Dem senators on notice: Back Gorsuch and face primary

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Senate Democrats respond to their meetings with Gorsuch

Politico Senate correspondent provides insight

Democratic lawmakers are being put on notice: Vote to put Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court and you put your political future at risk.

In February, nine Democratic senators publicly committed to holding a floor vote on Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court, almost assuring his confirmation.

But there is still time to change their minds. Liberal advocacy groups are scrambling to push back against those lawmakers, and others, ahead of Monday's hearingbefore the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Last week, eleven progressive advocacy organizations led by NARAL Pro-Choice America, a large activist group, sent a letter to every Democratic Senators urging them to defeat the Gorsuch nomination.

They let lawmakers on the left know they don’t think they are doing a good enough job in blocking Gorsuch.

The letter states, in part, “Democrats have failed to demonstrate a strong, unified resistance to this nominee despite the fact that he is an ultra-conservative jurist who will undermine our basic freedoms and threaten the independence of the federal judiciary.  We need you to do better.”

The letter isn’t the first shot fired. NARAL Pro-Choice America President, Ilyse Hogue, when asked by The Hill if Democrats who vote for Gorsuch might face primary challenges in the next election, replied, “We would keep all options on the table.”

Just last week 17 activist groups, including NARAL Pro-Choice America, joined forces to launch The People’s Defense, “a massive grassroots campaign with actions planned in all 50 states to defeat Judge Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court.”

On The People’s Defense website Murshed Zaheed, political director of CREDO, which boasts a network of five million activists, states “A Democratic vote to turn the Supreme Court over to Donald Trump and extremist Republicans would be a vote against women, people of color, Muslims, immigrants, workers and the environment. With Roe v. Wade hanging in the balance any Democrat who votes to advance Gorsuch’s nomination will permanently damage his or her political career, just like Sec. Clinton did when she voted for the Iraq war.”

Adam Green, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee wrote “The surest way for Democrats to lose tough general elections in 2018 is to betray the public at this moment.”