Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Opinion

Nominee's silence disconcerting

Denise Smith
Guest Columnist 

Frist, Delay, Libby, Rove, Ney and Cunningham head the growing list of Republican leaders who are under investigation, indicted or have confessed to crimes. A grand jury is still investigating the outing of Valerie Plame by administration officials, and Abramoff-related investigations are barely underway.

Both investigations involve serious ethical and criminal violations, and -- this is important to note -- neither involve a single Democrat. 

These scandals are purely Republican and primarily involve Republican leaders. 

Cries from the right about how Democrats are this, that or the other do nothing to change the core issue: The current Republican leadership is corrupted by power and money.

President Bush himself is at the heart of the latest scandal, if scandal is even adequate to describe the egregious violations of the civil rights of Americans that have occurred over the past four years in the name of domestic security. 

Federal employees who have eavesdropped into Americans' conversations without any warrant represent the belief of the current Republican administration that the end justifies the means. To the Democrats, this represents the ultimate failure of trust to the people who elected them. 

There can be no question that Samuel Alito is an excellent jurist. He has served with distinction for the past 15 years for the 3rd U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

He is also a man who devoted considerable time when working for the Reagan administration in finding ways to overturn Roe v. Wade. Roe v. Wade is a hot-button issue for both the American people and the press, and Alito's refusal to either defend his past positions or explain his judicial philosophy regarding this decision has deeply troubled more than just Democrats. 

In his dissenting opinions on Planned Parenthood v. Casey (regarding husband notification before an abortion), his language opposes that of Sandra Day O'Connor -- the justice he is to replace. In addition, public polls have shown consistently that Americans did not want to have Alito confirmed if he would overturn Roe v. Wade. What is perhaps more troubling than Alito's vague positioning on Roe v. Wade is his opinion of the Warren Court. In his 1985 application to the Justice Department, Alito discussed his opposition to the Warren Court's decisions, including such notable cases as Miranda v. Arizona and The New York Times v. Sullivan. He has consistently favored against plaintiffs in civil rights cases and for businesses and government entities. 

It is not that the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee said too much last week, but that Alito said too little. All we have left to go on is his written record, and it is deeply concerning. 

Alito was selected as a candidate for the Supreme Court by an administration that has systematically circumvented the civil rights of Americans and has been backed by an ethically corrupt Republican leadership. 

The Democrats do not need to say anything right now; the Republicans are saying quite enough themselves.

Smith, a history junior, is a guest columnist 
for The Daily Cougar and can be reached via 
dccampus@mail.uh.edu.
 

Send comments to dccampus@mail.uh.edu