WASHINGTON – Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s honeymoon with Democrats came to an abrupt end yesterday, as the minority leader of the Senate and Senator Schumer of New York rejoined an ideological battle over the courts that had been on a low flame for the past two weeks.

The rumblings from Mr. Schumer and Senator Reid of Nevada apparently were timed to coincide with an advertising campaign against Judge Alito that is being organized by a coalition of liberal judicial activist groups. One of the leading groups in the coalition, the Alliance for Justice, played a prominent role in scuttling the 1987 nomination of Robert Bork to the high court.

Citing cases from Judge Alito’s 15 years on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr. Schumer said Judge Alito has consistently sided with employers over employees and against civil rights and women’s rights. Mr. Schumer’s relative silence on abortion yesterday mirrored a new Democratic strategy of organizing attacks along a broad range of issues.

“A quick review of some cases reveals a troubling pattern and warrants tough questioning at Judge Alito’s hearing,” Mr. Schumer said. “Often he stands alone in his decisions, reaching conclusions that almost no other judge has reached or would reach.”

The Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Specter of Pennsylvania, insisted yesterday that abortion is the central issue before the committee. But Mr. Specter, who supports abortion rights, said he is not troubled by Judge Alito’s assertion in a 1985 job application that the Constitution does not grant a right to abortion.

Mr. Specter reiterated a view that he has expressed in recent weeks regarding a nominee’s views on abortion. A nominee’s personal views are not as important as the weight he or she accords precedents, he said. Mr. Specter has referred to Roe v. Wade as a “super-duper precedent” because of its stability in the face of repeated appeals.

“A lot of things have happened since 1985,” Mr. Specter said. “For one thing, Judge Alito has said that he believes in a right of privacy in the Constitution … and you have a number of senators who have changed positions – Senator Durbin is well-known to have been very strong pro-life but is now pro-choice. Senator Kennedy, same thing … so views do change. And on top of what a person’s personal views may be, there’s the issue of court precedents.”

Mr. Schumer rejected the idea that Judge Alito’s job application contained the expression of a personal view. He instead called it the expression of a legal view that signals how Judge Alito would interpret future challenges to Roe v. Wade.

Mr. Schumer’s speech was a warning to Judge Alito that his confirmation hearing will be more contentious than the hearing of Chief Justice Roberts. Still, Mr. Schumer was not entirely pleased with his delivery. Sitting down after the speech, Mr. Schumer turned to an aide and could be heard over the Senate speaker saying: “I stumbled over some parts of it.”