Hillary Clinton Nixes 'Radical Ideologue' Sam Alito

2008 presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton announced Wednesday that she will vote against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, accusing him of having a "radical ideology" and a record of insensitivity to the civil rights of African Americans and women.

In a speech on the Senate floor Mrs. Clinton warned that if Alito is allowed to join the High Court, "decades of progress would fall prey to his radical ideology, jeopardizing not only civil rights, civil liberties, health and safety and environmental protections, but also fundamental rights like the right to privacy."

In a bid to paint Judge Alito as bigoted, Mrs. Clinton went so far as to invoke the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education, along with another civil rights case, before complaining:

"I think we need judges who will maintain that forward progress and despite his distinguished academic credentials, Judge Alito has not shown himself to be that kind of judge."

Mrs. Clinton repeatedly pounded away on what she described as a poor civil rights record, saying at one point:

"In fact, in the vast majority of civil rights cases, Judge Alito has sided with those who would infringe on the civil rights of Americans."

Returning to her "progress" theme, the former first lady also warned: "I fear that Judge Alito will roll back decades of progress and roll over when confronted with an administration too willing to flaunt the rules and looking for a rubber stamp."

In a bit of supreme irony, Mrs. Clinton also insisted that Judge Alito "has not demonstrated a proper respect for the rule of law" before concluding: "I, therefore, cannot give my consent to his confirmation."