Part one of a two-part series on the November 12 speech delivered to the Federalist Society by Justice Samuel Alito, and why far-left Democrats are angered by what he had to say.
Something is terribly wrong in America when a man – a Supreme Court associate justice, no less – is described as a “political hack” and his words labeled “nakedly partisan” for simply sounding the alarm on the erosion of civil liberties. The jurist in question is one Samuel A. Alito Jr., and his words – panned by radical leftists for daring to suggest that individual freedom is a good idea – came in the form of an address to the Federalist Society’s Annual Lawyers’ Convention on November 12.
Justice Samuel Alito
Alito was under no illusions regarding how some would choose to interpret what he had to say. In fact, he prefaced his first observation by saying: “I’m now going to say something that I hope will not be twisted or misunderstood – “ and then quickly followed up by predicting that this was, indeed, likely to happen.
“The pandemic has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty,” the judge stated. Taken in its intended context, with no imagined implications or veiled references, this simple statement is as undeniably true as if Justice Alito had claimed that water is wet or that bears, more often than not, evacuate their bowels in the woods. Though further clarification was hardly needed, the judge explained: “We have never before seen restrictions as severe, extensive, and prolonged as those experienced for most of 2020.”
Tip Of the Iceberg
How does a man like Samuel Alito get to sit on the bench of the highest court in the land? What he said next demonstrates why. Most Americans have likely never realized how much of an infringement of their constitutional rights the Coronavirus restrictions have been – and continue to be. Sure, many are outraged that tin-pot dictator governors are telling them to stay at home or wear masks or that they are not allowed to host family gatherings at Thanksgiving. That is just the tip of the iceberg, though, when it comes to how extensively these megalomaniacal officials are disfiguring the Constitution.
The judge ran down the list, nailing down violations most Americans have likely not even considered. The banning of public events, to begin with. Alito pointed out that “live speeches, conferences, lectures, meetings” were all protected by the right to freedom of speech. He mentioned the closure of houses of worship – another breach of the First Amendment. Next, Alito referred to “access to the courts, or a constitutional right to a speedy trial.” All manner of legal proceedings has been put on hold during the lockdowns, in violation of the Sixth Amendment.
Though not mentioned by the associate justice, Americans also have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as stated not in the Constitution but the Declaration of Independence. That document – every bit as foundational to the United States as the Constitution – provides a remedy for when any “Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends… “ That remedy is fairly drastic and absolute, but it was, after all, how this country was created in the first place: “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government… “
Elizabeth Warren
One could argue, then, that Americans have a right to “alter or to abolish” their government – federal or state – when said government deprives them of the right to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.
Of course, some would consider that interpretation a bit of a stretch, but is it really? The words are right there in the document. It could not, in fact, be any clearer.
Rule by Executive Fiat
Getting back to Justice Alito, who did not suggest the abolition of government, what angered the left about his address was the very idea that the system of government itself had been twisted into something it was never intended to be. He spoke of “the dominance of lawmaking by executive fiat, rather than legislation.”
That observation strikes at the heart of what many state governors have done over the past few months. More than that, though, it goes to the very core of progressive left-wing ideology. Alito expanded on this theme, and it was his exposing of this approach to government that so enrages radical leftist politicians. After all, they do not want the average American to understand what the likes of Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, or the members of the so-called “squad” have in store for them.
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Read more from Graham J. Noble.
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