This is a letter to the editor I published at the Daily Advance. Posted here for posterity, since they have no online archive:
Your recent opinion piece, “Senate will confirm Alito, but shouldn’t,” fell into the same trap so many of Alito’s other opponents have succumbed to: focusing too much on Roe VS Wade. Yes, the Judicial nominee is a threat to a woman’s constitutional right to abortion, but the Supreme Court’s stance has always been controversial on the matter and Alito’s ambiguous statements make it impossible to pin him down on it. This is not the flag to rally opposition around.
Instead, Americans should be made aware of Alito’s adherence to “Unitary Executive Theory,” a school of thought that interprets our Constitution as subjugating the Legislative and Judicial branches to the Executive, rejecting the system of Checks and Balances we hold so dear. Because the theory’s meaning is obfuscated in legalese, many people don’t realize that Judge Alito supports absolute Presidential power, reducing Congress, the Senate, and the Courts to the status of mere advisors, completely devoid of authority.
We are already seeing this on Capitol Hill, as when President Bush signed McCain’s Anti-Torture legislation but reserved the right to disobey it or the White House’s obtaining thousands of domestic wiretaps without FISA approval. The Executive branch is rejecting Congressional and Judicial oversight. Alito will support these undemocratic behaviors, and if there are any Republicans or Conservatives who wonder why this is a problem, imagine a President Clinton wielding absolute power.
Alito’s appointment to the highest court in the land will further erode our great Republic and consolidate even more power in the President at the expense of Democracy. That, more than anything, is why we must reject him.