Here It Is, In Black and White

SCOTUS nominee Sam Alito does not believe abortion is a constitutionally protected right, among other positions likely to give me an ulcer:

Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times.

"I personally believe very strongly" in this legal position, Mr. Alito wrote on his application to become deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin I. Meese III…

"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," he wrote.

"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," he wrote.

"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," he added.

(I would have thought someone as smart as Scalito would have done more on his application than copy the entry for “Activist Judge” out of the encyclopedia.)

I certainly hope Joe Biden and the other “moderate Senate Democrats” who have been so eager to rule out the filibuster identify this as the possibly “extraordinary circumstance” they (inexplicably) didn’t expect, and get serious about vetting this candidate before they bring out the cigars to celebrate giving Bush another undeserved bipartisan victory.