The Quiet Part Out Loud: Alito Confirms What We Already Knew
With every passing day the mask slips and authoritarianism comes into fuller view
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On Monday journalist and documentarian Lauren Windsor released recordings she had captured at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner involving justices Samuel Alito, John Roberts, and Alito’s wife Martha-Ann. Roberts’ remarks were consistent with his public persona: he seemed to embody a sober approach to jurisprudence in eschewing “moral direction” and correcting Windsor’s attempts to frame America as a “Christian nation.” Martha-Ann came across as unwell as she has in coverage of the flag fiasco. And Alito, himself, well, that’s something else entirely.
In the audio above, a sitting Supreme Court Justice, casually interacts with a complete stranger and, with very little prompting, states that he believes we are in the middle of an existential struggle between secularism and godliness that only one side will “win.” Within this framework, it is very clear that Alito sees his responsibility as uncompromisable.
First, all respect to Windsor. This was extraordinary work and helps to necessarily flesh out the facts of our situation. Alito’s willingness to engage in this dialogue is beyond damning and speaks to how absolutely ready he is, at any moment, to discuss his extreme ideology.
It is not, however, as our media frames it, as a blockbuster revelation. This is how it always works. Even stories that have been reported for days are now labeled BREAKING NEWS because producers and network heads understand the phrase demands attention. Alito’s position has been out there for anyone to see. We don’t need flags and their interpretations to understand exactly what he believes. All we have to do is read his rulings, understand the company he keeps, and listen to the words he speaks.
This is Alito speaking in Rome in the summer of 2022, nearly two whole years ago. Of course, CNN features the more headline friendly quote - Alito attacking Boris Johnson and Prince Harry - but within this speech came an even more troubling notion that we should revisit today. Here’s a full video of the speech.
Skip ahead to 26:49, where Alito says, “Ultimately, if we are going to win the battle to protect religious freedom in an increasingly secular society, we will need more than positive law.” Here, in this address, Alito puts it more eloquently than his impromptu discussion with Windsor, but the elements are still there. It was recorded, circulated, all of it for everyone to see. There were no flags, no rumors of altercations, just a man stating his worldview.
But we don’t need this and we don’t need the recording. It’s all apparent what is happening and what has happened for anyone willing to see. Alito is being presented as an outlier, but he part of a larger movement to reshape both the Supreme Court and America’s judicial system and political culture writ large. Similarly, Clarence Thomas’ overt corruption is notable, but speaks to the larger problem.
Simply put, Alito and his cadre of Right Wing radical judges, are representations of a larger movement that is dedicated and obsessed with restructuring America into an overtly authoritarian society. Their religious beliefs, their ideologies, their worldviews, and even their legal training and philosophies, have been shaped explicitly for this purpose. What Alito has said is only a representation of that fact, and any hand-wringing over him or Thomas merely obscures a much, much larger and pressing threat.