I forbindelse med de kommende Senatshøringer om nomineringen af Samuel Alito til nyt medlem af USAs forbundshøjesteret, har man i Ronald Reagan Biblioteket gravet en jobansøgning fra 1985 frem, hvori Alito redegør mere detaljeret for sine politisk-ideologiske overvejelser:
“I am and always have been a conservative… 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. In the field of law, 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 …
When I first became interested in government and politics during the 1960s, the greatest influences on my views were the writings of William F. Buckley Jr., the National Review, and Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign. In college, I developed a deep interest in constitutional law, motivated in large part by disagreement with Warren Court decisions, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure, the Establishment Clause, and reapportionment.”
Passagen har bragt sindende i kog på dele af den amerikanske venstrefløj. Personligt deler jeg ikke alle synspunkter, men nu–da det desværre ikke bliver Janice Rogers Brown, Richard Epstein, Randy Barnett e.l.–kan jeg kun sige: Det kunne såmænd være meget værre …