Judge Alito

The fact that Samuel Alito was a member of the Concerned Alumni of Princeton, and cited that fact on his 1985 job application, has been in the news recently.

If you want some insights into how Alito might view the rights of Americans with disabilities, check this quote from the Concerned Alumni of Princeton newspaper entitled “Prospect’s:”

"People nowadays just don't seem to know their place," fretted a 1983 Prospect essay titled "In Defense of Elitism." "Everywhere one turns blacks and hispanics are demanding jobs simply because they're black and hispanic, the physically handicapped are trying to gain equal representation in professional sports, and homosexuals are demanding that government vouchsafe them the right to bear children."

While these may not be Alito’s words, the fact that a group he belonged to feared us wanting “equal representation” in professional sports is troubling. It is important to keep in mind that in 1983 there was not a lot of energy being exerted by people with disabilities to gain equal representation in professional sports. If Alito and others in his group were concerned about people with disabilities wanting equal representation then, what would they think now?

Congress must ask difficult questions to get to the heart of where Judge Alito stands on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the rights of people with disabilities in a broader context.