GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org
Monday, January 16, 2006
Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@greens.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders today called on all Americans who value freedom, democracy, and the rule of
law to contact members of Congress and demand that they vote against Judge Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme
Court.
"Judge Alito, if confirmed, will be the fourth member of a group of Supreme Court justices dedicated to unchecked
presidential power and the repeal of equal protection and numerous individual rights," said Marakay Rogers, Green
candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania and former candidate for the Pennsylvania Attorney General.
Greens noted that Judge Alito throughout his career has sought to "increase the power of the executive to shape the law"
(his words), having advised the Reagan Administration on strategies for evading Congress's oversight and ignoring laws it
doesn't agree with, and favoring a license for the Justice Department to install wiretaps without obtaining a warrant.
"In the current Bush administration, Sam Alito's theory of 'unitary executive' power translates into exploitation of the wartime
situation and public fears about terrorism," said Carl Romanelli, who is seeking the nomination of the Green Party of
Pennsylvania for the U.S. Senate. "Democrats and moderate Republicans who were outraged at the revelation of President
Bush's order for the NSA to spy on Americans without warrants should be as concerned about Judge Alito as the rest of
us."
Consistent with his support for enlarged executive power, Judge Alito has claimed that a presidential 'signing statement'
(language added to a bill passed by Congress, added by the President upon signing it into law, such as President Bush's
signing statement giving the White House the option to override the McCain amendment outlawing torture) has legal validity
equal to the law itself.
"Signing statements are a violation of the constitutional separation of powers which, if upheld by the Court, would set the
stage for unprecedented abuse of executive power, some of which we're already witnessing," said Mr.
Romanelli.
Greens asserted that all Americans who value justice should be alarmed at Judge Alito's apparent hostility towards African
Americans and favoritism for corporations, as evidenced by his judicial record.
"In the context of the rest of his career, we cannot consider Judge Alito's membership in the Concerned Alumni of Princeton
an isolated and forgotten youthful mistake, committed in ignorance of the group's animosity towards women, people of
color, and people with AIDS," said Jody Grage Haug, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. "As Rep. Sheila
Jackson Lee [D-Tex.] noted, Judge Alito has repeatedly ruled against African Americans seeking the right to a fair jury and
protection from job discrimination. Since Judge Alito has refused to call Roe v. Wade 'settled law', reproductive rights would
be under greater threat if he were on the bench. His appointment would strengthen the bloc of ideologues who are gunning
for Roe and for civil rights protections, and who seek to enshrine unrestrained presidential power."
Greens listed other dangerous and antidemocratic positions taken by Samuel
Alito:
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Judge Alito's narrow interpretation of the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause threatens numerous environmental laws,
especially those protecting wetlands and waterways that affect the ecology of several states. ("Supreme Court nominee
Samuel Alito and the environment", National Environmental Trust <http://www.net.org/reports/scotus/alito.vtml>)
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Citing the need for a "stable and efficient election process," Judge Alito favors restrictive ballot access laws hostile to
ndependents and parties outside of the Democratic-Republican mainstream. ("Judge Alito's ballot access record is disappointing", Ballot Access News, December 5, 2005, Vol 21 No 8 <http://www.ballot-access.org/2005/1205.html#1>)
"In the next few days, the survival of democracy depends on Americans willing to speak out and let Congress --
Republicans as well as Democrats -- know that another Federalist Society radical on the Supreme Court is unacceptable,"
Jody Grage Haug added.
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
"Judge Alito, in His Own Words"
The New York Times, January 12, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/opinion/12thur1.html
"Turning the spotlight on Alito's civil rights record: Rulings by judge reveal narrow legal interpretations"
By Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, The Houston Chronicle, January 10, 2006
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3579137.html
"The Questions No One Has Asked of Alito"
Memo from Norman Mintz to the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee
The Progressive Review, January 12, 2006
http://prorev.com/2006/01/questions-no-one-has-asked-of-alito.htm
"Judge Alito's View Of the Presidency: Expansive Powers
Court Pick Endorsed Theory Of Far-Reaching Authority; Tenet of Bush White House A Debate Over Terror Tactics"
By Jess Bravin, The Wall Street Journal, January 5, 2006
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/...
"Supreme test for the Democrats"
By Kevin Zeese, Maryland Green candidate for the U.S. Senate
Raw Story, January 12, 2006
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Supreme_test_for_Democrats_0112.html