It is being reported today that Justice Alito has written a thank-you note to James Dobson, founder and Chairman of Focus on the Family, to express his appreciation for all the "help and support" that Dobson and his organization provided during "the past few challenging months" -- i.e., during the debate over the confirmation of Justice Alito to the Supreme Court. He continued, "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me," and said he hopes to meet Dobson personally in the future. You can read the full letter here.
Focus on the Family, in case you're not familiar with it, is a far-right organization that is virulently anti-choice, anti-gay rights, pro-prayer in the schools. Dobson read the letter from Justice Alito in a radio broadcast, and crowed that the group's support for the Alito and Roberts nominations had "affected history" by helping put these justices on the court in time to hear a challenge to a federal abortion ban.
We can only hope that in sending this letter, Justice Alito was merely trying to be courteous and did not mean to imply that on the Court he intends to serve the agenda of Focus on the Family or those like it who helped put him there.
