Please, stop with this Alito nonsense.
If you pay any attention to politics, you've probably heard at least a snippet of the secret recordings made by muckraker Lauren Windsor on Monday night. The recordings of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife, Martha Ann, are interesting, but they don't reveal anything about Alito's belief system beyond what we already know. We already knew they were very conservative, very religious, and epitomized the limits of right-wing ideology for a judge. That doesn't disqualify them.
Supreme Court justices, like any other American, are entitled to their opinions, to express those opinions, to flaunt those opinions, and to be generally obnoxious, just like any other American. The notion of an impartial Supreme Court has always been a myth, a fan-fest designed to create a seductive illusion of impartiality.
What on earth was Martha Anne Alito's “Germany” speech about?
So should we pretend to be shocked if the Alitos, who are ultra-conservative Catholics, turn out to be, in fact, ultra-conservative Catholics?
On Monday, MSNBC aired footage of Justice Alito speaking in Rome in 2022, in which he expressed a similar sentiment, saying, “Ultimately, winning the fight to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society will require more than positive law.”
(I had to look up the term “positive law,” which is ordinary law established by legislatures or constitutions, as opposed to “natural law,” which refers to the universal morality that governs most human interactions.)
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In other words, he said exactly the same thing in private that he said in public, and just because he didn't know he was being recorded doesn't make his remarks to Windsor any more egregious than the speech he gave to his audience in Rome.
Of Windsor's two recordings, the Martha Ann-esque Alito pours the most tea, sounding arrogant, vindictive, petty and German: “Look at me. I'm German. I'm from Germany. My ancestors are German. If you come after me, I'm going to give it back,” and, as others have pointed out, we're still not far enough away from World War II to make the vengeful German nature a selling point.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife, Martha Ann Alito, attend a private ceremony for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's conviction at the Supreme Court on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnick Pool/Getty Images
She also complained about the pride flag her neighbors had flying “across the lagoon” and commented that she wanted to fly the Sacred Heart flag in protest. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a Sacred Heart flag, but there is. It looks like the albino person in a Dan Brown novel has it tattooed on their back.
Martha Ann, of course, has been in the news lately for her love of flag flying. She flies an upside-down American flag at the Alito Mansion in Virginia and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag on her beach property, presumably the same property that overlooks the ultra-gay lagoon. She's a flag-loving woman. She's like a tyrannical Betsy Ross.
Critics have also focused on the fact that Alito lied during his confirmation hearings. As Politico noted, during his 2006 confirmation hearing, Alito responded to a question about Roe v. Wade by saying, “It would be wrong to say to someone who might sue my court, 'If you sue my court, I'm not going to listen to you. I've made up my mind on this issue.'”
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Of course, Justice Alito had already made up his mind, and so had the more liberal justices in the room. Everyone already knew he had made up his mind. The question was asked because everyone assumed that he knew where he stood on Roe, and in fact, everyone was right.
It was Alito who wrote the majority opinion that overturned the law: He was elected to the Supreme Court because of his convictions, not because he lacked them.
Samuel Alito, his wife Martha Ann Alito, holds a Bible as he is sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2006.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Why should it be surprising to anyone that installing staunch conservatives on the bench creates a conservative Supreme Court? I understand that the Supreme Court shouldn't be an extension of the ruling party when it's vacant, but it is. So can we stop waving our hands in mock horror every time an Alito, a Kavanaugh, a Gorsuch, or a Barrett expresses a known political opinion?
Is there a solution to the problem of a Supreme Court that is not accountable to rules of ethics or civility?
Last year, following further controversy over the Clarence Thomas case, the Supreme Court issued a formal code of ethics that included the following principles:
“Canon 2: Judges must avoid misconduct and the appearance of misconduct in all their activities.”
A. Respect for the Law. Judges must respect and obey the law and must at all times behave in a manner that will enhance public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
B. Outside Influence. Judges shall not allow family, social, political, financial, or other relationships to influence their official duties or judgment. Judges shall not knowingly use the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others, or knowingly give or give the impression to others that they are in a special position to influence the judge.”
Alito clearly violated this ethics rule, but so what?
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The code does not impose any penalties for violation, and its language, which is a polite request given that the legal term is “should” rather than “shall,” is merely a polite request. The actions of German Martha Ann and rebel Ginny Thomas do not qualify even for these modest restrictions.
To be sure, the Supreme Court is out of control, and while censure is an effective way to stoke outrage on the news, it does little to curb the bad behavior of justices who are more likely to serve a conservative billionaire class lavish with big money than the Constitution they swore to protect.
The only solution is the simplest one: vote. Elect representatives who will control the Supreme Court and provide meaningful oversight to the most elite institution in our government. If that doesn't work, maybe we should just send the Supreme Court gifts. I hear they like lavish vacations.
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