtered through abortion-on-demand. With these thoughts in mind, it is absolutely critical that you make your voice heard about the confirmation of Judge Alito.” Read

Tuesday, January 31, 4 p.m.

Right Wing Wants More Than Alito – Next Ask:  Mandate Anti-Gay Discrimination in U.S. Constitution

Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins urges President George W. Bush to use his State of the Union message to promote the proposed anti-gay “Marriage Protection Amendment.” Perkins writes in his daily “Washington Update” e-mail, “I cannot emphasize strongly enough that [President Bush] must reach out to the Values Voters who put him and so many of his congressional allies in office. No better way could be found than to offer his strong support for protecting marriage. Congress needs to approve the Marriage Protection Amendment and send it to the states for ratification. This won't happen without strong White House backing …Nominating good justices like Judge Alito is one way to assure the grassroots that this Administration is working to rein in activist courts; directly defending marriage is another.“ Read

Right Wing Prayers re Roe Answered With Alito – Now Praying for “Next Open Seat”

Following the confirmation vote on Alito, National Clergy Council President Rob Schenck said ”Millions of Americans have prayed for a change on the Court, and this vote is an answer to those prayers. We are hopeful the confirmation of Justice Alito is the beginning of the end for Roe, that it signifies the preservation of marriage and strengthens our public acknowledgement of God. Now we turn our prayers and work towards the next open seat." Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, added his comments: "With the confirmation of Judge Alito, we are now seeing the begining of the end of the Roe V. Wade and judicial activism. The pro-life community is now making plans and strategies to deal with a post Roe political climate across the country. You will now see a host of state legislative and voter initiatives seeking to ban abortion." Read

Right Already Eager for Next Supreme Court Battle

Vision America, while pleased with the confirmation of Alito, warns that the right wing has not yet achieved total control over the Supreme Court, saying "Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Souter, Stevens and Kennedy constitute a solid majority for turning the Constitution into a mandate for radical social change. Constitutionalists have improved our position. But we still need one vote to restore democracy and original intent. If the president gets another nomination during the remaining two years of his term, the left will launch the rhetorical equivalent of World War III to block his choice. Christian conservatives must be prepared for that.” Read

Right Calls Into Question Specter’s Intellectual Honesty

Matthew Franck, writing on National Review‘s “Bench Memos” blog, suggests Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pennsylvania) may have been misled by Alito’s answers to the senator’s pointed questions. Writes Franck, “I appreciate Senator Specter's support for Judge Alito. Really, I do. But on the Senate floor just now, he urged his colleagues to vote affirmatively on cloture and on the nomination by declaring that Alito doesn't believe in originalism, but believes instead that the Constitution is a living document (I paraphrase, but very closely). Does anyone but Specter believe that these are persuasive inferences from what Alito said during the hearings?” Read

Alito’s Confirmation Means “One More Nail in Roe’s Coffin”

Operation Rescue says that Alito’s confirmation will be “one more nail in Roe's coffin.”  OR says “We believe that Roe v. Wade can be gutted with the simple finding that the fetus is a person” and that “five states that are currently working bills through their legislatures that will challenge the issue of personhood … We believe that with Justice Alito on the bench, these cases have an unprecedented opportunity to nail the lid on the coffin of Roe for good.” Read

Overturning Roe is First Goal -  Next is an “End to Legal Abortion in America”

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, said “Priests for Life is grateful to the voters who, in the elections of 2004, were motivated by the desire to change the Supreme Court, particularly on the way it rules regarding abortion. No issue is of greater moral consequence. We expect that the changes on the Court will move us closer to an end to legal abortion in America. We renew our call to voters to make the elections of 2006 and 2008 even greater advances for the protection of the unborn.” Read

“Roe’s Days are Numbered” With Alito Confirmation

Operation Rescue says “Roe’s days are numbered” with the confirmation of Alito: “Abortion supporters were dealt a crucial blow when the U.S. Senate voted 58-42 to confirm judge Samuel Alito to the United Stated Supreme Court, increasing their fears that abortion may soon be declared unconstitutional … Support for abortion on demand is dying and Roe’s supporters are gasping for air. It is only the out- dated Senators, like Ted Kennedy, hanging on to the past who haven’t figured out that abortion’s days are numbered.” Read

Right Looks to Alito’s Past for His Future on Court

Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for Pat Robertson’s American Center for Law and Justice, calls Alito’s confirmation “an important victory for the nation and the high court … We know that the conservative judicial philosophy that Judge Alito embraced as a federal appeals court judge for 15 years will serve as the cornerstone of his tenure on the high court.  Judge Alito understands the limited role of the judiciary and is committed to interpreting the Constitution, not rewriting it. Those values will serve him well as Justice Alito begins his work on the Supreme Court.” Read

Alito’s Confirmation Suggests “Justice” for “Pre-born”

American Life League Executive Director David Bereit says that “Justice Alito's confirmation to the nation's highest court offers pro-life Americans reason for hope and optimism about the future,” because “His record suggests that he will help to ensure justice for all Americans — born and pre-born.” He calls the efforts of anti-abortion activists “crucial” in securing Alito’s appointment. Read

Celebrating the End of Moderation

“Judge Alito is everything a judge should be,” crows Concerned Women for America Chief Counsel Jan LaRue, who added that the Supreme Court roster “is looking much better with one less switch-hitter” referring in part to Justice O’Connor’s legacy as the crucial swing vote on so many issues.  Read

Moving the Court “Back to the Right” Called  Triumph for the Right

Matt Lewis, writing in Human Events’ Alito Blog, gives right-wing activists credit for Alito’s appointment. Recounting the “conservative movement” since Barry Goldwater and the efforts of Heritage Foundation co-founder Paul Weyrich, anti-ERA activist Phyllis Schlafly, and Leadership Institute founder Morton Blackwell, Lewis writes, “All of these trials and tribulations have led us to the point we are today -- having succeeded in moving the United States Supreme Court back to the Right.” Read

Monday, January 30, 6 p.m.

The Right-Wing Cabal That Brought You Roberts and Alito – Step by Step

David Kirkpatrick reports in the New York Times that a year ago “a team of conservative grass-roots organizers, public relations specialists and legal strategists met to prepare a battle plan to ensure any [Supreme Court] vacancies were filled by like-minded jurists.” The article quotes a member of the group as saying they “boxed in” opposition to any White House nominees and gives the group credit for destroying the nomination of Harriet Miers. The group included the likes of Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, former Attorney General Ed Meese, C. Boyden Gray, formerly the head of the Committee for Justice, and Jay Sekulow of the Pat Robertson-founded American Center for Law and Justice. The article reports that they had “a two-part strategy to roll out behind whomever the president picked … first, extol the nonpartisan legal credentials of the nominee, steering the debate away from the nominee's possible influence over hot-button issues. Second, attack the liberal groups they expected to oppose any Bush nominee. The team worked through a newly formed group, the Judicial Confirmation Network, to coordinate grass-roots pressure on Democratic senators from conservative states. And they stayed in constant contact with scores of conservative groups around the country to brief them about potential nominees and to make sure they all stuck to the same message. They fine-tuned their strategy for Judge Alito when he was nominated in October by recruiting Italian-American groups to protest the use of the nickname ‘Scalito,’ which would have linked him to the conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.” The article also notes that the nominations of Roberts and Alito are the culmination of a decades-long effort started by the Federalist Society and the Reagan administration. Read

The Culmination of a 25-year Effort: The High Court’s Lurch to the Right

Echoing a point made in the above-mentioned New York Times article, right-wing law professor Douglas Kmiec writes in the National Review that “The key reason Sam Alito joining John Roberts would be historic is that it has a good chance of fulfilling the founding vision of a Supreme Court respectful of a limited judicial role and the separation of powers. Most Americans have never known such a court in their lifetime.” He says “Ronald Reagan put his trust in two young lawyers, John Roberts and Sam Alito” and that they “are not inclined to disappoint ... the Gipper's memory.” He concludes that Sen. Kerry’s call for a filibuster “is threatening a 25-year effort to reaffirm the judiciary as the ‘least dangerous’ branch — no one counting or courting votes can afford to fail to grasp how profound a loss it would be for Kerry to prevail.” Read

Alito: The “Well Handled Nominee”

The National Law Journal reports that Samuel Alito’s preparation sessions for his Senate confirmation hearings – known as “murder boards” – included Harriet Miers, former Solicitor General Ted Olson, Republican lobbyist Ed Gillespie, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society. Other participants included Charles J. Cooper, partner in Washington's Cooper & Kirk, a former assistant attorney general at the helm of the Office of Legal Counsel in the Reagan Justice Department and “in one session, Alito faced a very familiar face: his former law clerk, Adam Ciongoli, now senior vice president and general counsel at Time Warner Inc. Ciongoli also served as counsel to former Attorney General John Ashcroft from 2001 to 2003.” Read

Sekulow: “Encouraged by the Direction of the Supreme Court”

Jay Sekulow of the Pat Robertson-affiliated American Center for Law and Justice says the ACLJ “Governmental Affairs office will be working on ensuring that cloture takes place today and that a filibuster does not move forward.” Sekulow is encouraged “by the direction of the Supreme Court, especially with cases like partial-birth abortion and the Ten Commandments on the way to the Court’s docket” saying “the Court and the country are at a critical crossroads” Read [BACKGROUND NOTE: Legal Times has called Jay Sekulow “the leading Supreme Court advocate of the Christian right“ and reported that “[t]hrough the ACLJ and a string of interconnected nonprofit and for-profit entities, [Sekulow] has built a financial empire that generates millions of dollars a year and supports a lavish lifestyle -- complete with multiple homes, chauffeur-driven cars, and a private jet that he once used to ferry Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.” Read.]

The Future of the Court: A “Net Plus for Judicial Conservatism”

Claiming that the “big lesson” of Alito’s nomination is that “quality matters,” a Weekly Standard editorial asserts that Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination when it “became obvious that [her] qualifications were thin. … Without delay, Bush selected Alito . . . whose judicial philosophy is manifestly that of a conservative, a lawyer who has actually stated that the Constitution does not encompass a right to abortion. As the replacement for O'Connor, Alito was surely a trade-up, so to speak, a net plus for judicial conservatism.” Publisher Terry Eastland, writing for the editors, also warns that the Alito nomination “is already an issue in some 2006 races” and predicts that “the debate over judicial selection will intensify both this year and again in 2008.” Read

On this January 28th edition of the "The [Wall Street] Journal Editorial Report" on the Fox News Channel, the panel of Wall Street Journal contributors discussed the Alito nomination, with Melanie Kirkpatrick predicting that “with Roberts and Alito on the court, you have four solid conservatives [who are] going to be writing opinions that are going to be very well argued, very persuasive. And I think they may be able to shift the debate back toward the center and maybe bring Justice Kennedy along with them.” James Taranto discussed what it will mean to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor with Alito, saying O’Connor believed “that affirmative action was sometimes constitutional and would be for another 25 years. I think it's quite possible that with Alito that deadline will move up.” Read