Subject: Today from the Constitutional Responsibility Project
From: Sam Michel <[email-masked]>
To: Sam Michel <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2016 21:32:45 +0000

Pennsylvania voters overwhelmingly oppose Sen. Pat Toomey's obstruction of Chief Judge Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination.
Today, the Constitutional Responsibility Project released its first television ad. The 30-second spot<https://youtu.be/HieGSD__sPI> showcases Sen. Toomey's (R-PA) unprecedented refusal to consider any Supreme Court nominee and calls on Sen. Toomey to put the Constitution before his politics. The ad will air in the Philadelphia media market over the Senate recess.

Additionally, the Constitutional Responsibility Project, in conjunction with the League of Conservation Voters, released a new survey of Pennsylvania voters conducted by Hart Research. The survey found that Pennsylvania voters support giving Judge Garland a hearing and an up-or-down vote and strongly disapprove of the positon Senate Republican leadership has taken on this matter.

"This poll shows that Pennsylvanians strongly believe that Senator Toomey and others must give the president's nominee both a fair hearing and a timely vote, and LCV members couldn't agree more.  Nearly 150,000 of them have signed a petition calling on the Senate to do its job, including nearly 5,000 in Pennsylvania alone," said Tiernan Sittenfeld, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, League of Conservation Voters.

A full memo from Hart Research Associates outlining the survey's findings and polling method can be found HERE<http://weneednine.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WN9-PA.pdf>.

Key findings from the Constitutional Responsibility Project and the League of Conservation Voters survey include:

  *   By a margin of 56 percent to 37 percent, Pennsylvania voters say the Senate should hold hearings and give Chief Judge Garland an up-or-down-vote.
     *   Independent voters agree with this position by an event larger margin - 60 percent to 36 percent.
  *   After voters hear the pros and cons on Senator Toomey's positon on the Supreme Court vacancy, feelings toward him become notably less favorable.
     *   Independents move from a small net positive view of Toomey (24 percent positive, 18 percent negative) to a large net negative opinion of him (24 percent positive, 50 percent negative).
  *   At the start of the survey, 43 percent of voters said they were inclined to vote for Senator Toomey over his Democratic challenger. After being told about his stance on Judge Garland's nomination, 46 percent of voters said they are less likely to support Senator Toomey.
  *   16 percent of voters said they would be more open to voting for the Democratic challenger as a result of Senator Toomey's opposition to hearings and a vote for Judge Garland.

Wisconsin voters do not approve of Sen. Johnson's Supreme Court obstruction.
Roll Call<http://www.rollcall.com/could-supreme-court-stance-doom-ron-johnson/> reports on a new poll finding that Sen. Ron Johnson's (R-WI) continued refusal to consider Chief Judge Garland's nomination runs counter to the values of Wisconsin voters.

"60 percent of likely Wisconsin voters want to see the president and Senate take action to fill the vacancy now... Roughly half of voters felt that by blocking Obama's nominee, senators were "trying to advance their party's agenda rather than doing what is right for the country."

After meeting with Chief Merrick Garland yesterday, Sen. Gary Peters lauds his "impeccable legal credentials.
The Detroit News<http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2016/04/28/peters-urges-senate-vote-impeccable-garland/83654934/> reports:

Sen. Peters (D-MI): "He comes to this nomination with ... impeccable legal credentials. On top of that, he has the benefit of already being confirmed for his current position with broad bipartisan support. So this is the type of candidate that certainly deserves to have a hearing.""

Chief Judge Garland is exactly the type of jurist we want on the Court.
Former U.S. solicitor general Ted Olson writes in the Wall Street Journal<http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-supreme-court-challenge-for-democrats-1461885048>:

Ted Olson, former U.S. solicitor general: "Mr. Garland is extraordinarily well qualified...Throughout his career, he has impressed his colleagues and his legal adversaries with his leadership, sense of fairness, and respect for the law. He has been a judge for 19 years and is now chief judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, considered by many to be the second-most-important court in the country. Scalia and three current justices also served on the D.C. circuit. By temperament, character and qualifications, Judge Garland is precisely the kind of jurist we want on the Supreme Court.  For Republicans, there is much to recommend giving Mr. Garland a good look, a respectful hearing and a vote on the merits."

Chief Judge Garland will approach the legal issues that face the disability community with thought and care.
Michael Waterston, an expert in disability and civil rights law, reviewed Chief Judge Garland's record and found him to be a thoughtful and fair jurist.

Michael Waterstone, disability and civil rights law expert: "How will Justice Garland rule on the important issues facing the disability community - things like whether websites need to be accessible to individuals who are blind, or how far employers need to go in providing accommodations to workers with disabilities, or whether voters with disabilities are entitled to secret and independent ballots, like everyone else? I don't know...But I do feel confident that Justice Garland would approach the questions carefully and thoughtfully, and without a predefined agenda against the rights of people with disabilities."[Loyola Law School, 4/28/16<http://summaryjudgments.lls.edu/2016/04/garland-on-rights-of-people-with.html>]

A look ahead at a sampling of activity by our grassroots allies:

SATURDAY 4/30/16

Event: #DoYourJob Day of Action canvasses
Location: Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Dover, Keene and Portsmouth, NH
Time: 9AM local time
Host: AUFC-NH, NextGenNH, NH SEIU, PFAW-NH
Press Contact: Liz Purdy, 603-731-2200, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: #DoYourJob Sen. Grassley Event
Location: Iowa Southwestern Community College, 1501 W Townline St, Creston, IA
Time: 12:00 PM local time
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Derek Eadon, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

SUNDAY 5/01/16
Event: #DoYourJob Sen. Grassley Event
Location: Tyson's Center Parking Lot, Sioux City, IA
Time: 12:00 PM local time
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Derek Eadon, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

MONDAY 5/02/16

Event: Press call to announce recess #DoYourJob recess events
Time: 11AM ET
Key briefers/speakers: Mary Kay Henry, SEIU International President; Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America; María Teresa Kumar, President & CEO, Voto Latino; Michael Brune, Executive Director, Sierra Club; Brad Woodhouse, President, Americans United for Change
Press Contact and RSVP information: Sara Lonardo, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: #DoYourJob Sen. Grassley Event
Location: Davenport, IA
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Derek Eadon, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: Don't Trump the Courts Harrisburg event
Location: Event outside of Sen. Toomey's office, 228 Walnut St # 1104, Harrisburg, PA 17101
Time: 10AM local time
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Aletheia Henry, 614-668-5116, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: Don't Trump the Courts Philadelphia event
Location: Event outside of Sen. Toomey's office, 1628 John F Kennedy Blvd #1702, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Time: 4PM local time
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Aletheia Henry, 614-668-5116, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

TUESDAY 5/03/16

Event: Don't Trump the Courts Allentown event
Location: Event outside of Sen. Toomey's office, 1150 S Cedar Crest Blvd # 101, Allentown, PA 18103
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Aletheia Henry, 614-668-5116, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: #DoYourJob Sen. Grassley Event
Location: Outside of Senator Grassley's Waterloo Office, 210 Waterloo Building 531 Commercial Street Waterloo, IA
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Derek Eadon, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: #DoYourJob Sen. Blunt Event
Location: Outside of Senator Blunt's St. Louis Office, 7700 Bonhomme,Clayton, MO 63105
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Martin Casas, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: #DoYourJob Sen. Blunt Event
Location: Missouri State Capitol, 201 W Capitol Ave, Jefferson City, MO 65101
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Martin Casas, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

WEDNESDAY 5/04/16

Event: Portsmouth #DoYourJob event
Location: Sen. Ayotte's Office, 14 Manchester Square, Ste 140
Portsmouth, NH 03801
Time: 12PM local time
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Lucas Meyer, 603-568-2511

Event: Des Moines #DoYourJob event
Location: Sen. Grassley's Office, 210 Walnut St #721, Des Moines, IA 50309
Time: 12PM local time
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Derek Eadon, 515-954-8630, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: Springfield #DoYourJob event
Location: Sen. Blunt's office, 260 Russell Senate Office Bldg, Washington, DC 20510
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Martin Casas, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

Event: Kansas City #DoYourJob event
Location: Sen. Blunt's office, 1000 Walnut Street, Suite # 1560
Kansas City, MO 64106
Host: Americans United for Change
Press Contact: Martin Casas, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

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