Blog
All Blogs
-
October 18, 2012 7:10 pm | By Harrison
PFAWF Submits Amicus Brief in NSA Surveillance Case
As some well know, the debate over unconstitutional wiretapping and other communications surveillance is far from over. This December the United States District Court will hear summary judgment arguments for Jewel v. NSA, a case led by the Electronic Frontier…
-
October 18, 2012 5:19 pm | By Miranda Blue
Another Federal Court Strikes Down DOMA
A conservative George H. W. Bush nominee on the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals authored a strong decision today declaring section 3 of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. Earlier this year, a federal district court judge in Connecticut,…
-
October 18, 2012 2:32 pm | By Ariella
Romney Distorts His Record As Governor
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney continued to sell himself as a turnaround artist and savior of the economy—a former CEO whose stellar business acumen will create an abundance of jobs (12 million in four years, to be exact), champion…
-
October 17, 2012 10:11 pm | By Nick P.
Chamber of Commerce – Big Spenders in the 2012 Elections
*NOTE: If you happen to be in the D.C. area, consider joining us Friday, Oct. 19 from 11:15a.m.-12:00p.m. for a rally in front of the U.S. Chamber that will call on the organization to disclose the sources of its funding…
-
October 17, 2012 9:16 pm | By Paul Gordon
Debate Exposes Importance of Supreme Court to Working Women
In last night's debate, President Obama effectively laid out the damage to the middle class that a Romney presidency would do, especially to working women. He noted that the first bill he signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act,…
-
October 15, 2012 7:29 pm | By Paul Gordon
Demise of Another GOP Talking Point on Judicial Nominations
Senate Republicans have engaged in unprecedented obstruction to prevent President Obama from naming qualified jurists to sit on our nation's circuit and district courts. They have done this by ruthlessly abusing Senate rules that prohibit the majority leader from scheduling…
-
October 15, 2012 7:12 pm | By Miranda Blue
Supreme Court to Hear Arizona Voting Rights Case
The Supreme Court announced today that it will hear a critical voting rights case next year. Arizona has appealed a 9th Circuit decision that barred the state from requiring proof of citizenship from those registering to vote via a federally-approved…
-
October 15, 2012 7:07 pm | By Paul Gordon
CitU Spending Overwhelmingly Benefits Romney
President Obama recognizes that Citizens United threatens our democracy, while Mitt Romney fully supports it. In fact, Romney has said he would nominate Supreme Court Justices like the ones who brought us that infamous decision. So it's no surprise that…
-
October 15, 2012 4:25 pm | By Paul Gordon
Corporate Allies at the DC Circuit
As a great reminder of what's at stake this Election Day, Washington Post columnist Steven Pearlstein wrote a piece this weekend excoriating the far-right judges who have taken over the DC Circuit Court. Nominated by George W. Bush, they have…
-
October 12, 2012 9:55 pm | By Jen Herrick
“A right for one is a right for another and a responsibility for all.”
In 1988, as Founding Chairman of People For the American Way, Norman Lear was among the cosigners of the Williamsburg Charter, “written and published expressly to address the dilemmas, challenges, and opportunities posed by religious liberty in American public life.”…
-
October 12, 2012 8:31 pm | By Paul Gordon
VP Debate Highlights the Importance of the Supreme Court
During his debate with Paul Ryan, Vice President Biden reminded Americans of one of the most important issues of the presidential election: The Supreme Court. When asked about abortion rights, Biden said: The court -- the next president will get…
-
October 12, 2012 3:00 pm | By Paul Gordon
College Diversity Case Shows Importance of Sup. Court as Election Issue
This week showed yet again why the Supreme Court is such an important issue in the presidential election. The Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, which challenges the constitutionality of UT's limited affirmative action plan for…
-
October 11, 2012 3:06 pm | By Ariella
Fisher v. University of Texas Rally Showcases Support for Affirmative Action
Yesterday morning, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas, a landmark case that could determine whether public colleges and universities can consider race as one of many factors when making admission decisions. Plaintiff Abigail Fisher,…
-
October 10, 2012 10:12 pm | By Calvin Sloan
PFAW joins the “Stop the Greed Bus Tour” in Colorado
The "Stop the Greed" bus tour rolled into Denver, Colorado today and helped boost support for an important state ballot question on corporate political donations. PFAW’s Colorado Coordinator Ellen Dumm joined Elena Nunez of Colorado Common Cause (pictured…
-
October 9, 2012 9:29 pm | By Harrison
Voter ID Blocked in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s ALEC-linked voter ID law, known as HB 934, has been fought several times since its passage earlier this year. Defenders of the strict photo ID law state that the law prevents voter fraud – even though there haven’t been…
-
October 5, 2012 8:09 pm | By Miranda Blue
The Romney Court: Losing Your Rights Has Never Been Easier!
This is Justice Antonin Scalia, who Mitt Romney and Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown both hold up as their model Supreme Court Justice, discussing his approach to some thorny Constitutional issues: "The death penalty? Give me a break. It’s easy. Abortion?…
-
October 4, 2012 7:33 pm | By Paul Gordon
Bush Circuit Judges Uphold Ohio Abortion Restriction
This week has seen a yet another powerful example of the importance of the courts as an issue in the presidential election. Although George W. Bush has been out of office for nearly four years, his anti-choice ideology has been…
-
October 3, 2012 10:04 pm | By Paul Gordon
A Movement’s Katrina Moment
Whatever Mitt Romney says at tonight's debate about how much he cares about ordinary Americans and how good his policies will be for the American people, it will be heard through the filter of the now-infamous 47% video. When he…
-
October 2, 2012 5:39 pm | By Paul Gordon
Scott Brown Names Scalia as his Favorite Justice
The Supreme Court is not only a critical factor in the presidential election, it's also a key consideration in Senate races. That's because the Senate holds the power to confirm or deny judicial nominations. And when the issue was raised…
-
September 28, 2012 7:20 pm | By Paul Gordon
Judicial Obstruction in Graphic Form
Last week, the neutral Congressional Research Service released a report analyzing how long consensus judicial nominees have had to wait before confirmation under various presidencies, from Ronald Reagan to today. The report quantifies what we already knew: President Obama's nominees…