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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Drew Courtney or Josh Glasstetter 202-467-4999 / media@pfaw.org

McCain Backers Use Supreme Court as Excuse for Cynical Hatchet Job

PFAW’s Kolbert: We need a conversation about the Court and the Constitution, not more sleaze from the smearmongers of the Right

WASHINGTON

The Judicial Confirmation Network,
a group of right-wing activists that mobilized support for the Bush
administration's efforts to impose its political agenda on the federal
judiciary, has launched a mud-slinging ad campaign that is ostensibly
about the Supreme Court but does nothing to address the issues at stake
for all Americans in the future of the judiciary.

People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert, who successfully argued the landmark Planned Parenthood v. Casey before the U.S. Supreme Court, released the following statement.

The
Supreme Court is on the ballot this fall, and the stakes could not be
higher for Americans. Judges nominated by President Bush are already
undermining Americans' rights and legal protections and making it
harder for individuals to seek justice in the Courts. Senator McCain
has bragged about supporting those Bush judges and curried favor with
the far right by pledging more of the same.

The Judicial Confirmation Network's sleazy mud-throwing ad sheds no
light on the issues at stake with the future of the federal judiciary.
It's just a cynical hatchet job.

People For the American Way's Action Fund has recently launched a series of radio ads
in key states focusing on the Supreme Court decision that overturned a
lower court victory for Lilly Ledbetter, a woman who successfully
challenged pay discrimination by her employer, and made it nearly
impossible for women to get justice in federal court for pay
discrimination.

Note: People For the American Way's affiliated Foundation has
produced a series of reports on the damage caused by Bush-nominated
judges to Americans' constitutional rights and legal protections. The
most recent report is The Human Toll: How Individual Americans Have Fared at the Hands of Bush Judges. People For the American Way Foundation's preview of the coming Supreme Court term, More Rights at Stake, is available here.

People For the American Way works to build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. We fight against right-wing extremism and the injustice it fosters.

1 (800) 326-7329