Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy,
Ranking Member, Judiciary Committee,
On The Nomination Of Samuel Alito
To Be Associate Justice Of The Supreme Court
Monday, October 31, 2005

This is a needlessly provocative nomination.  Instead of uniting the country through his choice, the President has chosen to reward one faction of his party, at the risk of dividing the country.  Instead he should have rewarded the American people.  America could have done better through consultation to select one of the many consensus conservative Republican candidates who could have been overwhelmingly approved by the Senate.

Last week, the President succumbed to the partisan pressure from the extreme right wing by withdrawing the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.  In doing that, the President allowed his choice to be vetoed by an extreme faction within his party, before hearings or a vote.  With turmoil engulfing the White House, with no way out of the disastrous and deadly occupation of Iraq, with a worsening federal debt, and with obscenely high profits that continue to pile up for the Administration’s Big Oil friends, catering to an extreme wing of one political party risks removing checks and balances for the majority of Americans.  It is unfortunate that the President felt he was in such a weak position that he had to bend to a narrow but vocal faction of his political base.  The Supreme Court is the ultimate check and balance in our system that protects the fundamental rights of all Americans.

The Miers nomination was an eye-opening experience for the country to see what a vocal faction of the Republican Party really wants.  This experience exposed the right-wing litmus test that they insist be used, rather than selecting judges and justices who will be fair and impartial in applying the law.  They, in fact, demand judges who will guarantee the results that they want.

With the announcement of Judge Samuel Alito to fill the position being vacated by Justice O’Connor, the White House failed to follow through with initial discussions and engage in meaningful consultation.  The Democratic Leader of the Senate and I wrote to the President last week, urging him to pick one of the many qualified mainstream women and minority candidates who can win widespread bipartisan support in the Senate and among the American people.  I regret that the President has not chosen the clear path of a consensus candidate to unite the American people and the Senate.  The nation and the Senate would have overwhelmingly welcomed his choice if he had.

I have not formed a final judgment as to the merits of this nomination, although a review of Judge Alito’s record suggests areas of significant concern.  Judge Alito’s record on the bench demonstrates that he would go to great lengths to restrict the authority of Congress to enact legislation to protect civil rights and the rights of workers, consumers and women.  Judge Alito has also set unreasonably high standards that ordinary Americans who are the victims of discrimination must meet before being allowed to proceed with their cases.   

The stakes for the American people could not be higher with this new nomination to the Supreme Court.  Justice O’Connor brought an open mind to the cases she reviewed and served as a moderating influence on the Court.  The person who replaces her replaces a pivotal vote on our nation’s most powerful court.  The person who replaces her has the potential to dramatically tilt the court’s balance.  Maintaining the stability of the court is crucial for the nation and will be an important factor for me as I consider this nomination. 

At this critical moment, and in light of the circumstances that led to the withdrawal of the Miers nomination, Senate Democrats will perform our constitutional Advice and Consent responsibility with heightened vigilance.  The Supreme Court is the guarantor of the rights of all Americans.  The appointment must be made in the nation’s interest, not to serve the special interests of any partisan faction.

# # # # #