Senators In Need Of A Spine: Democrats should stand against extremism and fight Judge Alito’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Excerpts from Kerry’s Statement Opposing Judge Alito:

President Bush had the opportunity to nominate someone who would unite the country in a time of extreme divisiveness. He chose not to do this, and that is his right. But that he didn’t and how this nomination happened tells us a great deal about this presidency and how politics is driving this process.

Under fire from his conservative base for nominating Harriet Miers – a woman whose judicial philosophy they mercilessly attacked – President Bush broke to extreme right-wing demands. This was a coup. Miers was removed and Alito was installed. The President did not consult with members of the Senate, as is required by the Constitution. He gave no thought to what the American people really wanted – or needed.

Instead, he made this nomination about his political base. He made it about an ideological shift in the Court. He made it about unassailable conservative credentials and an unimpeachable conservative judicial philosophy.

If you need proof, just look at the response of Ann Coulter. Ms. Coulter is as inflammatory and as conservative as anyone in the country. She makes her living through character assassination. She denounced the nomination of John Roberts. She attacked the nomination of Harriet Miers, calling her completely unqualified and lamenting that President Bush had ‘thrown away a Supreme Court seat.’ Yet she celebrated the nomination of Samuel Alito, stating that Bush gave Democrats ‘a right-hook’ with this ‘stunningly qualified’ nominee. This from a woman who said that Republicans need to nominate a person who ‘wake[s] up every morning … chortling about how much his latest opinion will tick off the left.’

Judge Alito’s hostility to individual rights is not limited to civil rights. He consistently excuses government intrusions into personal privacy – regardless of how egregious or excessive they are. In Doe v. Groody, for example, he dissented from an opinion written by then-Judge Michael Chertoff because he believed that the strip search of a 10-year old was ‘reasonable.’ He also thought the government should not be held accountable for shooting an un-armed boy trying to escape with a stolen purse, nor for forcibly evicting farmers from their land in a civil bankruptcy proceeding without any show of resistance.

This pattern of deference to government power is reinforced by a speech he gave as a sitting judge to the Federalist Society just five years ago.

In his speech, Judge Alito ‘preach[ed] the gospel’ of the Reagan Administration’s Justice Department: the theory of a unitary executive. Though in the hearings, Judge Alito attempted to downplay the significance of this theory by saying it did not address the scope of the power of the executive branch but rather addressed the question of who controls the executive branch, don’t be fooled. The unitary executive theory has everything to do with the scope of executive power.

In fact, even Stephen Calabresi, one of the fathers of the theory, has stated that ‘[t]he practical consequence of this theory is dramatic: it renders unconstitutional independent agencies and counsels.’ This means that Congress would lose the power to protect public safety by creating agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission – which ensures the safety of products on the marketplace – and the Securities and Exchange Commission – which protects Americans from corporations like Enron – and the President would gain it.

Carried to its logical end, the theory goes much further than invalidating independent agencies. The Bush Administration has used it to justify both its illegal domestic spying program and its ability to torture detainees. The Administration seems to view this theory as a blank check for executive overreaching.

Judge Alito’s endorsement of the unitary executive theory is not my only cause for concern. In 1986, while working in the Justice Department, Judge Alito endorsed the idea that presidential ‘signing statements’ could be used to influence judicial interpretation of legislation. His premise was that the President’s understanding of legislation was as important as Congress’ in determining legislative intent – startling when you consider that Congress is the legislative branch.

President Bush has taken the practice of issuing signing statements to a new level. Most recently, he used a signing statement to reserve the right to ignore the ban on torture that the Congress overwhelmingly passed. He also used signing statement to attempt to apply the law restricting habeas corpus review of enemy combatants retroactively – despite our understanding in Congress that it would not affect cases pending before the Supreme Court at the time of passage.

The implications of President Bush’s signing statements are astounding: his Administration is reserving the right to ignore those laws it does not like. Only one thing can hold the President accountable: the Supreme Court. I am not convinced that will happen if Judge Alito is confirmed.

Reigning in excessive government power matters more today than ever before as we work to find the balance between protecting our rights and our safety. As Justice O’Connor said, the war on terror is not a blank slate for government action. We can – and must – fight it in a manner consistent with the Constitution.

Only one thing can hold the President accountable: the Supreme Court.

ummm…can’t congress check the president by beginning impeachment proceedings him. why doesnt kerry get some balls?

The time is not yet ripe for impeachment- but this appointment must not stand.

Kerry can’t impeach Bush by himself. Don’t be stupid. Congress is basically neutered by the republican yes men anyway, making it virtually powerless to do anything, which means that americans don’t have a representation in gov’t that is speaking for them. I know GWB doesn’t speak for the majority of anyone. Everything he says is a lie or a half truth. I’m not exagerating. Everything! De-construct what he says next time you can stomach listening to him. Compare what he says to the reality (The real reality. Not some made up republican reality) and you will see….

Kerry Makes Case against Alito: Senator John Kerry’s remarks on the floor of the Senate on Judge Samuel Alito’s nomination to serve as a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

THE DUTY TO FILIBUSTER: We elect Senators with the hope and expectation that they will fight for democracy, not rubber stamp the status quo.