People for the American Way Issues Statement on Democratic Presidential Primary Debate

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 -- People for the American Way issued the following statement by Marge Baker, executive vice president for policy and program:

Following tonight's final Democratic presidential primary debate of the year, in which federal courts were addressed among many pressing topics facing the next president.

"It was critically important and very timely to hear from presidential candidates about the federal courts tonight, and we applaud tonight's moderators for raising this issue. Tonight's debate came in the wake of the Fifth Circuit ACA ruling that showed us once again what an enormous role courts and judges play in our lives. Because of a Trump-appointed judge who cast the deciding vote in that ruling, health care is at risk for millions of Americans. The next president faces a monumental task in ensuring that the people appointed to our federal bench are fair-minded constitutionalists who understand their role is to uphold rights for all of us, not to serve the agendas of big corporations and far-right special interests."

PFAW today launched a new user-friendly web tool to make its Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears project data more accessible to wider audiences. Since 2017, the Confirmed Judges, Confirmed Fears blog series has been covering troubling votes and decisions by Trump appellate judges, including Supreme Court justices. The series has focused on showing how extreme Trump's judges are by documenting cases in which dissents occurred and Trump judges split from their colleagues. We have now written about more than 200 rulings, including voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, racial equity, reproductive rights, the rights of working people, checks and balances on presidential power, repealing the New Deal, and more. The online tool will allow users to easily highlight bad rulings in each issue area or to sort bad rulings by judge, for a clearer picture of that judge's individual impact on important rights.

About People For the American Way

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity. Learn more: http://www.pfaw.org.