Environmental group one of 50 who say Alito would be bad environment By Mitch E. Perry

The U.S. Senate began debating whether to confirm Samuel Alito to the US Supreme Court today, a day after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted by party lines 10-8, to move his nomination to the entire Senate.

So far, only 1 Democrat – Nebraska’s Ben Nelson – has announced his support for Alito. But even if every other Democrat and some Senate Republicans vote him down, he looks certain to get 51 votes. Which means the only way Democrats could stop him would be by filibuster.

Most progressive organizations have come out against his nomination, including, for the first time in nearly 2 decades, many environmental groups.

Glen Sugameli is the senior Judicial Counsel of the environmental lawfirm Earthjustice. He wrote in an op-ed in today’s Tampa Tribune that Alito’s record shows he would NOT be good for Florida’s environment. WMNF asked him to elaborate on those charges today: (roll tape#1 o.q.�and consumer protections�)

Earthjustice is one of approximately 50 different environmental groups who have come out against the Alito nomination.

Yesterday in announcing that he would vote against Alito, Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson said that he believed the jurist would “``tilt the scales of justice in favor of big government over the average person.''

That comment has been echoed by many Senate Democrats – that what they see in Alito’s legal opinions over the years is a judge who consistently supports the Government and Big Business over the average citizen. Again, Earthjustice’s Glen Sugameli (roll tape#2 o.q.�and reach of that�)

That was Glen Sugameli, senior Judicial Counsel for the environmental lawfirm Earthjustice, based in Washington. To read what Earthjustice is saying about Alito, you can to their webstie, Earthjustice.org