Tiny Action: We Can Stop Kavanaugh

Posted by DA News
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DA News Editor

Republicans say the Kavanaugh SCOTUS appointment is an easy win, but their actions show us something different. Over the past few weeks, they’ve been on the offensive:

Groups including the NRA have pledged $5 million in pro-Kavanaugh ad campaigns.
Op-eds have been placed in left-leaning media, that Democrats are “playing politics” and that their objections to Kavanaugh are “unbecoming.”
Orrin Hatch claimed Senate Dems were going down a “partisan, picky, stupid, dumbass road,” and McConnell accused them of “Borking” the nomination - by doing their job and reviewing his record.

The GOP wants you to think the Kavanaugh appointment is a sure thing, so that you won’t speak up. Prove them wrong.

This week’s Tiny Action: Demand a thorough review of Kavanaugh’s documents and records, and tell Senate to vote NO on Kavanaugh.

1. Insist that the Senate Judiciary Committee to do their job: Conduct a thorough review of all of Kavanaugh documents

The Senate Judiciary Committee can be reached at +1 (202) 224-5225. There is not a central email address available.

Hi, my name is [NAME]. I vote in [CITY/STATE] but I'm calling from [LOCATION] where I currently live. I'm calling you from abroad because I'm extremely bothered by the Judiciary Committee's lax approach to reviewing Brett Kavanaugh's history in full.

I know his body of work is extensive, but that doesn't mean it doesn't need your review. This is the explicit purpose of the committee's role before referring his nomination to the full Senate, just like it was when the committee reviewed pages and pages of documents of Justices Kagan and Sotomayor.

The last time Kavanaugh testified before the Senate, he provided misleading accounts of his work in the White House. The only way we will know if he's telling the truth this time will be if those documents are available to review.

After a Supreme Court seat was left vacant for 8 months, it's clear to me that the only reason to rush this process is so there can be a vote before the midterms. This is simply an unacceptable rationale for a lifetime appointment whose decisions will impact a generation of Americans.

Thank you for your time. [IF LEAVING A MESSAGE, LEAVE YOUR FULL VOTING ADDRESS TO ENSURE YOUR CALL IS TALLIED]

2. Tell your Senators you want a commitment that they will vote NO on the Kavanaugh nomination.

If your Senator is a Republican or Donnelly (IN), Heitkamp (ND) or Manchin (WV):

Hi my name is [NAME]. I’m a voter from [STATE], but I currently live in [LOCATION]. I vote for my Senators from here and also volunteer to help Americans abroad vote. I’m calling to ask the Senator to confirm now that s/he will vote NO for Brett Kavanaugh unless the vote is postponed until January.

The Senator may say that Kavanaugh is qualified and that this is all that matters, but that's simply not true. For one thing, if it were true, Merrick Garland would be on the bench, and McConnell wouldn't have been so concerned that the nomination wait until the people be "heard" in the 2016 elections.

Now he says that only applies in a presidential election year, since it's the president who chooses the nominees. But the people also decide who confirms those nominees - that's you. And the people will be heard with 1/3 of the Senate on the ballot this year. There is simply no reason to hold a vote now, if we are to believe this nomination is made in good faith.

Furthermore, all the qualifications in the world mean little if the nominee is ideologically out of touch with the Senator's constituents.

Trump himself said his shortlist would only consist of judges who oppose reproductive rights and the Affordable Care Act. This is not what [STATE] voters support.

Kavanaugh has shown no interest in protecting anyone or anything - workers, consumers, marginalized communities, the environment - over the interests of corporations. That is not what [STATE] voters support.

Kavanaugh disagreed with the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on Watergate was wrong. Does the Senator agree with him? We need a justice who understands that no one is above the law.

I know that there will be increased pressure to push his nomination to a vote, despite not having reviewed his record in full. This is simply wrong and irresponsible. He misled the Senate during his last hearing in 2006 - a reason in itself not to support him - and there's no reason he won't mislead the Senate again. The only way to properly vet this candidate - the job you have been elected to do - is to review the facts and records, and to decide if his ideologies and qualifications reflect what your constituents want.

Healthcare and people over corporations, reaffirming that no one is above the law - these are not radical ideas. Most voters in [YOUR STATE] agree. Kavanaugh does not. Please listen to us.

[IF LEAVING A MESSAGE, LEAVE YOUR FULL VOTING ADDRESS TO ENSURE YOUR CALL IS TALLIED]

If your Senator is any other Democrat:

Hi my name is [NAME]. I’m a vote from [STATE], but I currently live in [LOCATION]. I vote for my Senators from here and also volunteer to help Americans abroad vote. I’m calling to ask the Senator to confirm now that s/he will vote NO for Brett Kavanaugh.

I know that many Senators are meeting with Kavanaugh, and that his record is still under review, but I'm asking for a No now.

Kavanaugh is a right-wing anti-choice extremist, hand picked by the Federalist Society, and Trump himself said his shortlist would only consist of judges who oppose women's health rights and the ACA. That's not what [STATE] voters support.

Republicans say Kavanaugh is qualified and that this is all that matters, but they're lying. Otherwise, Merrick Garland would be on the bench.

Furthermore, qualifications mean very little if the Justice is ideologically out of touch with the Senator's constituents.

Most of your constituents believe in health care and women's right to choose. Most of your constituents believe that people should be made the priority over corporations. Most of your constituents believe that the Supreme Court's unanimous Watergate decision was right. But Kavanaugh disagrees.

We need a Justice who understands that no one is above the law. We need a Justice who doesn't have a track record of siding with corporations over people. We need a Justice who has a track record that has been reviewed and fully vetted!

I know that there will be increased pressure to push his nomination to a vote, despite the fact that the Judiciary Committee has not been given access to his full records. This is simply wrong and irresponsible. He misled the Senate during his last hearing in 2006 - a reason in itself not to support him - and there's no reason he won't mislead the Senate again. I ask you to urge your colleagues to take this responsibility seriously. We must not be flippant in selecting lifetime appointments for the highest court in the country.

Will the Senator confirm now that s/he will vote NO on Kavanaugh? Will s/he actively push his/her colleagues to review Kavanaugh's record, fully and transparently?

Healthcare and people over corporations, reaffirming that no one is above the law - these are not radical ideas. Most voters in [YOUR STATE] agree. Kavanaugh does not. Please listen to us.

[IF LEAVING A MESSAGE, LEAVE YOUR FULL VOTING ADDRESS TO ENSURE YOUR CALL IS TALLIED]

3. AFTER you've called, get loud on social media.

Find your Senators on Facebook and Twitter and tell them why they need to #StopKavanaugh and #SaveRoe
Planned Parenthood is encouraging everyone to tell their Senators why they must reject Kavanaugh. Add your story here: https://www.istandwithpp.org/dear-senators

4. Do it again tomorrow.

MORE INFO

This Google doc from Indivisible shows where your Senators stand.
Kavanaugh on the Issues

WHY IT MATTERS
Don’t fall for empty statements that Kavanaugh will follow precedent or just make rulings based on the merits of cases before him. The DC circuit judge is far more conservative than nearly all current SC Justices; passed litmus tests of both the Federalist Society and Trump; and is poised to strike down laws, freedoms, and protections the far right has tried to undo for decades.

Based on his record, we know that Kavanaugh will, for starters:

Threaten the fundamental right of women to protect their bodies by ensuring access to safe and legal abortion.
Side with big corporations over workers, the environment and net neutrality.
Allow Donald Trump’s abuses of power to go unchecked.

How else might Kavanaugh lean? That’s what Senate Dems are trying to figure out. While the Judiciary Committee has already reviewed more of Kavanaugh’s record than any previous nominee, the GOP omitted documents from his time as GW Bush Staff Secretary, work which Kavanaugh himself calls “‘among the most instructive” for his career as a judge.

The GOP is doing everything they can to conceal this information from Senate Dems, which is why they’ve filed unprecedented FOIA requests.

What we have seen from his time in the Bush White House is potentially damning all on its own: The last time Kavanaugh appeared in a Senate hearing, he denied prior knowledge of multiple Bush-era scandals, including torture and warrantless wiretapping. Later press reports and even recent comments from Karl Rove indicate that this was, at best, highly misleading.

As Senator Patrick Leahy puts it, “Judge Kavanaugh was directly involved in some of the most politically charged moments of our recent history. The Senate owes the American people an unsparing examination of his nomination, which could affect their lives for a generation.”

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As always, our aim is to turn tiny actions into big results, so we hope we can continue to count on your help! Be sure to forward and share this action with other activists, and send suggestions for our next tiny action to info at democratsabroad dot org.