Bill Buckley strikes again

Bill Sammon takes a look at the documents that reflect Judge Alito’s statement of his views in a 1985 application to become deputy asistant to the Attorney General: “Alito rejected abortion as right.” Here are the quotes from Judge Alito’s application that appear in Sammon’s article:

“I am and always have been a conservative. I am a lifelong registered Republican.”

“It has been an honor and source of personal satisfaction for me to serve in the office of the Solicitor General during President Reagan’s administration and to help to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly.”

“I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.”

“I believe very strongly in limited government, federalism, free enterprise, the supremacy of the elected branches of government, the need for a strong defense and effective law enforcement, and the legitimacy of a government role in protecting traditional values.”

“In the field of law, I disagree strenuously with the usurpation by the judiciary of decision-making authority that should be exercised by the branches of government responsible to the electorate.”

Quotes from the application also outline the origins of Judge Alito’s political views:

“When I first became interested in government and politics during the 1960s, the greatest influences on my views were the writings of William F. Buckley Jr., the National Review, and Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign.”

“In college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause, and reapportionment.”

In our National Review article on Judge Alito, John and I described his nomination to the Court as an epochal moment. The quotes assembled by Sammon corroborate our take on Judge Alito. He represents the best of a generation of conservative lawyers who came to maturity in the aftermath of the Warren Court and its transformation of the judiciary into the most dangerous branch. His confirmation is both highly desirable and urgently necessary.

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