Coalition of Organizations Delivers 3 Million+ Signatures Calling on Senators to Delay SCOTUS Vote

Daily Kos, MoveOn, The Leadership Conference, and the #OurCourt Coalition Lead Push to Pause Confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Carolyn Fiddler, Daily Kos, 202.556.1693
Rafael Medina, The Leadership Conference, 202.869.0390

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Daily Kos, MoveOn, The Leadership Conference, and the #OurCourt coalition delivered over 3.2 million petition signatures to the offices of Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Joni Ernst, Mitch McConnell, Mike Lee, Mitt Romney, Thom Tillis, Richard Burr, Martha McSally, Cory Gardner, and Susan Collins calling on them to postpone the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court until after the winner of November’s presidential election takes office.

“Republicans know they’re facing losing the presidency and their majority in the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3, which is why they are desperately rushing Barrett’s confirmation vote in a last-gasp effort to pack the Supreme Court. While they’re busy engaging in this frantic act of political theater, millions are struggling with hunger and evictions as the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage Americans lives,” said Carolyn Fiddler, Daily Kos communications director. “Millions of Americans have spoken: It’s time for Republican senators to prioritize what matters most to American families instead of pressing forward with this blatant attempt to usurp the legitimacy of the highest court in the land.”

“Leader McConnell failed to provide meaningful relief during the pandemic and to respond to the calls for racial justice,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Senate Republicans are stopping at nothing to push through their misplaced priorities and rush this sham confirmation process, even ignoring the more than 41 million people who have already voted. Trump has threatened that his third justice will jeopardize health care access and so many of our fundamental civil and human rights. Barrett’s record demonstrates that she was chosen because she will work for powerful interests, not for equal justice for all. Her hearing did nothing to alleviate our grave concerns and we demand that the Senate listen to the petition signatories and voters and reject this nomination.”

“The rushed and blatantly partisan nomination process of Amy Coney Barett, has been a complete sham and an insult to the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” said Brianna Twofoot, National Organizing Director of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. “Coney Barett’s record makes clear that if appointed to the Supreme Court, she would be a direct threat to our reproductive rights and our health care, The Senate must not vote on the nomination of Amy Coney Barett until after Inauguration Day.”

“President Trump has repeatedly told us he expects Amy Coney Barrett will overturn health care protections and abortion rights and hand him a contested election, and we shouldn’t expect anything less. Barrett’s record and evasiveness confirm this,” said Nan Aron, President, Alliance for Justice Action Campaign. “The people of this country see this Republican power grab for exactly what it is. We will all hold these senators accountable for doing more to enshrine dangerous ultraconservative policies in the law than to protect Americans from a national pandemic, an economic crisis, and a legacy of racial inequality.”

“Journalists keep asking Democrats about court-packing. By blocking Obama’s nominee in 2016, when there was ample time for advice and consent, while rushing this nomination through the Senate without sufficient time, McConnell and the GOP are the court-packers,” said Jeff Cohen, cofounder of RootsAction.org.

“Another stolen Supreme Court seat threatens a devastating setback to our progress tackling climate change and the other great challenges of our time – progress that simply cannot wait. But Food & Water Action, along with the millions of people who have demanded a stop to this confirmation, will work to ensure this illegitimate power grab won’t go unanswered,” said Tarah Heinzen, Legal Director at Food & Water Action.

“The majority of Americans want to keep our health care coverage and don’t want another Supreme Court confirmation before the election, but nearly all Republican senators are refusing to listen. Instead they’re ramming this nomination through, regardless of how many people are hurt, because they want a partisan 6-3 court to defend their ultraconservative political agenda,” said Ben Jealous, president of People For the American Way. “The voters see exactly what’s going on here and they don’t like it. Republicans would be smart to pay attention to the millions of people who oppose this nomination process. Those voters, along with those who signed the petition being delivered today, will also be voting in less than two weeks.”

“Senators need to use every tool at their disposal to stop this illegitimate confirmation process until a new president takes office. Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell want to pack the court with right-wing extremists who will undermine voting rights this fall and hobble the next president from addressing the critical needs facing this country. It’s time for Senators from both parties to put a stop to this nomination before it proceeds any further,” said Robert Cruickshank, Campaign Director of Demand Progress.

The signatures were collected by a broad coalition, including the Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, California Clean Money Action Fund, California National Organization for Women, Center for Reproductive Rights, Color of Change, Common Cause, Daily Kos, Demand Progress, Everytown for Gun Safety, Faith in Public Life Action, Family Equality, Food & Water Action, The Juggernaut Project, MoveOn, NARAL, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), National Women’s Law Center, Other98, People For the American Way, PPFA, Population Connection Action Fund, Power to Decide, Progress America, Rep. Raul Grijalva, RootsAction.org, Sierra Club, and the Women’s March.

Daily Kos is the nation’s largest online progressive media and activism hub and leads the way in supporting Democrats across the country, raising over $7.4 million for candidates and campaigns in small, grassroots donations in the 2020 cycle.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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