John Kerry on the Nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court

As just reported, Bush has chosen Judge Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Alito is reportedly so conservation that he has been dubbed "Scalito" or "Scalia-lite."

The following is a statement from John Kerry on the Nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court:

“Every American should be deeply concerned that the far right wing which prevented Harriet Miers from even receiving a Senate hearing is celebrating Judge Alito’s nomination and urging the Senate to rubber stamp the swing vote on our rights and liberties. Has the right wing now forced a weakened President to nominate a divisive justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia? With civil rights, privacy rights, and mainstream American values hanging in the balance, the President’s sagging political position in his own party is no excuse to reopen wounds in America which a President should seek to repair.

“In nominating a successor to Justice O’Connor, President Bush had the power to unite the country by nominating a highly qualified woman or minority who would put the Constitution first and reflect the diversity of our country. Instead, the record must be studied, the documents must be made available, and the questions must be answered conclusively, to determine whether the president has chosen to divide the country with a nominee outside the ideological mainstream.”