FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2017
Media contact: david@demandprogress.org, 202.681.7582
Ahead of this week’s confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, Demand Progress released the following statement, attributable to executive director David Segal:
"Democrats need to stand united in aggressive opposition to the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Gorsuch has a fancy resume of the sort that DC elites privilege — but that does not make him deserving of support for a post on the land's highest court. Assessments of his ideology indicate that he falls somewhere to the right of Scalia, and might even be the court's most conservative justice.
"Gorsuch has privileged the power of corporations over the needs of ordinary Americans — in one stark example deciding that a truck driver could be fired for refusing to risk his life by staying stranded in his cab in subzero temperatures. He has consistently stood with monopolists, and against consumers and smaller businesses. He has sided with opponents of women's rights and appears poised to help gut what remains of our campaign finance regulatory framework. During his tenure in the Bush administration he supported authoritarian tendencies as he helped defend warrantless wiretapping and defend against charges of torture and other abuses.
"He has refused to publicly defend the institution of the judiciary against Trump's unprecedented wave of rhetorical assaults.
"Gorsuch's record, pro-corporate and authoritarian proclivities, and unwillingness to rebuff Trump's attacks on the judiciary are particularly concerning because his appointment would swing the balance of the court at a time when it could—with short notice—be called upon to adjudicate Trump's attempts to expand executive power, such as his discriminatory executive orders. More generally, in coming years the court will vet the work product of an administration that seeks to expand corporate power, roll back civil rights, and undermine social justice.
"Demand Progress calls on senators to stand against Gorsuch, and plans to mobilize constituents to help ensure that they do so."
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