Ken Salazar's E-mail

I noted some time ago that I e-mailed Salazar about the Alito vote. His response, predictably (and yes, I know it gets mass produced and drafted by staffers, hell, I've written some of those letters myself), was lame:

Dear Andrew:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the nomination and confirmation of Justice Samuel A. Alito to serve as Associate Justice for the U.S Supreme Court. I sincerely appreciate your input on this very important decision.

The Senate confirmed Judge Samuel A. Alito as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on January 30, 2005 by a vote of 58-42.

I voted against the confirmation of Judge Alito. I am convinced, based upon a very careful review of his record, that Judge Alito will move the Supreme Court outside the mainstream of American law. Judge Alito's judicial philosophy will expand Executive power too far--far beyond the so-called "strict construction" of the Constituion that President Bush professes to adhere to, hurt the checks and balances built into our Constitution to protect us all, and roll back important civil rights protections that were achieved in our country through the sacrifices of many.

I did not arrive at these conclusions and my decision lightly. I met with Judge Alito to learn more about his background and experience. I studied his records and his writings, and carefully monitored the Senate Judiciary Committee's nomination hearings.

I have voted for 10 of the 14 judicial nominations made by the President that the Senate has voted on so far while I have been Senator, including voting for the nomination of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. I have the second highest record among Senate Democrats in support of the President's judicial nominations. But given my concerns regarding Judge Alito, I could not support his nomination to the highest court in the land.

I am disappointed that this candidate will be replacing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I truly hope that my concerns with regard to Judge Alito will be proven wrong.

Thank you.


Sincerely,

Ken Salazar
United States Senator

My bottom line. If he's as bad as you just told me that he is, why didn't you have the guts to vote against him when it really counted, to sustain a filibuster? Deceitful! (Incidentally, my entire letter was about the filibuster and that issue isn't addressed at all. Spin may work on the press. It doesn't work on bloggers nearly so well). Ken Salazar is still on the list of politicians whom I cannot support.