The Boston Globe is touting a college paper by Judge Alito suggesting he supported privacy and gay rights back then. Not exactly.

He was the advisor on the paper for a task force of 16 students who researched these issues and arrived at their, not his, recommendations. Alito wrote the introduction describing their recommendations.

A classmate, Jeffrey G. Weil, said yesterday that Alito, one of the top seniors in his class, had been selected to advise juniors writing the report, coaching them through the research and then writing an introduction explaining their recommendations.

His role was mostly advisory, said Weil, who wrote the section of the report dealing with gay rights but who said he could not remember whether Alito personally agreed with the recommendations.

My latest edition of Scoring Scotus about Judge Sam Alito is up at Eric Alterman's Altercation. It's about how this nomination, even if it succeeds, is unlikely to help Bush's presidency or the Republicans. Here's a snippet, I hope you will go over and read the whole thing:

With Alito's nomination, Bush has turned flames of dissent into a rip-roaring wildfire. His transparent attempt to regroup from the debacle of the Harriet Miers nomination and the scandal of the indictment of Scooter Libby by caving in to the radical right through the nomination of an anti-abortion Supreme Court Justice with a troubling record on civil rights and criminal justice issues, has unleashed a maelstrom.

Bloggers had a great conference call last night with many of the liberal groups opposing him. It was the first time I got to be a presenter on one of these call and my theme was asking the liberal groups not to leave criminal justice issues out of the debate. Half the cases before the Supreme Court are criminal cases - it's not all about abortion and choice. Just like TalkLeft voices support for the messages of PFAW's Save the Court, Alliance for Justice, NARAL and American Progress, we'd like to hear some support for our issues.

Appellate whiz Peter Goldberger of Ardmore, PA is as defense-oriented as they come. He comments on TalkLeft frequently. He went to law school with Judge Alito and practices in his circuit. Here's his latest comment, responding to another TalkLeft poster:

From the AP:

Alito's politically conservative views were not in dispute. "Of course he's against abortion," his 90-year-old mother Rose told reporters at her home in Hamilton, N.J.

Judge Alito's son is a student at Colgate University who writes opinion pieces for The Forum. His self-written bio was scratched from the editor's page. (Cached version showing him to be the Editor here.) [Via Max Blumenthal at HuffPo.] Here's a section:

Shortly after, I became interested in politics and got involved with Gary Condit (not like that). I served as a parking aide to Nancy Pelosi (I won't even start on her) but was fired when Barbara Boxer came onto me.

As of now, his columns remain. In one, he makes a poignant plea for stem cell research. On other topics, he appears to be quite the conservative. Here's one on the importance of the Bush-Kerry election.

Civil liberties are of paramount concern to TalkLeft, right along with constitutional rights of the accused. First Amendment Center has this analysis of Judge Alito, having analyzed 20 majority opinions he authored during his tenure on the 3rd Circuit.

A preliminary examination of his First Amendment opinions suggests that Alito is: (1) quite protective of several categories of expression, including religious and commercial expression; (2) far less protective of First Amendment claims raised by prisoners; (3) guardedly protective of First Amendment rights in defamation cases, and (4) generally concerned about prior restraints on expression.

Overall, his opinions suggest he is scholarly in his approach to deciding such cases, and sensitive to precedent but nonetheless capable of working around it when he deems necessary.

If President Bush thought Sam Alito was a safe choice for the Supreme Court because he would pacify the radical right, he mis-stepped because it's already apparent liberals are gearing up for a fight.

In addition to PFAW, Alliance for Justice, NARAL and the National Women's Law Center, check out:

• Dalia Lathwick at Slate
• David Corn at the Nation
• Liberal Oasis
• Angry Bear
• Think Progress

From Legal Intelligencer:

After a clerkship with 3rd Circuit Judge Leonard I. Garth, Alito worked as a front-line federal prosecutor in New Jersey for four years. But soon after President Ronald Reagan was elected, Alito joined the Office of the Solicitor General, staying for four years and helping to decide what position the administration would take in cases up for review by the Supreme Court.

That was followed by a three-year stint at Main Justice as a deputy assistant attorney general. In 1987, at the age of 37, Alito was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, a post he held until he was tapped in 1990 by the first President Bush to join the 3rd Circuit.

Before becoming a judge, after a short stint as a law clerk for a federal judge, Alito's entire career --from 1977 to 1990 -- was as a prosecutor or attorney for the Government.

Again, my prediction: A disaster appointment for those who care about the constitutional rights of the accused. I don't want a career prosecutor like Alito on the Supreme Court. I fear he will be a major proponent of the war on drugs, the death penalty and the war against immigrants, while he will rule to restrict habeas rights and Miranda.

Think Progress quotes GW law prof Jonathan Turley on the nomination of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. Crooks and Liars has the video:

JONATHAN TURLEY: He’s the top choice for particularly pro-life people. Sam Alito is viewed as someone who is likely to join the hard right in likely narrowing Roe and possibly voting to overturn Roe.

...There will be no one to the right of Sam Alito on this Court. This is a pretty hardcore fellow on abortion issues.

by TChris

Hoping to regain the support of his base while provoking a fight that will distract the media from his scandal-ridden administration, President Bush announced the nomination of Judge Sam Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court. This is the reaction of People for the American Way:

“Justice O’Connor had a pivotal role at the center of the Court, often providing a crucial vote to protect privacy, civil rights, and so much more. All that would be at risk if she were replaced with Judge Alito, who has a record of ideological activism against privacy rights, civil rights, workers’ rights, and more.”

The withdrawal of Harriet Miers nomination today was the ultimate boondoggle - timed to distract us from tomorrow's indictment news.

It's not going to work on TalkLeft. I'm declaring a blackout on Harriet Miers posts until after the news of the Indictments subsides a little - at least until Saturday. That is the real news. I'm not going to feed into the Administration's spin plan.

For those of you who want to talk about Miers, please use the comments to the three posts from earlier today.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has issued this statement (received by e-mail) on Harriet Miers' withdrawal as Supreme Court nominee. I agree with him.

“The radical right wing of the Republican Party killed the Harriet Miers nomination. Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues.

“I had recommended that the President consider nominating Ms. Miers because I was impressed with her record of achievement as the managing partner of a major Texas law firm and the first woman president of the Texas Bar Association. In those roles she was a strong supporter of law firm diversity policies and a leader in promoting legal services for the poor. But these credentials are not good enough for the right wing: they want a nominee with a proven record of supporting their skewed goals.

by Last Night in Little Rock

This just in from CNN: President Bush has withdrawn the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court at her request. The NY Times article is here: