Ok, Senators. Now that the Judiciary Committee has voted 10-8 in favor of Judge Alito, it's up to you. Let me put it to you plainly: he doesn't think much of Congressional authority. "[H]e wrote in a dissent (Sec. 78, et. seq.) in U.S. v. Rybar, 103 F.3d 273 (1996), that a ban on private ownership of machine guns was not a valid exercise of congressional power to regulate interstate commerce."
He also seems to think that the Executive Branch has authority far exceeding that written in the Constitution. In a 1989 speech to the Federalist Society, speaking of a SCOTUS ruling on the independent counsel law,
Alito said the 1988 ruling upholding the law undercut several important doctrines that had protected presidential power "from congressional pilfering."Alito's views on presidential power are significant on several fronts, not the least of which is what deference the chief executive should get to conduct anti-terrorism efforts, legal analysts said. President Bush has claimed the right to try foreign terrorism suspects before military tribunals, an issue that may come before the Supreme Court this term.
The 7 to 1 ruling upholding the independent counsel law was written by then-Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and seen as a blow to the Reagan administration.
The decision, Alito said, meant that any alleged infringements on the president's power "would be judged by whether, in the court's subjective view at the time, the encroachment went too far."
So what's it gonna be, Senators? Republicans, is it more important to you to get one of "your guys" on the bench than it is to hold on to the doctrine of separation of powers? Do you want to throw 200+ years of a working system down the tubes for the sake of the unborn child? What might the man do besides overturn Roe v. Wade? You owe it to yourselves to think long and hard about that.
Democrats, if you believe that the current Administration has already gone too far down the road toward authoritarianism, then you need to filibuster this man.
Update: ReddHedd at Firedoglake makes a similar argument.
Posted by Linkmeister at January 24, 2006 12:06 PM | TrackBackIn the beginning, I decided to join the campaign to impeach your "smirking chimp", my "dum'ass botch". As evidence for that, you'll soon be invited to click on a hyperlink.
Before doing so, however, I would like you to read through the rest of this text. In case, you'd like to know, the hyperlink for your blog, specifically, "Linkmeister", is found at the third hyperlink on the list below ... ah, please remember, no clicking until AFTER reading the entire text.
Perusing your blog, I believe I arrived at what is a reasonable inference. That is, both you and your readers would welcome news that indicates the campaign to impeach the president is increasing in both vigor and breadth. Ah, you'll find that evidence by clicking on the second enclosed hyperlink.
As for my game plan for capturing Osama, you'll find it by clicking on the first listed hyperlink, which immediately follows this colon:
http://hewhoisknownassefton.blogspot.com/2006/01/osama-and-our-president-dumass-botch_20.html
http://hewhoisknownassefton.blogspot.com/2006/01/danger-senator-specter-danger.html
http://www.reachm.com/amstreet/states-writes.htm#HI
toodles
......\
.he who is known as sefton
oh, yes, surely, you've heard about the government "requesting" certain records about internet activity. oh, br'dah! ... cynical and skeptical lil'ole me, I'm smelling a rat in all that. Quite candidly, I have cause to suspect that more than compiling statistics on access to pornographic websites is involved.
oh, yeah, right after Hitler came to power, the German people were assured that, if they were innocent of untoward activity, they would have nothing to worry about ... yeah, right.
Posted by: A Alexander Stella at January 24, 2006 06:39 PM