More than 100 liberal groups signed a letter to congressional leaders on Wednesday urging opposition to federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination.
The letter, sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, includes signatures from groups such as Emily’s List, Demos, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Service Employees International Union and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
“Judge Gorsuch’s decade-long record on the federal bench, as well as his writings, speeches and activities throughout his career, demonstrate he is a judge with an agenda,” the groups wrote. “His frequent dissents and concurrences show he is out of the mainstream of legal thought and unwilling to accept the constructs of binding precedent and stare decisis when they dictate results he disfavors.”
The groups argue that Gorsuch is outside the “mainstream” and cited input from the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation on President Trump’s vetting process as evidence. The groups cite a 2005 article Gorsuch wrote as indicative of his hostility toward discrimination claims. The groups specifically take issue with Gorsuch writing, “American liberals have become addicted to the courtroom, relying on judges and lawyers rather than elected leaders and the ballot box, as the primary means of effecting their social agenda on everything from gay marriage to assisted suicide to the use of vouchers for private-school education. This overweening addiction to the courtroom as the place to debate social policy is bad for the country and bad for the judiciary.”
Other issues the liberal groups think Gorsuch has a poor record on include workers’ rights, immigration, women’s health, LGBT rights, police misconduct, students with disabilities, corporate bias, money in politics, environmental protection and voting rights.
“Independent and impartial federal judges are needed now more than ever,” the groups wrote. “Judge Gorsuch has demonstrated in his opinions and writings that he is results-oriented and would be highly unlikely to show independence from a president who shares his ideological agenda.”
