HELP stop the Repugs from using the Nuclear Option

[BigBearJohn]

Just received this letter from Eli, James, Marika, Joan and the MoveOn PAC Team today, Wednesday, April 20th, 2005

"As you know, we've got an urgent situation on our hands: as soon as next Thursday, radical Republicans may try to seize absolute control over which judges are appointed to the courts. Even they call it the "nuclear option," and it really is destructive: it means Republicans will have unfettered power to stack the Supreme Court and federal courts with right-wing extremists who literally believe that things like the minimum wage, environmental laws, the right to privacy, and even Social Security are unconstitutional.

The fallout, if they succeed, could last for a generation. And that's why we need your help to put an ad on the air that exposes what this power grab is all about, before time runs out.

We're looking at a total TV and radio buy of $400,000, but showing "Smashing the Courts" once in Washington, DC, costs about $150. (We’ll also be running it nation-wide.) Can you sponsor one airing of the ad? Applying this pressure could make a real difference in the next few days.

Whatever you can contribute, you can take a look at the script and securely donate to get it on the air at:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/gavel.html?id=5383-4360681-wyFOTsgVrvf3TojGRxSH6A&t=4

MoveOn members have played such an important role in this fight—writing literally tens of thousands of letters to the editor, sending hundreds of thousands of emails, making phones ring off the hook throughout the Senate, and organizing locally in thousands of teams to spread the word. Now, with a week left, we've got to take our message to the air.

Thanks so much for your help, and for everything you're doing to build a progressive America. As always, we feel lucky to be working with you.

--Eli

P.S. Here's the message we sent to the rest of our members today—just FYI:

Dear MoveOn member,
We've been burning the midnight oil to create a compelling new ad that visually presents what's at stake in our battle to stop the right-wing judicial takeover. For Americans who don't understand the impact extremist judges can have, our ad sets the record straight: it shows judges’ gavels shattering the protections and rights we hold dear, including worker rights, the right to privacy, the minimum wage, and environmental laws. For the three Republicans we need to win the vote next week, this ad can help add pressure and push them over the top.

Running the ad nation-wide will alert the public to this under-the-radar attack on the independence of our courts. We're also developing radio ads that will personally target the Republicans whose votes could make all the difference. But to do those things, we need to raise $400,000 pretty quickly together—we've got to get "Sashing the Courts" and our radio ads on the air in the next few days.

Airing "Sashing the Courts" once in Washington, DC costs about $150. Can you chip in to help run the ad once? Or, if that's out of your price range, can you subsidize a third of an ad—$50? You can take a look at the script and give online right now at:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/gavel.html?id=5383-4360681-wyFOTsgVrvf3TojGRxSH6A&t=1

Here's how the New York Times Magazine put it on Sunday: "Imagine a country in which Social Security, job-safety laws and environmental protections were unconstitutional. Imagine judges longing for that. Imagine one of them as the next Supreme court nominee." And I'd add to that: "Imagine we're powerless to stop them."

We could be facing that situation as soon as next Thursday—Republicans want to break the Senate rules to seize absolute power to appoint extremist judges. That's the bad news. The good news: when Americans hear about these judges' far-right ideology, and the way Republicans are grabbing control to appoint them, they're with us. We just have to get the word out—and we have eight days to do it.

This fight is about saving one of the last barriers standing between radical Republicans and total control of the American political system. That barrier, the filibuster, was created for this kind of situation: it's designed to force the members of the Senate to find judicial candidates who they can all agree on, and to make it difficult to give lifetime appointments to radical zealots. It's a crucial part of the system of checks and balances that makes our country work.

In their plan to change the rules of the Senate and lock out Democrats, Republicans are banking on the idea that Americans won't care about the process for picking judges. But that's simply not true—Americans know that fair and independent judges are a critical part of our democracy. It's up to us to help sound the alarm.

Thanks in part to work of MoveOn members and our allies, three moderate Republicans have already come out against the judicial takeover plan. If we can get three more, we win. This ad, and your support, could get us there.

Can you join with thousands of other MoveOn members and help put this ad on the air today? You can give quickly and securely, by credit card or check, at:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/gavel.html?id=5383-4360681-wyFOTsgVrvf3TojGRxSH6A&t=2

An America where the courts are stacked against progressives is a pretty scary prospect. But we only need to win over three more Republicans to win this critical fight, and the American people are on our side. Together, we can win one for the Constitution.

Thanks for everything,

–Eli, James, Marika, Joan and the MoveOn PAC Team
Wednesday, April 20th, 2005

[BigBearJohn]

1. kick!