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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Patriotic Millionaires Launch "Knives Out" Campaign on SCOTUS Nomination

Group Rallies “All Decent Americans” to Demand Senate Dems Use ‘Every Procedural Tool at Their Disposal’ to ‘Delay, Disrupt, and Discredit’ Illegitimate SCOTUS Nomination Process and to ‘Destroy Judicial Credibility and Permanently Disgrace” Eventual Nominee for Agreeing to Participate in ‘Anti-American Fraud’ on Eve of Election

WASHINGTON

This morning, the Patriotic Millionaires officially launched a "Knives Out on SCOTUS" campaign focused on compelling Senate Democrats to "delay, disrupt, and discredit' the corrupt confirmation process for Trump's upcoming SCOTUS nominee and publicly brand the entire process as the illegitimate farce it is.

The group previewed the campaign yesterday for a group of 100 top political influencers on a pull-no-punches call which detailed a roadmap of procedural hurdles that will both delay and disrupt the process and permanently discredit any nominee for agreeing to participate in it.

"There is a very narrow, but theoretically possible path to blocking this nomination completely," said Erica Payne, founder and President of the Patriotic Millionaires. "Mitch has much less control over his caucus than his public posturing would suggest. If Senate Democrats stand up and stand together, they will extract a pound of flesh from every Republican Senator up this cycle, and that would be a beautiful thing."

The campaign was officially launched this morning with the release of an open letter demanding Senate Democrats use every tool in their toolbox to resist President Trump's SCOTUS nominee.

READ THE LETTER HERE

In the preview call and the letter, the group emphasized the following points:

  • President Trump has stated publicly that he will not accept the results of the election and that he will appoint a judge who will help him win.
  • Republicans have stated publicly that they believe the election will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court;
  • The majority of Americans already voted against President Trump once, he lost the popular vote in 2016 by 3 million. The fact that he now refuses to wait until after the election, combined with his public statements about needing a judge to help him win, proves the illegitimacy and profound moral corruption of the entire exercise;
  • The Republican "majority" in the Senate represents 40 million fewer Americans than the Democratic "minority" and all indications show they are unlikely to improve their position on November 3rd, which further emphasizes the illegitimacy of this immoral absurdity.

The Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, Morris Pearl, a former managing director of BlackRock, Inc., issued the following statement in support of the letter:

"With early voting already started, we are not just approaching an election, we are in the middle of one. This process is nakedly illegitimate, and it should be treated as such.

Senate Republicans have made their allegiance to their billionaire donors clear. Now Senate Democrats have to decide if they will defend the American people's right to self-governance or if they will roll over and allow Republicans to trample the remaining tatters of our democracy.

If they participate in any way in this process and if they do not do everything in their power to deny this process legitimacy, they are in effect aiding and abetting the President in the greatest fraud perpetrated on the American people in the last 100 years."

For more information, email Sam Quigley at Sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.

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