Following President Trump’s announcement Tuesday evening that Judge Neil Gorsuch was his nominee to succeed Justice Scalia on the Supreme Court, People For the American Way staff joined members and supporters on a call about the #StopGorsuch campaign and how we must fight on all fronts against this attack on our constitutional rights and values.

PFAW President Michael Keegan opened the discussion with what’s at stake with this nomination:

Whoever sits on the Supreme Court impacts our daily lives in countless ways . . . This decision can affect the whole country for a generation or more.

Indeed, as Senior Fellow Elliot Mincberg and Executive Vice President Marge Baker then described in great detail, Judge Gorsuch’s record suggests that he does not believe in a Constitution for all people, and we have a lot of work to do to keep him off the Supreme Court.

Senior Fellow Elliot Mincberg put it this way:

On the merits, Gorsuch is about as bad as we can ask for.

Take a close look at the damage that Judge Gorsuch is likely to do to our democracy. In the area of money in politics, Mincberg noted that a Gorsuch Court presents “no chance of reversing Citizens United . . . and if anything is likely to become worse.” On voting rights, Mincberg added that “someone joining the Court like Scalia would be a disaster on these issues.” Then look at government abuses. The “Chevron Doctrine.” Reproductive rights and Hobby Lobby. Class action lawsuits. Disability rights. Police brutality. The list of alarming questions raised by Gorsuch’s record goes on and on.

Defeating a nomination that raises so many concerns might seem daunting, but Executive Vice President Marge Baker pointed out that we’re already winning. We’re telling the story of this most extreme pick, and incredible, unprecedented opposition is gathering momentum by the day. With Judge Gorsuch, President Trump is clearly not living up to his promise to fight for the little guy. If we keep up the good work – keep getting calls into the Senate, keep the rallies and press events going, keep the ads on the air, keep doing the research, keeping getting our spokespeople out there – the defeat of Judge Gorsuch is within reach.

So sign PFAW’s #StopGorsuch petition. Call your senators. Then ask your friends and family to do the same. And if you can, donate.

Or as President Obama put it in his farewell address:

If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organizing.

The time is now to lace ’em up.

You can listen to the full telebriefing here: