NOW Leaders Meet Face-to-Face with Senators, Urge Them to Vote "NO" On Alito

November 10, 2005

Wisconsin NOW leaders Shira Roza and Veronica Bayetti met with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.)

Today grassroots leaders from across the country joined national NOW leaders in urging their senators to vote "No" on Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. Local activists traveled to D.C. from coast to coast, meeting with senators and staff from states including: California, Colorado, Utah, Wisconsin, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

The leaders met face-to-face with Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.), breakfasted with Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.), and met with staffers for Senators Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Bob Bennett (R-Utah) and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)

NOW activists sat down with the senators and explained how detrimental a vote for Alito could be for female and minority constituents in their states, pointing to specific opinions he wrote as a federal appeals court judge that demonstrate he is out-of-the-mainstream on women's rights and civil rights, especially with regard to employment discrimination.

"By nominating Samuel Alito, Bush hopes to send our country back to a time before civil rights, before Roe v. Wade, and before the New Deal," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "NOW members understand the importance of bringing our message to Capitol Hill. Replacing the moderate O'Connor with an ultra-conservative judge like Alito will place many of our hard-won advances at risk."

The NOW activists reminded the senators that O'Connor's vote has upheld women's reproductive rights, Family and Medical Leave, privacy rights and employment protections. An ultra-conservative like Alito who will not protect women's rights does not belong in the pivotal fifth seat.

NOW's lobbying efforts will continue through the Senate hearings, which are scheduled to begin Jan. 9, but will soon turn to in-state constituent visits as the senators head home for the recess. In addition to visits in the capital, and meetings in their senators' district offices, activists are organizing phone banks and letter-writing campaigns and educating others in their communities.

"Every senator who supports fairness and equal rights must consider what a Roberts/Alito court would mean for women and girls," said Gandy. "We cannot afford to lose decades of progress toward equality."