Samuel Alito’s America, Revisited
Samuel Alito’s America, Revisited
The libertarians at Hit and Run have produced a point-by-point rebuttal to our earlier post, Samuel Alito’s America. Our original post runs through a number of Alito’s decisions with headlines that suggest Alito’s confirmation would have broad policy implications. (For example: “ALITO WOULD ALLOW RACE-BASED DISCRIMINATION.â€)
Hit and Run responds to each of our points by noting that Alito didn’t make a broad policy pronouncement but decided how the law should be applied in a specific case. In Bray v. Marriott Hotels, for example, Hit and Run notes that Alito never says he would “allow race-based discrimination.†Rather, according to Hit and Run, Alito argues one “might think the hotel’s stated reasons for promoting someone else are weak, but that this isn’t enough to show they were pretextual.â€
Hit and Run’s argument has some intuitive appeal but, in the end, misses the point. When a judge consistently applies to law to the facts in a certain way it has broad policy impacts. To pretend otherwise is foolish. For example, if Alito’s interpretation of the law in Bray v. Marriott was accepted it would “immunize an employer from the reach of Title VII [even] if the employer’s belief that it had selected the ‘best’ candidate was the result of conscious racial bias.†In other words, racial discrimination would be allowed.
That’s not our opinion, that’s the opinion of the majority in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. And that’s Samuel Alito’s America.
UPDATE: Hit and Run responds to our response.
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alito is otila backwards. Ominous.
November 1st, 2005 at 9:29 amAlito is against race based preferences like affirmative action – like most of America is. That is a good thing.
You don’t have the votes to stop him. You can kick and scream all you want, unless Alito is an empty suit, you can start referring to him as Justice Alito.
Liberals have no recourse on this nomination. There is NOTHING you can do. Conservatives control the process.
November 1st, 2005 at 9:33 amThis seems to be the point at which the Progressive side of the ledger should be out in FORCE pointing out to all those people that made their states run Red in the last two elections that THIS is what you get when you vote against your own self interests. The ways that decisions of the Supreme Court effect us ALL in our daily lives need to be put in front of these people NOW! No more Medical Leave Act? Don’t let anybody in your family get long term sick or injured…let ‘em search and seize without any good reason? Don’t be in the wrong place at the wrong time, folks! Wanna talk abortion for your teenage daughter? Don’t even go there, you’ll get to bring up the little Nipper on your poverty-level wages from those two jobs you work. This is what happens when you listen to the Happy Talk of Conservatives during election cycles. At least them damn gays can’t get hitched, right! Wake UP people! Texas? Florida? Ohio? Are you listening? Start paying attention! Start getting ready for the ‘06 elections NOW! NOW is the time to get this message out there, while it’s getting rubbed in our faces by this cabal in Washington. Where is the DLC? The DNCC? Where ARE these people?? Seize this moment, it is the most poignant you are gonna get…
November 1st, 2005 at 9:35 amSounds like everything’s gonna go pretty smoothly, then, NED.
Is anxiously wanting to appoint Condi a “race based preference”, NED?
You are a soft turd.
November 1st, 2005 at 9:36 am” Bush can appoint Condi to VP and try to “heal†the country. The first female and black VP – major achievement”-NED
You’re a joke, NED! Go outside! Get some fresh air! Get your ass kicked! Maybe you’ll feel alive again! Turd!
November 1st, 2005 at 9:39 amLibby is forgetful, by the way. And I personally feel that the lack of an indictment on the primary charge is a success for our side. Oh, and by the way, I want to eat your children and rape and murder your very pathetic existance.-GOP Talking Point
November 1st, 2005 at 9:41 amOnce again I am very pleased to see Think Progress acknowledge another view which differs from their own. They link to the exact page, take out excerpts, and then respond to the rebuttal in a respectful manner.
This is a major reason why I always return to Think Progress. Not just because of the amazing information they lay out more clearly then just about any other website, but also because they are not afraid to let their own readers know about others who may disagree with them
November 1st, 2005 at 9:42 amGood point #4. This administration has the most black people appointed in office than any other administration in the past. Sounds like a good public image for the repukes and sounds like affirmative action at its most basic premise.
November 1st, 2005 at 9:46 amThe claim that Alito “would allow race-based discrimination” should be a positive for TP. Affirmative action, as practiced at Michigan Law for example, is race-based discrimination. And this was upheld by Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, David Souter, and O’Connor. Sounds like Alito in on your side!
November 1st, 2005 at 9:56 amSomehow I get the feeling being a judge is NOTHING like being an umpire. What an insult.
November 1st, 2005 at 9:59 am#4 and #8 — so if Condi and Clarence Thomas are race-based appointments (affirmative action) — and if you think they are not competent — doesn’t that argue against affirmative action as a policy?
November 1st, 2005 at 10:18 amIs Condi even human? I think she’s a Goaool.
November 1st, 2005 at 10:42 am[...] Think Progress > Samuel Alito’s America, Revisited [...]
November 1st, 2005 at 10:43 amI wonder what Laura Bush has to say about her husbands choice for a “sexist” on the SC…
November 1st, 2005 at 11:06 amTeddy Kennedy’s smear job on Robert Bork was ugly enough when he attacked Bork on the Senate floor in 1987. TP’s unimaginative mimicry of Kennedy 18 years later is just as ugly, and just as ill-informed. It does prove one thing though: The Left really doesn’t have any new ideas – just the same old plays from the same old, worthless playbook.
Confirmed by Christmas!
November 1st, 2005 at 11:08 amBoycott Dominos Pizza and call their corporate headquarters at 800-468-4726 and make the demand that George W Bush withdraw the nomination of Samuel Alito and nominate a moderate to the Supreme Court
Comment by John deaux
Coffee….all….over…..keyboard……stop it!
November 1st, 2005 at 11:13 amThis nominee is a visceral justification to diminish minority and woman’s rights. Democrats are again whimpering and unable to provide a cohesive message from the early stages of this nomination. In order to successfully block a nominee, opposition needs to be ferocious and it needs to be instantaneous
November 1st, 2005 at 11:28 amAlito is the perfect stiff conformist robot. Just plug him into the war machine and watch him spit out decisions which curb your freedoms and create an inability for the average citizen to fight the corrupt system.
November 1st, 2005 at 11:45 amJust another fearful douche bag, keeping mankind from advancing because he fears change and the possible loss of personal power that change sometimes brings.
Am I the only person (Democrat, of course) that is embarrassed by the leadership of this party? In 1990, Alito was UNANIMOUSLY approved for his current position. Once he gets the Supreme Court nom, whew, look out!
We all know he is on the far right of his party’s “fun lineâ€. However, that does not excuse the behavior of the idiots on the Hill. Instead of focusing on his record and plotting a course of action, the dishonorable Senators Schumer and Reid foam from the mouth. Schumer especially made my blood boil by referencing Rosa Parks. This brave woman is not yet buried and she is being used as a political sound byte.
Where has the art of politics gone? Alito’s decision on spousal notification should be enough. Give the man a hearing. Leave the rhetoric alone and he will destroy himself. He may not have to answer questions concerning issues that may come up before the court, but he sure as hell has to answer for his past rulings.
The reason we have not been successful in “winning hearts and minds†is that we are unfocused. Michael Moore, Schumer, Dean and the rest of the tools who are the spokespeople for MY (and your) Democratic Party marginalize our message and prohibit us from moving forward. Think about it. When Cindy Sheehan first came on the scene I thought she was exactly what we were looking for. Months later, she has ventured into the Middle East crisis, commented on Rove, the Hurricanes and spoke about being in a “very Hispanic†neighborhood. I also believe she called the insurgents in Iraq “freedom fighters†(please correct me if I am wrong). Why can we not stay focused? Does anyone here think this advances our cause?
There is 15-20% of the population who believes in the extreme views of each party. When are we going to learn that the remaining 60-70% is what changes elections, and ultimately our country?
November 1st, 2005 at 11:50 amPresident Bush: “I nominate Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.”
TPers: “Eeeek! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
I told you all to be careful what you wish for . . . What an amusing Halloween treat!
Confirmed by Christmas!
November 1st, 2005 at 11:53 amOne asshole is the same as the next bsr. The joke is on you and your children, but you are too backwards to realize it.
November 1st, 2005 at 12:09 pmIs there not a pro sports team you could tie your miniscule self-worth to for some artificial personal victory. Pathetitic right wing dope.
So, while you have your second hand laugh at the left, I’ll be having a real genuine hearty one at your complete ignorance and pathetic wanabe wish for personal power. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Bullshit Red and Northeast Dildomama don’t think or have any real sense of reality. They get their politics spoon fed to them by drug-addled Rush Limbaugh (Rush… what an appropriate moniker for a doper).
All they care about is “winning”. It doesn’t matter if any of the republican’s policies cause harm, destroy lives and/or countries, pollute the air and our brains and facilitate the big corporate smash and grab fest of the U.S. Treasury.
Every time you see the most brilliant man you’ve ever seen like Harriet Miers you can kneel down and worship like good little boys and girls and be thankful that once again you got your way. But tell us, how does it benefit you seeing a republican politician force some shitty legislation down our throats that only really benefits him or her, their favorite lobbyist and a handful of ultra greedy ownership class CEO’s? Or is it just your inferiority complex of being a bully or bully-like that makes you gravitate toward someone of the same qualities. You just love it when someone like that beats another down don’t you? It’s all about getting your selfish way and your jollies when you get the big win, when you should be seeking a better way for all that benefits all. It’s time for Rush now. Make sure you have your bibs on!
November 1st, 2005 at 12:34 pmThe thing that amazes me is how often people on the left accuse those on the right of being robots that only parrot the party line. Why is it so hard for you to believe that there are people out there that simply don’t agree with your ideology? They really believe in the conservative movement.
This is why the left alienates so many and continues to lose ground. In their minds they are always correct and if you don’t agree with them you must be retarded. So much for being open minded and accepting of others…
November 1st, 2005 at 12:37 pmWhy did you lie about Alito? You know very well in the case of Penn vs Casey. Altio said Penn had the right to make that law. Not that the law was a good one. Yet you turned it int to Altio on Roe vs Wade. Why did you lie?
November 1st, 2005 at 12:51 pmStinky, I guess you think we should all go along with the Bush madness of cut it, drill it and kill it. No more freedoms, move back words on civil rights and if this nut job get’s his way martial law, huh.? Conservative.? Let see, we now owe 6 trillion to china and other countries, we have the largest staff of liers and thieves in our white house ever, What’s conservative about that. 2,015+ service personal killed for Bush’s lie to the public, close to 100,000 Iraq citizens have died, including women and children. Bush bows down to the extrems right wing fundamentalists, so called christians and appoints another extremest judge. Our media is bought and paid for by the extreme right, your party with the help of Diebold stole two elections, now we are controled by facests or nazis, take your pick and you think we should lie down and take more of you’r BS. Give me a F******G break you stupid piece of S***. I’m not happy with either side right now but atleast the left hasent screwed the people and enviroment the way this bunch has. Coming soon to you door, martial law, compliments of this madman Bush and his boss the worst evil ever Cheney. Sleep well tonight jerk, they will get you as quick as all the rest of us.
November 1st, 2005 at 12:58 pm#26 Wow!! I hit a majorly exposed nerve! LOL
I never once said you have to fall in line with conservatives or Bush. I never once even expressed any support that I have for Bush or his policies. Only that it amazes me how little respect you give others with a different ideology. You don’t have to agree with what they say or believe but calling me a stupid piece of s*** and a jerk only strengthens my case in that you have zero respect for anyone with an opinion not of your own.
Thanks for playing.
November 1st, 2005 at 1:09 pm#24 Stinky: No, it’s just that conservatives of today seem to not be able to admit to the incompetence, injustices, lies and overall failures of this administration. When someone does point them out you seem to dance around them and turn your nose up and dare anyone to make something of it.
Tell us just what the “conservative movement” is. Is it outsourcing all the middle class jobs to cheaper labor in the far east so you can have a cheaper TV? Insourcing cheap illegal labor from Mexico so some ultra rich conservative can save a few hundred dollars on his landscaping? Is it about making sure the pharmaceutical companies get to have even more money at the expense of our elderly’s health? Is it about giving the upper 1% of our society the biggest tax breaks so they will be able to send even more money off-shore? Is it about twisting intelligence so you can start a war in another country just because you want to control that area as you see fit while you give your buddies at certain corporations most all of the contract work at greatly inflated prices? Is it about forcing people to think and believe as you just so you can feel better about yourself?
Go ahead, tell us all about the “conservative movement”. Or could it be that you simply left out a word…. conservative BOWEL movement!
November 1st, 2005 at 1:11 pmYou’r welcome stinky. I would be more tolerant if you showed some common sence about your country and her people. Since you don’t know ,I am one of the millions who have faught for your freedoms and civil rights for over 40 years. Not just my right’s all our rights. I am one of the old time fighters, you have a right to your opinion but I don’t and will not agree whith your opinion if you are a supporter of the Bush madness. I will not follow a murderer of our people and Iraq, a distroyer of our country, both finacialy, ecanomicaly and enviromently who has sold us out to China and Saudi Arabia for oil and profit and who is champing at the bit to get the final approval of martial law… Maybe it is you who need’s to do some research and dig into the truth.. Your party has won nothing, they stole it and now you are in the same boat we are, welcome to my world, fight for the life of our troops to come home now, fight for clean water to drink, clean air to breath and the right of your wife, daughter to have an abortion when they have to have one. ….Fight for our parks that Bush and Pambo want to auction off to oil companies and big business. Watch the voting on C-Span. Think of your country, not just your self. Bush doesn’t give a s*** about anything but the extreme right and power. Get real….Blessings
November 1st, 2005 at 1:39 pmIt’s pointless in explaining the issues to republicans when they are so far deep into their ideology. There is no room for fresh ideas because then it conflicts with their foreknowledge that was fed to them in their enviroment. Very good example on this is the battle between evolution and creationism (new idea against old idea). For none christian here, ever try reasoning with a christian who is trying to convert you? LOL, good luck! It’s a protective barrier that exists in their head and some people are more prone to this than others.
November 1st, 2005 at 1:39 pm#29. I agree, the true battle is a domestic issue. The fight to protect that which is most vulnerable.
November 1st, 2005 at 1:42 pmLet me extrapolate on post #30. You can compare a neo-con to a preacher. If you try to argue with them, they will pull out quotes from the scripture, just like neo-cons pulling out mantra from the fox news and all those right wing pundits. It’s the samething! The conservative media is like a church to them, they have to constantly listen to reaffirm their faith, so they have ammunition to go out and fight the heathens, LOL. Oh man, human psychology is too funny.
November 1st, 2005 at 1:51 pmThank You! Jeremy, and your right. Just needed to try one more time to wake someone up. I will fight for every one’s rights to speak their truth’s but when the fact’s don’t show it to be true I have to get into it and point out the fact’s. Today I wish being stupid was painful, a lot of people would be in a world of hurt and maybe then they would learn what they are allowing to happen to our country. They are giving away all the rights I helped work so hard for, Soon it will be back to 1920 or earlier when total dictatorship was the rule. This freedom of speech will be next..Blessings
November 1st, 2005 at 1:55 pm[...] (via thinkprogress.org) The libertarians at Hit and Run have produced a point-by-point rebuttal to our earlier post, Samuel Alito’s America. Our original post runs through a number of Alito’s decisions with headlines that suggest Alito’s confirmation would have broad policy implications. (For example: “ALITO WOULD ALLOW RACE-BASED DISCRIMINATION.â€) [...]
November 1st, 2005 at 4:25 pmSamuel Alito’s America, Revisited
(via thinkprogress.org)
November 1st, 2005 at 4:25 pmThe libertarians at Hit and Run have produced a point-by-point rebuttal to our earlier post, Samuel Alito’s America. Our original post runs through a number of Alito’s decisions with headlines that suggest Alito’s co…
Yes, thank you Sharon for giving my under age daughters the right to an abortion with no need for me to ever even know and help to counsel her and let her know that everything is OK and that she is loved.
Thank you for supporting liberal Supreme Court justices that have determined if my local government has a better use for my land they can simply take it away.
Thank you so much for fighting for me and my rights. Where would I be without your self important crusde?
November 1st, 2005 at 4:32 pmI could not understand why Bush would pick someone like Harriet Miers. Even less why Conservative groups were the ones attacking her. I was blind but now I see.It was a case of bait and switch. It was part of the master plan for Harriet Miers to withdraw. Then it would look like Bush treid but had no choice than to pick a hard line Anti-Abortion Conservative like Judge Samuel Alito. Bush will now use the fact, ( after weeks of opposition from both liberals and conservatives Harriet Miers had to withdraw) as the reason why he wants to rush Judge Samuel Alito on to the court. Harriet Miers, not the best choice for a judge on the court. But as a life long pal of Bush, she would be the best person to take a hit for the team.
Bush is not as dumb as some people think. Remember the
best tick the devil ever played was convincing the world he does not exist.
Judge Samuel Alito will be placed on the court. The laws on Abortion and on so many things will change. I hope i am wrong but it looks that way.
http://novus-ordo-seclorum.us/
November 1st, 2005 at 5:03 pmRepublicans are such liars. They talk about judicial activism, yet the act of striking down legislation is in fact the domain of CONSERVATIVE judges. They’re such hypocrites and fools!
Justices vary widely in their inclination to strike down Congressional laws. Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, was the most inclined, voting to invalidate 65.63 percent of those laws; Justice Stephen Breyer, appointed by President Bill Clinton, was the least, voting to invalidate 28.13 percent. The tally for all the justices appears below.
Thomas 65.63 %
November 1st, 2005 at 8:06 pmKennedy 64.06 %
Scalia 56.25 %
Rehnquist 46.88 %
O’Connor 46.77 %
Souter 42.19 %
Stevens 39.34 %
Ginsburg 39.06 %
Breyer 28.13 %
Thank you so much for fighting for me and my rights. Where would I be without your self important crusde?
Comment by Stinky Neat
I don’t know but I’d sure like to give it a try.
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:21 pmThis is supposed to be a thread on the Hit & Run rebuttal to TP’s Alito critique…. but there was what, 2 or 3 related postings? The rest looks like attack-dog stuff. I thought the Hit & Run folks did a good job, gave me something to think about. Did no one on here bother to even read that critique? Both were respectfully written, made good points, were researched.
And as for #23, well this shouldn’t be surprising, that now we have BOTH sides calling the other a bunch of robots, lemmings, parrots, and both sides are shocked, SHOCKED that the other guy would even suggest such a thing! Aside from the right-wing baiters that come on here (and Stinky Neat is clearly not one of those), there are conservatives out there who do want what’s best for the country, have some ideas about how to do that, and simply see things a bit (or a lot) differntly than I do about how to do it. So what?!? We’re never going to hear any of those ideas and debate their merits so long as we’re all screaming at each other.
November 2nd, 2005 at 5:35 pmPeace and I’m out
ARE- Why would a rational person like you blog on this website? Are you crazy?(oops, I’ve started name calling again…) Good comments but I doubt you’ll get much traction HERE, but good luck and God Bless!!
November 3rd, 2005 at 2:04 pmThe Turk has spoken
#28 Sharon- You may want to check the toxicity on your tie-dye moo-moo, it sounds like 1968 was a little rough on you…..
November 10th, 2005 at 12:29 amman i dont know about you all but i really dont like this guy
January 30th, 2006 at 1:45 am