I just received this email from John Kerry, asking for signatures on a petition to Senators. He promises to enter the names of signers in the Congressional Record, as a formal record of opposition to Alito's placement on the Supreme Court.
Petition link:
http://www.johnkerry.com/...
Full text of email below the fold.
As WildEyedLiberal at Democratic Underground noted:
The more names on this petition, the better: Kerry will enter the petition and say "Look - one MILLION AMERICANS want us to stop Alito using any means necessary." This can be your chance to help make a filibuster likely, [dailykos] - sign the petition!
....
Full text of email (emphasis added):
Dear Friend,
I've studied Judge Alito's legal record. I met with him one-on-one. After all this, I am left with one simple conclusion: if Judge Alito becomes Supreme Court Justice Alito, he will move the Court backwards.
I will vote against Judge Alito's confirmation, and I hope a majority of Senators choose to join us on the Senate floor, voting and speaking out against him. I know we face tough odds, but this is an important fight.
The bottom line is Judge Alito cannot be trusted on the Supreme Court. We can't trust him to stand up to government abuse of power. We can't trust him to ensure all citizens enjoy equal protection under the law. We can't trust him to protect our right to privacy. We can't trust him to defend mainstream American values.
To muster enough Senators to defeat Judge Alito, the American people have to make it clear that they are against his nomination. That's where you come in. By speaking out, you will help us convince other Senators to join our fight.
Stand with us today against Judge Alito
If you want to understand why Americans don't want Judge Alito on the Supreme Court, just take a look at his record. It paints a disturbing picture.
When it comes to standing up to the abuse of executive power and protecting our right to privacy, he barely has a record. Judge Alito refused to hold the government accountable for excessive force when an unarmed boy was shot and killed, or when an innocent 10 year old girl was strip-searched.
In a speech in 2000, Judge Alito even endorsed a theory suggesting that independent agencies like the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which holds companies responsible for making products safe for kids, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which stands up to corporate abusers like Enron, are unconstitutional infringements on the President's power.
With this record, how can we expect Alito to stand up to the President when he breaks the law to eavesdrop on American citizens or authorizes the torture of detainees?
Judge Alito's record on civil rights is no better. He saw no legitimate question of discrimination in allowing an all-white jury to sentence a black man to death for killing a white man. His own colleagues have criticized him for ignoring employees' rights to be free from job discrimination. Judge Alito's clear bias is to keep victims of discrimination out of the court system - and to rule in favor of corporate interests.
Judge Alito's record on privacy rights is worst of all. In 1985, Judge Alito actually wrote a memo outlining a strategy to undermine Roe v. Wade by slowly chipping away at its protections. That same year, Judge Alito wrote in a job application that he did not believe in the constitutionality of the right to privacy. Judge Alito's views on privacy rights are not ambiguous; they are openly hostile.
Stand with us today against Judge Alito
Your voice is essential in this fight.
We have no reason to be hesitant in fighting to keep Samuel Alito off the Supreme Court. None of our fears are based on inference, speculation or assumption. His record speaks for itself -- and it speaks on behalf of extreme ideology and powerful corporations -- not the rights guaranteed by our Constitution.
To join this fight, please sign our letter. When I go down to the Senate floor to speak out against Judge Alito, I'll enter your name in opposition to Alito into the Congressional Record as well. And I'll show my Senate colleagues that as far as the American people are concerned, this is not some inside the beltway conversation; this is a landmark struggle for the future of our nation.
Please join us in this fight for our most cherished rights and freedoms.
Sincerely,
John Kerry
P.S. Please pass this letter on to your friends. We need as many voices as possible joining us and speaking out against Alito.
As WildEyedLiberal at Democratic Underground noted (complete quote):
The more names on this petition, the better: Kerry will enter the petition and say "Look - one MILLION AMERICANS want us to stop Alito using any means necessary." This can be your chance to help make a filibuster likely, [dailykos] - sign the petition!
Also, CALL THE SENATORS ON THE FENCE AND URGE THEM TO PLEDGE TO DO ANYTHING TO STOP ALITO. Call the "gang of 14" and remind them that our Republic cannot survive if the power of the executive branch goes unchecked. Alito believes in unrestrained power and authority for the executive branch, which is poisonous to a free democracy. Urge them to not only vote no, but to support a filibuster to keep partisan hacks from pushing Alito through. We can stop Alito with 41 votes and our voices. Let's do it.
Please sign, folks. It's one more way to make your voice heard.
And I can't help wondering if this email came about because of all of your voices responding to John Kerry on his two diaries this weekend. Links for those who somehow missed it: