Judge Alito: His Actions Speak Louder Than His Words

Media 01.10,06

“Judge Alito has repeatedly claimed to be ‘open minded,’ but words are only meaningful when they are connected to actions. And Alito’s actions – his record as a judge and his statements as an attorney – are hardly comforting.

In his 15 years on the federal bench, the fact remains that Alito has almost never sided with African Americans in employment discrimination cases. When there is a conflict between institutions and individuals’ rights, Alito argues against individual rights more than 80 percent of the time.

Alito’s explanation of his membership to the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, an organization that advocated discrimination against women and minorities, is at best insufficient and at worst disingenuous.

While Judge Alito has repeatedly claimed to have ‘no agenda,’ he has failed to distance himself from his record of antagonism toward the protection of civil rights. That sounds like an agenda to me.

Sadly, Judge Alito has a clear and disturbing record on civil rights and other fundamental rights and freedoms vital to the American people. But what is sadder still are the lengths to which Judge Alito, under questioning by senators, seeks to avoid or otherwise hide from his record.”


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For more background on Alito’s philosophy and record in the area of civil rights, please refer to LCCR’s website: civilrights.org. Specifically, there is a sharply focused memo summarizing Alito’s lackluster civil rights record as well as LCCR’s letter of opposition detailing the coalition’s reasons for opposition.