Liberals See US Supreme Court's Future an Election Issue
2020-07-26
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1At the age 87, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest justice of the United States Supreme Court.
2She is also one of its longest-serving and most liberal members.
3Last week, Ginsburg, who has survived cancer, worried her many supporters with the announcement that her cancer has returned.
4"Everybody is checking their phones daily to see what Justice Ginsburg['s] health situation is," said Russell Wheeler.
5He is an expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington policy and research center.
6Ginsberg was appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993.
7She said she has no plans to retire.
8But her supporters fear a court opening would permit President Donald Trump, a Republican, to appoint another conservative judge.
9The Supreme Court's decisions usually have a strong effect on every part of American life.
10Just this year, the court said that U.S. law protects gay and transgendered from workplace discrimination.
11It said employers can deny birth control health coverage to female workers based on religious belief.
12And it ruled that "no citizen, not even the President," in this case, could refuse to produce evidence for a state's criminal hearing.
13Justices in the United States Supreme Court are nominated by the president.
14After Senate confirmation, they can serve for life but some choose to leave early.
15Ginsburg is not the only older Supreme Court justice likely to retire.
16Liberal justice Stephen Breyer, another Clinton appointee, is 81.
17Republican-appointed conservative justices Clarence Thomas, at 72, and Samuel A. Alito Jr., at 70, are nearing retirement age.
18The court now has five conservative and four liberal members.
19Two of its conservative justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - were appointed by Trump.
20In 2016, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider a nomination to the Supreme Court from President Barack Obama, a Democrat.
21As a campaigning move, Republican candidate Donald Trump released the names of conservatives who he would nominate to the court.
22Some conservative voters noted the move as a reason they voted for Trump.
23With at least one or more court openings possible, liberals are now hoping to make the Supreme Court's future an issue in the November presidential election in 2020.
24A group of liberal organizations has started buying $2 million worth of advertising in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
25These are the important states that could decide who becomes the next president.
26"Donald Trump has hijacked our Supreme Court with far-right justices like Brett Kavanaugh," the project's first ad says, adding that Kavanaugh may serve for many more years.
27Courtney Parella is a Trump campaign spokeswoman.
28She defended the president's record of appointing "solid, conservative" federal judges.
29"The president's record appeals to conservatives who supported him in 2016, appointing judges that will faithfully uphold the Constitution," Parella said.
30While agreeing that the Nov. 3 election will likely be decided by two issues, the coronavirus and the economy, Democrats say voters have begun to understand the importance of the Supreme Court.
31And there is some evidence of that.
32In April, a poll by Suffolk University and USA Today found that more Democrats than Republicans view the Supreme Court as a top issue.
33Yet the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has not made the Supreme Court a campaign issue.
34The Biden campaign did not respond to several requests for comment.
35I'm Susan Shand.
1At the age 87, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is the oldest justice of the United States Supreme Court. She is also one of its longest-serving and most liberal members. 2Last week, Ginsburg, who has survived cancer, worried her many supporters with the announcement that her cancer has returned. 3"Everybody is checking their phones daily to see what Justice Ginsburg['s] health situation is," said Russell Wheeler. He is an expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington policy and research center. 4Ginsberg was appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1993. She said she has no plans to retire. But her supporters fear a court opening would permit President Donald Trump, a Republican, to appoint another conservative judge. 5The Supreme Court's future 6The Supreme Court's decisions usually have a strong effect on every part of American life. 7Just this year, the court said that U.S. law protects gay and transgendered from workplace discrimination. It said employers can deny birth control health coverage to female workers based on religious belief. And it ruled that "no citizen, not even the President," in this case, could refuse to produce evidence for a state's criminal hearing. 8Justices in the United States Supreme Court are nominated by the president. After Senate confirmation, they can serve for life but some choose to leave early. 9Ginsburg is not the only older Supreme Court justice likely to retire. Liberal justice Stephen Breyer, another Clinton appointee, is 81. Republican-appointed conservative justices Clarence Thomas, at 72, and Samuel A. Alito Jr., at 70, are nearing retirement age. 10The court now has five conservative and four liberal members. Two of its conservative justices - Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh - were appointed by Trump. 11In 2016, the Republican-controlled Senate refused to consider a nomination to the Supreme Court from President Barack Obama, a Democrat. As a campaigning move, Republican candidate Donald Trump released the names of conservatives who he would nominate to the court. Some conservative voters noted the move as a reason they voted for Trump. 12With at least one or more court openings possible, liberals are now hoping to make the Supreme Court's future an issue in the November presidential election in 2020. 13A group of liberal organizations has started buying $2 million worth of advertising in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. These are the important states that could decide who becomes the next president. 14"Donald Trump has hijacked our Supreme Court with far-right justices like Brett Kavanaugh," the project's first ad says, adding that Kavanaugh may serve for many more years. 15Courtney Parella is a Trump campaign spokeswoman. She defended the president's record of appointing "solid, conservative" federal judges. 16"The president's record appeals to conservatives who supported him in 2016, appointing judges that will faithfully uphold the Constitution," Parella said. 17While agreeing that the Nov. 3 election will likely be decided by two issues, the coronavirus and the economy, Democrats say voters have begun to understand the importance of the Supreme Court. And there is some evidence of that. 18In April, a poll by Suffolk University and USA Today found that more Democrats than Republicans view the Supreme Court as a top issue. 19Yet the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has not made the Supreme Court a campaign issue. The Biden campaign did not respond to several requests for comment. 20I'm Susan Shand. 21VOA's Masood Farivar reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 22________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24gay - adj. a homosexual 25transgendered - adj. one who changes the sex of birth to the other sex 26hijack - v. to take over 27faithfully - adj. with devotion 28uphold - v. to maintain or to respect 29poll - n. a group of questions used to determine possible voting outcomes