The speakers. This is 50 minutes. Everyone please welcome to the stage ilyse hogue, president of naral prochoice america. [cheers and applause] good morning, washington. [cheers and applause] we are joined by cities all over the country today who are getting together to say one loud message of we object. We object. We object to trumps agenda. We object to the people he is putting in place to do nothing but a certain his agenda, and we certainly object to a lifetime appointment of a justice put in place by a president under investigation. [cheers and applause] for collusion with russia. We object. We object. We object. [cheers and applause] let me tell you a little story. I was sitting in the hearing of neil gorsuch a couple weeks ago when my phone started going off, and it was my staff telling me that jim comey had just confirmed that President Trump was currently under investigation with russia. I could not believe in that moment that the same senate who had said our president obama was not legitimate to nominate a Supreme Court justice was moving forward with hearings for someone who was under investigation from russia. And that was just the last reason. The very last reason we needed to object to neil gorsuch. For a lifetime appointment. We know hes terrible on womens rights. We know hes terrible on workers rights. We know hes terrible on voting rights. We know hes terrible lgbt rights, and we know that what runs through every single one of his decisions is a characteristic that we cannot have, and that characteristic is a lack of compassion, a lack of ability to understand our lives, and certainly a lack of ability to judge our destiny. So we will not have it. We do object. And here with us today we have one of the very first courageous senators who came out to stand with the people. She is on the Senate Judiciary committee. She asks the hard questions. She made neil gorsuch squirm in his seat. She put his feet to the fire and she is now said that allah will she vote against this judge, bt shes going to stand with the people and filibuster his nomination. [cheers and applause] please welcome to the stage senator hirono from the great state of hawaii. [cheers and applause] aloha, everybody. So how many of you watched all four days of the gorsuch hearings . I have to hand it to you guys. After what we refer to as the vent and we have to to all my g, what happened . Some of us call it the event, and as we decided what the heck is going to happen to a country, what happened was the very next day after the inauguration you had the march on washington and [cheers and applause] and that started with a retired attorney. Her name is teresa shook and she use social media and within a day 10,000 people people said we will do something, and all across the country and all over the world. And this activism, this engagement has not stopped since. Thats because of you guys and all of us have worked with you and are with you that we stopped trumpcare. [cheers and applause] and the person who was the labor secretary nominee dropped out. [cheers and applause] i have heard from more of my constituents in the time that the president has been in office, we are now in month three, then the entire year that i served in the house and senate. And i something like, for hawaii, my gosh, 4000, i thousand two medications on betsy devos, is a lot. 5000 communications. I have a Wonderful Group of activists who come to my office every tuesday to make sure that i am staying the course with you guys. [applause] so thank you so much. A couple of weeks ago i did a video chat within. What we do know why is we say we talk stories. Meaning that we dont yell at each other. We listen to each other. Its a wonderful way that we frame when we get together. We sent lets talk story about this. And so Going Forward on neil gorsuch, yes, women that within he said, he said a couple of things. I think he told all of us that he met with he has a heart. We were really looking for that heart in the four days of hearings. He told me that the federal courts are there to support minority rights to keep did not respond to any of our questions that allowed us to pick out what his judicial philosophy is. And that is really important because in judicial philosophy were not important we would not have all these four to five or five to four decision is because the judges compass up in Court Justices bring their and Life Experience and what their frame of reference be based on their Life Experiences. So we needed to tell us what his judicial philosophy was and he wouldnt. He basically just said i am going to follow precedent. He is going to the court that sets precedent. So we looked at his record and what i saw was a disturbing trend where he will support corporate interest over individual rights. And you know the litany of cases, hobby lobby where [booing] suddenly we expanded the religious rights of companies. Their owners over the thousands and thousands of women who worked for hobby lobby, or the case where a person got electrocuted and he didnt think that the company should be held responsible for not training this person, or the case o of te truck driver who had the choice between freezing to death and doing something about it. He didnt think that truck driver had made the right decision. So this is not the man who is standing for all of us. And so yes, i asked a lot of questions or all of us did, the democrats did. I have to say as you are listening and watching the republicans, many of them were asking him, hey, hows fishing . Could you believe it . This is serious business, this is a person who will be on the Supreme Court for decades making decisions that will impact all of our lives. So when somebody who truly will adhere to separation of the powers, serious questions about what hes going to do with roe v. Wade. That was one of the president litmus tests. He is o a big guy for the Federalist Society and, what is the other group . Heritage foundation, 17 million. There are people who say you cant support this guy but they are pushing forward as viscerally nice person with the heart, which we couldnt really find, that i there would be support. And i say hey, right on, Merrick Garland, Merrick Garland it can also somebody who was not the person from the Heritage Foundation list, somebody who is going to represent all of us. So i want to thank you all for your activism and makes a difference what you are doing. They kind of engagement makes a huge difference to us. Believe me, when the folks come to my office every tuesday and when we hear from thousands of you all across the country, it keeps me going. It keeps me going and i thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you do. [applause] and then let me leave you with one more thought. As we care about lgbtq writes, as we care about voting rights, as we care about our rights of the woman to choose, a lot of these cases that will go to the Supreme Court comes from the states. We have to Pay Attention to who gets elected to the state legislatures. We have to Pay Attention to who becomes our governor because all of these cases emanate from the states. So i know youre going to be out there all across the country making sure that you are getting, you are electing the right kind of people to the state legislators and to the governors office. I think sometimes we dont pay enough attention to that. Aloha. It is a Beautiful Day and you all are beautiful people. They do so much. [cheers and applause] please welcome to the stage rio tazewell from people for the american way. [cheers and applause] are right. How are we doing this morning . [cheers and applause] fired up and ready. My name is rio tazewell come on the Campaign Manager for people for the american way and unhappm happy to be today on behalf of our more than 1 million members across the country who are proud to be part of a Broad Coalition of progressive allies pushing back against the extreme and dangerous agenda of donald trump. And in particular to oppose the nomination of judge neil gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Im also here today to share a personal story about an experience that nearly brought my life to an early end. In 2011 while traveling for work in asheville North Carolina i found myself caught in a house fire. As the building quickly went up in flames and smoke, i realized that my only chance for escape and survival was to climb up onto the roof and jump from the third floor. I fractured my spine in four places, broke every rib on the left side of my body, punctured my left lung, collapsed my right lung, shattered my Left Shoulder and suffered several other serious injuries. Ive been laid in the ditch for two hours completely paralyzed from the neck down, but fully conscious, waiting for the firefighters to find me. Fortunately, i did make a full recovery, and in some ways im perhaps stronger now than maybe i ever was before. But were it not for the Affordable Care act i would not have had Health Insurance and been on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses at the tender age of 23. At the time i was working for a startup nonprofit that was able to pay me a small salary, but unable to provide Health Insurance. But since i was under 266 is able to be covered on my parents plan. [applause] and today thankfully i am debtfree and amazingly painfree. [applause] now fortunately last week the republicans failed in their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care act. [cheers and applause] at least for now. But the fact that so many of our elected leaders are comfortable with millions of People Living drastically diminished lives in debt or losing their lives altogether because of the lack of affordable and accessible healthcare, in this country, it really is outrageous and truly a travesty. We need a Supreme Court justice who will stand with the people, not special interests. [applause] we need a Supreme Court justice who isnt beholden to special interests and will do the right thing. When difficult cases comes before him, or her. We need a Supreme Court justice that will look out for those that are most vulnerable among us, including 23yearolds who almost died because of extreme events, like house fires. Judge neil gorsuch is not that justice, and the senate should reject his confirmation. Its on all of us to let our Democratic Senators know that we want them to hold the line on this filibuster next week, like our lives depend on it. Because you really never know when that might prove to be true. Thank you. [cheers and applause] please welcome farooq mitha, Muslim Community activist. [cheers and applause] good morning. Its so great to stand here with all of you in our position to neil gorsuch his nomination to the Supreme Court in opposition we have to use every legal tool at our disposal to oppose this Illegitimate Administration of donald trump. [cheers and applause] we did it when they tried to pass trumpcare. We did when they tried to do the muslim ban, and now weve got to do it again to oppose this Supreme Court nominee. [applause] i want to quickly talk about the muslim ban. When donald trump signed his executive order a muslimamericans across the country who were afraid. They felt like he didnt belong here, that they were not wanted in this country. They are still afraid today. But these are people who have contributed to this country as doctors, as Police Officers, as firefighters and serve our country, entrepreneurs who started businesses and greater jobs. People who were born and raised here who are u. S. Citizens, and they felt unwanted. My own family members called me asking me, should we travel outside of the country . If i leave and go to mexico or europe or somewhere just for a vacation, are they going to be, are they going to let me back in wax thats not the america that i was raised in. Those are not our values. The reason i bring that you up is because the judiciary is so important to our balance of power. All of the people in my committee, the muslimamerican community, who are afraid when we saw the ninth Circuit Decision to halt the muslim ban [cheers and applause] it showed not only our country but the world that our system works. And right now the judiciary is the one branch of government that scott our backs, that he stand up for the rights, that calling out these policies for what they are, as racist, as hatemongering and as xena phobic. They went back, donald trump went back and he tried to do it again and he tried to make it pretty and then we so i can from hawaii that the muslim ban was shot down again. [applause] so i just want everyone to remember that and remember that its not even about the muslim ban. This is a nominee that is allied himself with the donald trump, who stands with th trump and yoa shown that is not willing to separate politics from his work. When we have such issues with this admin essay is trying to strip millions of people from their healthcare coverage, they are trying to break apart families with their immigration policies. And they are going out against workingclass people and making false promises about jobs that they know they dont have the ability to bring back. So this i this is a great import time in our history. Thank you all for being here, lets Work Together to stop this nomination. [cheers and applause] please welcome rahna epting and Meghan Faulkner from every voice. [cheers and applause] good morning, d. C. Thank you everyone for coming this morning. Im rahna epting with every voice. And im Meghan Faulkner with every voice. We fight for democracy the work for everyone, not just the wealthy. [applause] i have one question for you. Do we need more money in our elections . I didnt think so. But neil gorsuch does not agree with us. Over and over he has sided with the wealthy and powerful. He thinks corporations are people, and he would go even further than Citizens UnitedCommittee Supports ending all occupational limits in our elections. [booing] thats me. On every single thing we care about, gorsuch will give the wealthy and powerful even more power. [booing] crazy. He will make it harder for our voices to matter in our elections, and he will make it easier for billionaires to spend millions more to influence our elections. This is a direct affront to our american values. This means dirty Energy Companies can buy the policies they want to pollute our air and danger our climate. It means wall street can spend millions to go back to the reckless policies that crash this economy. [booing] yeah, if he is confirmed to the Supreme Court we know that he is going to side with corporations and billionaires, not as. Is that what we want . Thats why we cannot let him get a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court and why were here today to tell senators to oppose gorsuch. We deserve a democracy that works for every single one of us, not just the wealthy and powerful. [applause] lets keep this up. This week is of the week, call your senators. Have your friends and family call their senators. We cant leave any stone unturned. This is our fight. This is a lifetime seat. Together, if we Work Together we can stop the corporate takeover of the Supreme Court and our democracy. Thank you. [cheers and applause] spirit please welcome Greisa Martinez rosas from united we dream. [cheers and applause] good morning. Buenos dias. How are you doing . It is an absolute honor to be with you today. My name is Greisa Martinez rosas. I am undocumented, unafraid and here to say [cheers and applause] you know, this election season, the day and months have been difficult. Who remembers where they were exactly when they announced the results . Yes. In that moment i was sort of in a room full of women, undocumented women that were ready to figure out how do we win Immigration Reform in a Hillary Clinton administration cracks and in a moment of deep pain, we have to bring those women together and say this as s not going to be a much different moment that we suffer the mothers went around at the each said i quite defeated in a moment. Some of them said im scared. Some of them said was going to happen to me and my kids . One women from florida, shes been part of united we dream come and united we dream is a largest immigrant Youth Network in the country, and she said i want to pray for him her i wanto pray for donald trump. I want to pray that god gives him wisdom. Unfortunately, i know that her prayers have been answered, but not that one specifically. [laughing] so we know that this guy, gorsuch, he is part of the racist administration that this man donald trump wants to take us into. And make no mistake. Undocumented people all across the country will suffer if this man is in the Supreme Court. 11 million people, right now facing the most horrible attacks. I was just thinking about recipient who has been unjustly detained for more than a month in Washington State because ice have decided what to take over his life and what to reject them from this country. People like gorsuch may be one day will have to make a decision whether someone like me has the right to be able to come out and seek come to go to say i undocumented and unafraid. And if its up to him i dont think ill be able to do it. And so in this moment of uncertainty, i know that people like you people of conscience are going to stand with me with 11 million people, that were going to help answer prayers when she says i want to feel safe. And so, you know, i think in this moment we have to both ground ourselves in what we want, what we are opposing in this moment which is gorsuch, which is a racist trump agenda, an agenda of mass deportation. We oppose that loudly and clearly. The object. At the same time were looking forward to the future that we will create together. [cheers and applause] our future where i will be able to stand here without fear and to declare that i undocumented, a future where people dont have to pray for the sake of her kids but she just knows its going to happen. [cheers and applause] a future where women will be able to choose whatever they want to do with their bodies. Women will be able to defend peoples ability to marry whoever they want to marry. [cheers and applause] i believe in that future. United we dream belief in the future, and we will not back down. Because were Going Forward together, not one step back. [cheers and applause] repeat after me, forward together. Not one step back. Forward together. Forward together. Not one step back. Not one step back. Thank you. [cheers and applause] lets hear it for anne bailey from naral. [cheers and applause] hey, everybody, thank you so much for being here. Its wonderful to be with everyone. Thank you to our friends standing behind us. [cheers and applause] showing everyone at home how awesome the energy is here today. We are taking action with the brothers and sisters across the country and dozens of other cities that are standing up to oppose neil gorsuch for lifetime appointment to the supreme cou court. [cheers and applause] i want to ask everyone to take out your phone, pull up your social media platform of choice. Facebook, twitter, instagram and tell your friends and family why you are here today. Please use the weobject to let them know why you object to new courses there were hearing from amazing activist that about all the reasons that neil gorsuch would be a disaster for lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. So please take this moment, send the picture, send a tweet, tweet at donald trump and let him know that we object will not back down without a fight. Thank you all. [cheers and applause] please welcome Enchanta Jackson from byp 100. [cheers and applause]. Just this was a push to close the Civil Rights Division of the department of justice. More concerned about some grizzly bears than actually protect in our children, especially our black children. She recently said she wants schools to be like uber and lift. We are appointed and uber with a surplus card. That is not going to work for our Education System. And now, judge gorsuch. Another conservative beauty is not legally allowed to tell us how he feels about things, but we can tell through his actions on those Circuit Court of appeals. We can tell how he feels about a nations most marginalized communities, especially black people and police brutality. As the center of hawaii said, i just cannot tell a little story. Its time for storytime. Im going to give you two stories. Exactly how he feels about black people and exactly how he feels unhelpfully should be interacting with our community. One story takes place in colorado. A 22yearold young man had marijuana. A Police Officer confronted in. The young man ran. That Police Officer chased him, grabbed him and taste them in the head, killing him on the spot. Gorsuch decided to protect that Police Officer, the claim in the Police Officer did not know it was unconstitutional to kill somebody for marijuana by teasing them in the head. My next story takes place in utah with a 9yearold who was only 67 pounds. This child was 67 pounds and the child to another child ipad. The Police Resource officer came in, grabbed the child and put them in armonk as he handcuffed him in school. The gorsuch decided to protect that child protect that Police Officer instead of the child saying it was the childs fault that the Police Officer use that sense of fours. This is how gorsuch feels that they should be interact in with their community. This is how subs mix feels that we should be teaching our children right from wrong. It is no coincidence that in less than 100 days theyre going to attack our department of justice, an attack on our Education System and an attack on our Health Care System and now an attack on our last line of defense to uphold our basic human rights. Trump is building eight doom squad. The gorsuch is part of that and they have an agenda. Must be stopped. Gorsuch has to be blocked. [cheers and applause] this welcome candidates from the national lgbt task force. Good morning beautiful people. Thank you for coming out here and telling everyone including those behind here that we object. My name is Kenneth Montero and the director of the policy counsel for the national lgbtq task force. As an organization, we object. We understand how important a lifetime position is to the Supreme Court. Lifetime, a 40 year last term at judge gorsuch could have on the Supreme Court. That is detrimental to all of us. All of us who really believe in the rights of workers over the rights of corporations. And we are here to show that we object and we resist. [cheers and applause] we know that judge gorsuch has wrote terribly for womens reproductive rights and the rights of all people who can become pregnant including trans folks and gender nonconforming folks who can also become pregnant. We know the deal gorsuch is not going to protect transgender right. We know that the Supreme Court is going to hear a transgender rights case very soon and we cannot have someone on the court that is not going to allow someone to go to the restroom that is associated with their gender right entity in the way that they express themselves. This is not his choice. This is a personal choice. And we know that and we have to show our senators that we know that and we are watching them. We did this with trump care and we have to do it again. We have to call every day, every hour, tell your friends, tell your mailman, tell your grandmother they need to call every single day, even if your senator has already said theyre going to jack. We need to make sure they will still object. And we need to make sure they still will hold the line and filibuster this appointment. All of our rights depend on it. We are but democracy looks like. What is happening right now in the Supreme Court and the administration is not democracy. This is not what democracy looks like. I standing out here right now, this is resistance. This is democracy. Please just remember that our existence alone is resistance and we have to continue to fight together. Thank you so much. Continue to object. [cheers and applause] please welcome patrick morehead, cme council three. [cheers and applause] thank you brothers and sisters or be near to stand up for working men and women all across the United States. I say father and has been an Action Council three in maryland i urge the United States senate to oppose the lifetime of women to the United StatesSupreme Court of neil gorsuch. He has consistently proven that he only favors the privilege and powerful at the expense of all of us. Judge gorsuch truly believes that corporations are people. That they are right come before ours. We need an independent to protect desk, not just a powerful and not just the privilege. Based on his record, it is clear that neil gorsuch is not the person not the person that time and time again has sided with the powerful in the privilege double work against working men and women. We cant afford someone like neil gorsuch in the Supreme Court. In the trans am trucking casey wrote against the truck driver whose life is in danger when he was stuck at subzero temperatures. Its [booing] by siding with the company that fired him for leaving his truck so he could seek shelter in save his own life, he sided with the company. And the Congress Environmental case involving a workplace death, gorsuch even argued that a company should not be responsible for the electrocution of one of their own employees. One of their employees that they did not even train. That workers name was chris carter. The company was only 5500 for his death. 5500. Judge gorsuch thought that was an overreach. The 5500 fine for that mans death was an overreach in the sided with the company. He wrote against an assistant professor at Kansas State University who was fired after 15 years on the job because she needed more time to recover from breast cancer. It was too accommodating for her. This asking too much of the university to give her some more time to recover. In cases involving employee compensation, hes rolled over 90 of the time for the employers. 21 out of 23 cases he has sided with the employers. We cannot afford a Supreme Court who will tip the scales at just this even further in favor of the wealthy and powerful. Every day i see members of our union and dedicated Public Service employees serve their communities. People Like Mental Health workers, teachers, social workers, bridges, Public Safety officers. I see their work and it means a lot to them and a lot to their communities and neighbors such as you. If you put in an honest days work, serve your community and really listen to the concerns and struggles of hardworking americans, then you know corporations are not people. We dont need another corporate cookie on the Supreme Court. Weve heard a lot of this election in this last election about a forgotten man. Well, we see that judge gorsuch has forgotten the working men and working women of this country time and time again. We need a Supreme Court that respects the 99 good nodded judge that sides with the 1 99 of the time. America needs just as and there will be no justice. There will be no peace with neil gorsuch on the Supreme Court. Thank you. [cheers and applause] please welcome at my saxman emily saxman. Hey, everybody. This is dean. Thats a really great about him. This is the first rally. Hes on doors and sitting around on white male privilege. He gets to work. He gets to work. Yeah. I dont know what kind of protection is going to need. But enough in his access to legal abortion underscored the not protect them. I dont know whos going to to need access to bathrooms. This court will not protect him. I dont know if hes going to need idea of protection and education. I dont know if its going to be able to access the marriage to be elected mary who he loves. This court with gorsuch on it will not protect him. We need to stop it and we can. And not just on every issue with gorsuch and we know every issue. But why are we here in the first place . Why are we letting our present into one event tell us what his ties are to russia and to how much they interfere with the election. Why is the senate pushing through this confirmation . This makes no sense. The senate time and time again has said well, we dont need a full investigation into russia. We can push through the nomination. Thats right. That makes no sense. So we are going to try something here. I feel good about this crowd. Ready . If there is no russia probe, there is no scotus road. Im going to say knowing you guys give me scotus. No bunch of probe. [chanting] now theyre going to hear you. Check back please welcome the center for Community Change for the immigration campaign. [cheers and applause] how is everybody doing . Are we beating the people forward . When i say people, use it forward. [chanting] thats right. Thats why we are here today. This is only the beginning of democracy uplifting and showing the real side of justice. I am an organizer with the Immigration Reform of that which is the campaign for the center for Community Change. Yes, thank you. Where a coalition of arty for across the u. S. That site every day for immigrant rights. I came from columbia 16 years ago to live in indiana, a lucier stayed. Hoosier hospitality is that its known for. I experience this up until my dad was almost deported because of things that he couldnt carry because of being an immigrant parent. He had to work 12 hour days assembling radios. He was very stressed. He didnt know the language and he had five stomachs to feed. The stress took him to take decisions that got them in jail and thats the moment that i had to decide whether i was going to be okay with him being deported or not. I took the decision that no matter what happened, no one should be deported because already we are suffering so much by being jailed and by having laws against the grandfather of the u. S. As i saw the pain and my brothers eyes when he was getting the shackles and being put in the police car, i got reminded just this past week about to alabama to work with the Alabama Coalition for justice to stand with 40 families who suffered from a raid in northern alabama. I was sitting in a living room, here it is story about immigration came. They almost broke down the door they took her loved one away. She caused it not moment with her son, reminding him to continue singing this song even if he wasnt able to sing it with him. Because one day he was going to return home. I could not tell this little one and reassure him that his dad was going to come home. He has wander and word of god is come back and continue living a life of dignity in this country. That is what we are facing right now. The executive orders on enforcement are unjust and im not only going to create so then instead of 34,000 people being jailed every day, we are going to see 70,000 emigrants every day. Is that right . That is not right. That is why we are here today. We are here to tell this administration that we are not going to stand still. The commercials that just isnt going to take it and wrap ourselves around it and try to get as many people in the u. S. On iraq so that we uphold the laws and the constitution. We see customs and enforcement with race all across this country. Is that right . Is that the america that we love . Thats the beginning of the movement. This is where we are going to go into the community. My son, africanamericans and they keep suffering from these policies. We are going to organize. We make sure all of our neighbors are going to go and vote in this election and we are going to make sure we tell people in the Senate Judiciary and in the senate to not let gorsuch continue this out a democratic agenda. [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] youve heard the issue is that we know cac quarante will rule on the Gorsuch Court will rule on. By that time that gorsuch will retire from the court, this little girl is likely to be 35 to 40 years old. She will shape our lives. He will shape the life of undocumented children in this country, a lack children in this country, latino children in this country. The stakes are too high. When we started this campaign, we were told it is unwinnable. We are told hes a nice guy. He is credentialed. Credentialed just means hes a white guy in a suit with an Ivy League Education so nobody should look at his record. Weve looked at his record. We adjust to his record. And we now have 35 signers suggesting with us. We need six more in the next five days. We are going to do it. [cheers and applause] so i hope everyone leaves here and knows that theres a crowd gathering as we speak in miami and cleveland and las vegas and denver. And tell all of your friends to call all of their senators and say we object to gorsuch and if you cant get to 60, you change the nominee. Its been such an honor to be part of this resistance. Thank you so much another great day. [cheers and applause] [chanting] [chanting] [chanting]