A Man From the Mainstream

From Investors Business Daily:

Posted 11/15/2005
Supreme Court: Samuel Alito is said to be downplaying a clear-cut 1985 statement of his political and legal views. We hope he hasn't evolved too far.

Here's some of what Alito said on an application for the job of deputy assistant attorney general under then-Attorney General Edwin Meese:

"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."
Regarding the field of law, he wrote, "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."

What's wrong here? Nothing. One couldn't ask for a better, more concise credo of judicial restraint.

Getting more specific, Alito noted with pride that he had worked on cases in which the government argued "that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed, that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."

Those words are the red flags that have liberals like Sen. Edward Kennedy all stirred up. In Kennedy's words, Alito's "extreme statements" are "deeply troubling."

On Tuesday, though, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein claimed that Alito had put that political stuff behind him. She said Alito told her in private that the comments in question were those of "an advocate seeking a job" and that he now sets his personal views aside when interpreting the law.

As well he should — up to a point. But certain personal views, such as those on the role of judges and the foundations of the law, can't be set aside, because they bear directly on the work of judging. On these topics, we hope Alito has stuck to his opinions and will give them a spirited and articulate defense. What he said 20 years ago is as valid, and securely mainstream, today as then.

That goes for Alito's 1985 view on Roe v. Wade; that view was (and is) shared by many legal thinkers, not all of them conservative. The public has plenty of Roe skeptics, too. According to the Harris Poll, nearly half of Americans continue to disapprove of it. In 1985, 50% of the respondents favored Roe and 47% (like Alito) were opposed. In 2005, 52% are in favor and 47% remain opposed.

It bears mentioning that 51% of the voters in 2004 re-elected a president who made it clear he wanted to name conservatives to the Supreme Court. And back when Alito was offering his opinions to Meese, a president who held those same views — and who wasn't shy about proclaiming them — had just been re-elected by a popular majority of nearly 59%, winning all but 13 electoral votes.

So who's the real extremist? In light of that 1984 landslide, Ronald Reagan (and Alito) clearly had the mainstream credentials that liberals such as Kennedy lacked.

We'd guess that Alito is still in the mainstream today, even if he hasn't changed his opinions one bit.