Liberal advocacy groups are pushing for Democrats to unite in their opposition to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court ahead of his confirmation hearings next week.
Demand Justice and nine other groups, including the Indivisible, NARAL Pro-Choice America and MoveOn, launched the “Whip the Vote” campaign Monday to pressure Democrats to affirm they will vote “no” on President Trump’s second nominee to a lifetime term on the high court.
“The fight against Brett Kavanaugh is winnable but only if Senate Democrats quickly unite in opposition so we can focus on pressuring a Republican to break ranks,” Brian Fallon, founder of Demand Justice, said in a statement.
{mosads}“At this point, it is absurd that there are still more than two dozen Democrats on the fence about Kavanaugh. He is the most unpopular Supreme Court nominee in 35 years and it is time to fight his nomination with the urgency it deserves.”
Senate Judiciary Committee members Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) are listed among the Democrats who are “leaning no” on Kavanaugh but have not confirmed their opposition, according to a whip list on the campaign’s website, whipthevote.org.
Fallon said Democrats who will ultimately vote “no” on Kavanaugh are likely preserving an appearance of being undecided in order to demand they more documents on Kavanaugh’s previous work experience to review ahead of the hearings.
But Fallon said Republicans are pushing ahead without them.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) scheduled the hearings to begin Sept. 4 even though the National Archives said it would not be able to turn over more than 900,000 pages of documents on Kavanaugh’s work as White House counsel under former President George W. Bush until late October.
Republicans have argued a legal team for Bush is reviewing the same documents and working at a faster pace than the National Archives.
In a call with reporters Monday, Elizabeth Beavers, associate policy director of the Indivisible Project, said Democrats aren’t getting the records they requested and the hearings are moving forward “even though Trump has been implicated in a crime and he hand picked a nominee who would exonerate him.”
Last week, Trump’s longtime person lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws “in coordination and at the direction of a candidate for federal office.”
As part of the Whip the Vote campaign, the groups are asking constituents to contact their senators directly and urge them to voice their opposition. The coalition also plans to run digital ads targeting Democrats who remain undecided.
“This is one of the toughest fights yet of the Trump era,” Beavers said in a statement. “Every Democrat needs to come out loud and clear in opposition to this nominee, so we that we can focus the pressure on moderate Republicans.”
Updated: Aug. 29 at 9:32 a.m.