Marjorie Dannenfelser: This Is an 'All Hands on Deck' Moment for Voters
On October 8, in the presence of President Donald Trump, his family and his eight new colleagues, Justice Brett Kavanaugh was ceremonially sworn in as the 114th Supreme Court justice in United States history. Like his predecessors, he pledged to uphold the Constitution and be a fair, impartial interpreter of the law for all Americans.
At this historic moment, justice was done. An extraordinarily qualified individual, with a sterling reputation and decades of service in both the executive and judicial branches, took office — a triumph for the voters who elected Trump, trusting him to make these nominations wisely, and for our entire nation.
It was a hard-earned, bittersweet victory after the scorched-earth campaign Senate Democrats waged against Justice Kavanaugh, exploiting human pain and the serious issue of sexual assault for a partisan agenda. They were openly abetted by many allies in the media, who abandoned their role as fact finders and succumbed to ideological pressures.
In the end, they could not keep a good man down. Kavanaugh’s impeccable record as a fair, impartial judge shone through. Trump never abandoned his nominee, and leaders like Sens. Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham and others showed America that Goliath can be defeated.
Unfortunately, there is no time to relax. In less than four weeks, all of this could either be cemented or swept away.
Before Justice Kavanaugh was even sworn in, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. — an abortion extremist who stands to become chair of the House Judiciary Committee should Democrats regain power in November — was already vowing to further investigate Justice Kavanaugh, and 40 of his pro-abortion colleagues floated talk of impeachment (in the House, only a simple majority vote would be required to adopt articles of impeachment and send them to the Senate for a trial).
We should be clear: This isn’t about Justice Kavanaugh’s qualifications, and it is certainly not about helping assault victims heal. Kavanaugh’s detractors will never accept him as legitimate, just as they will never accept the pro-life president who nominated him as legitimate.
Three of the country’s most radical abortion advocacy groups — Planned Parenthood, EMILY’s List, and NARAL — are spending more than $70 million altogether on the midterm elections, including multi-million-dollar campaigns specifically to try to flip the House of Representatives.
If Democrats take control of the Senate, the past few weeks’ experience will look restrained and modest by comparison. Imagine the scene if, for instance, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat were to become vacant. Like the rest of President Trump’s pro-life agenda, judicial reform will grind to a halt if abortion extremists control either chamber of Congress, and current judges will not be spared their rancor.
We cannot allow that to happen. With so much at stake, sitting out this election is simply not an option.
Our greatest opportunity to restore a pro-life Senate majority lies in states carried by Trump where incumbent Democrats voted against the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., betrayed their constituents.
Susan B. Anthony List’s field team of more than 700 canvassers has spent months on the ground in these states, reaching out to more than 2 million pro-life voters on front porches to inform them and motivate them to get to the polls.
Equally important are several new opportunities to elect courageous pro-life women leaders to the Senate: Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee, Leah Vukmir in Wisconsin, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in Mississippi, Karin Housley in Minnesota and Martha McSally in Arizona.
Pro-life candidates for the House too numerous to list here also need our support.
This is an “all hands on deck” moment for voters in these states who believe in our nation’s founding principles and long to see human life protected at every stage of development or condition of dependency.
I am incredibly proud of everyone whose toil and dedication brought us this far. We cannot go back; to lose so much as an inch of the ground we have fought so hard to gain would be a tragedy.
Some naysayers in the media dismiss Americans’ joy at the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh and outrage over his vilification as a mere “sugar high” that will soon fade away and have no lasting impact. We in the pro-life movement intend to prove them wrong.
In this next, crucial test of our resolve, knowledge and the ballot box are powerful tools — so each and every one of us must do our part to champion the little ones on Election Day.
Marjorie Dannenfelser is president of Susan B. Anthony List and served as the national chair of Donald Trump’s Pro-life Coalition during the 2016 election.
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