JUDGE ALITO HOPES TO END WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Judge Samuel Alito is widely known as "Scalito"
because he so closely
follows the far-right judicial philosophy of Supreme
Court Justice
Antonin Scalia.5

Here's a summary of just some of the core protections
that Alito would
Threaten:

Basic Rights for Working Families
As a judge on the Appeals Court, Alito issued a ruling
to gut the
Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees most
workers up to 12 weeks
of unpaid leave to care for a loved one in an
emergency. The Supreme
Court effectively overturned that ruling in 2003-but
if Alito were on the
Supreme Court he would pose a grave threat to the
basic rights of
working families.

Civil Rights (in the workplace and beyond)
In separate cases, Alito wrote dissenting opinions
that would have made
it essentially impossible to prove employment
discrimination based on
race or disability. He was overruled and harshly
criticized by his
colleagues, but if he were on the Supreme Court he
could turn back the clock
on decades of progress in securing civil rights for
minorities and the
disabled.

A Woman's Right to Choose
Alito's judicial record and published views make him
widely regarded as
a sure vote to overturn Roe v. Wade. The extremist
anti-abortion group
Operation Rescue (who opposed Harriet Miers) responded
to Alito's
nomination today by saying: "Roe's days are
numbered...We are trusting that
we are now on the fast-track to derailing Roe v. Wade
as the law of the
land."7 If Alito were on the Supreme Court,
reproductive freedom would
be in serious jeopardy.

Privacy and Civil Liberties
In one significant case, Alito wrote a dissenting
oppinion that would
have allowed an unauthorized strip search of a woman
and her 10 year-old
daughter, in their own home, without a warrant. Again,
Alito was
outvoted and strongly criticized by his fellow judges,
but if he were to join
Thomas and Scalia on the Supreme Court he would pose a
grave threat to
civil liberties and individual freedoms.


Democrats in Washington are already speaking out. Here
are few
highlights:

"If confirmed, Alito could very well fundamentally
alter the balance of
the court and push it dangerously to the right,
placing at risk decades
of American progress in safeguarding our fundamental
rights and
freedoms."
-Sen. Ted Kennedy8

"It's sad that [Bush] felt he had to pick a nominee
likely to divide
America."
-Sen Charles Schumer9

"Has the right wing now forced a weakened President to
nominate a
divisive justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia?"
-Sen. John Kerry10

"President Bush has...made a selection to appease the
far right-wing of
the Republican Party."
-Sen. Barak Obama11

"Last week after Harriet Miers withdrew her
nomination, I asked the
President: Who was in charge? Today, the President
answered: the radical
conservative right is in charge of this
Administration."
-House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi12

"I look forward to...learning why those who want to
pack the Court with
judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about
him than they
were about Harriet Miers."
-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid13


If we can gather 250,000 signatures in the next 48
hours, it will make
a powerful first impression in the media, and the
Senate. We can show
that ordinary Americans will not let a failing
president sacrifice the
Supreme Court, and all the rights it protects, in a
political game.
No one knows how this nomination will end, but the
Supreme Court is the
last chance at justice for millions of Americans, and
we all have a
stake in this fight.

Please sign today and spread the word:

http://www.moveonpac.org/stopalito/?id=6240-4084105-jtK3TlehDRGKjHVPvVXOTQ&t=3

Thanks for all you do.






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