hat have we learned tonight? that donald trump has nominated an extremist who will damage

our country for decades. -- ll undermine america [inaudible] for wealthy and big corporations. while trump wants to treat this announcement like it's a primetime reality show, we know that the supreme court and the united states is not a game. starting tonight, trump and his allies will try to eliminate last checks on the president by rubber stamping and ramming through a judge who will threaten roe vs. wade, repeal the affordable care act, and cater to trump culture of corruption. we cannot let this stand. brett kavanaugh will bring all of health care to the supreme

court. and kavanaugh would be a terrible record that would disqualify him. brett kavanaugh will essentially be a rubber stamp for donald trump. brett kavanaugh samantha tried to detain an immigrant, women who -- against her own will. brett kavanaugh has acted as a skilled political officer in undermining the a.c.a. and kavanaugh has made clear he would give shocking deference to presidential immunity and basically give donald trump a free pass with the mueller investigation. democracy is arift with the kavanaugh nomination. in is be a outrageous partisan power grab against women and all americans by historically

unpopular president and we cannot let it stand. trump and his allies must follow the mcconnell rule and we must ensure that we defeat brett kavanaugh. all our rights are at stake. roe v. wade, health care, democracy itself. thank you. it's now my great honor to introduce a champion, a , mpion for all our rights kirsten gillibrand. [cheers and applause] ms. gillibrand: everyone here knows what is at stake. everyone here knows what is at stake. what is at stake is women's freedom. our freedom to make our own

decisions. our freedom to decide when and how many children we are going to have. what's at stake is freedom for lgbtq americans, for equal rights, for civil rights, for voting rights, for clean air, clean water, for all the values you hold most dear. president trump did exactly what he said he was going to do. he has appointed someone who will not protect a woman's right to make decisions about her life, her health care, her reproductive freedom. this must not become the next justice on the supreme court. what that will take is all of us fighting as hard, as long as we can. [cheers and applause] our voices, our voices, our stories are what will make the difference in this nomination. we could do everything we can to fight back, to speak out, to never give up, to never give

in. it's about our values. it's about our country. it's about the history of this nation. and we will fight. we will not give up. we will not grow weary. we will not give in. tell your story. tell everyone you know and love why you care so much. whether it's union rights or immigrant rights or muslim rights, fighting against this president's coercive and very harmful agenda to so many americans, tell your story. be heard. do not give up. we must convince the senate to do the right thing and stand against kavanaugh. stand against kavanaugh. stand against kavanaugh. stand against kavanaugh. stand against kavanaugh. stand against kavanaugh! stand against kavanaugh! stand against kavanaugh!

stand against kavanaugh! our next speaker is senator jeff merkley. [cheers and applause] senator merkley: good evening, everybody. let's talk about the issue of justice. let's talk about the future of the united states. this nomination tonight is all about power over the people. how about instead we have people over the power? cheers and applause] i can tell think is the most

political apostle appointment. this is a nominee that wants to pave the path to tyranny. who says the president can do anything basically. that a sitting president shouldn't be investigated. that says the sole power to appoint a special prosecutor rests with the president. that says the president can disregard the laws even if the supreme court says no. so here's the thing. everything is at risk. the workers are at risk. the consumers are at risk. and certainly roe vs. wade is at risk. so we have to stand together. this is a moment where we have to protect our country, protect our we the people constitution with every might we have. thank you all very much. thank you. cheers and applause]

>> thank you, all, for being here. i'm the president of pro choice america. thanks to all of our allies for being here to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms and keep judge kavanaugh from cutting roe vs. wade and criminalizing abortion. there could not be more at stake in this fight. donald trump promised, promised to only nominate justices to the court who would gut roe, criminalize abortion, and punish women. he campaigned on that promise. he won political support from radical anti-choice groups with that promise. and we know for sure he will deliver on that promise. brett kavanaugh is a sure fire vote to carry that promise out.

penned a naugh -- opinion that a young undocumented women should be kept in jail rather than be granted the right to terminate her pregnancy. he is a dangerous man who will endanger our fundamental freedoms. we are at naral pro-choice america are here. the stakes are high to control our lives and to make our own decisions and deep in our hearts and deepen the fabric of america. we know all of our rights are linked and together we will prevail. we know that people are behind us. seven out of 10 americans support abortion remaining legal and we know the majority of americans support our senators voting against brett kavanaugh who will gut our

rights. tomorrow with the broad coalition of groups, we will announce a day of action to oppose brett kavanaugh. i have one message for every senator. the keys to our future and our freedoms are in your hands. vote no and give us our freedom and our future. thank you so much. together we will prevail! cheers and applause] >> thank you so much to all of you who are out here tonight and all of you who are watching across this country. my name is chad griffin and i'm the president of the human rights campaign. on behalf of our more than three million members and supporters, i'm here this evening to say we won't stand for donald trump's attempt to use the supreme court as a

weapon against all of our progress. make no mistake, judge kavanaugh will be a threat to women's reproductive rights, a threat to affordable health care, a threat to workers and a threat to lgbtq equality. how do we know that? because this nominee was precleared and he was put forward by an extreme anti-lgbtq and anti-choice group who want to see a supreme court that will undermine our nation's civil rights laws, who want to prohibit transgendered troops from bravely serving this nation, and who want to issue a license to discriminate in virtually every aspect of american lives. but we will not submit to this president's reckless attack on all of our communities. tonight, tonight h.r.c. calls on the united states senate to fulfill their constitutional duty and reject this extreme

nominee. [cheers and applause] and as this crowd is making very clear tonight, we are going to fight tooth and nail against this nomination's confirmation. but our fight cannot stop here. the stark reality is this may not be donald trump's last nomination to the supreme court and that's exactly why we need to vote this november like our rights depend on it because they do. we need every single person who cares about fairness and who cares about equality to organize, to register your friends to vote and to turn out at the polls. make no mistake about it, the mid term elections just became the most important election of our lifetime. and together we can pull the emergency brake on the trump-pence administration in november and we can ensure that the words behind me on the top

of this grand building, equal justice under law, remain true for every single person in every single corner of this country. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] -- nd now we're joined by amazing champion for equality for everyone, senator smith from the great state of minnesota. senator smith: thank you all for being here tonight. this -- [cheers and applause] this is a pivotal moment in our country. the person who fills this seat long held by justice kennedy will shape the course of american democracy for decades. i hope that the president would appoint a consensus choice, but clearly that did not happen today. make no mistake -- judge kavanaugh will not make that kind of decision. how do we know this? first, because president trump

as been clear about his pick for judicial nomination from the beginning. he has promised to nominate judges who would, as he said, and i quote, automatically overturn roe vs. wade. and the second reason we know this is the case is that just as kavanaugh was picked from a list drawn up by two far-right wing interest groups, the federalist society and heritage foundation, these groups are dedicated to overturning women's reproductive rights. i am here tonight because i am a united states senator. but i stand before you as the only senator who has ever worked at planned parenthood, and i know that when women have the freedom to make their own hoices about their

reproductive health care we will be better. they can direct the lives of their own families, economic security, and i trust women to make those decisions. this is such an important moment. the supreme court makes decisions that shape the lives of every american. this is a pivotal moment. remember, you have a strong choice. all of you have a strong choice. all of you have a strong voice. but only if you use it. be strong. cheers and applause] nan: hello. i'm nal aron, proud president

for alliance forment as we stand here, we are truly united . and speaking with one voice about the critical importance of our rights and freedom. tonight, we heard president trump nominate brett kavanaugh. we oppose brett kavanaugh to the d.c. circuit with all our hearts. and now 286 opinions later, we're opposing his nomination o the supreme court. [cheers and applause] [siren] nan: and so tonight can be one of two things. t can be the night that sets in motion a hard right turn for our country that may be irreversible. should i keep going?

or it can be the first night of a successful movement to push back against the forces that want to strip away health care, women's reproductive rights, and so many other hard right wings. i believe tonight this is the first night of a successful campaign to push back. it's the first night of a successful effort to stop this nominee from joining the supreme court. because too many people in america know how high the stakes are for the court and the country. i thank everyone here. thank you for coming. we stand united. we will fight. cheers and applause] >> hello. how are you? [cheers and applause]

>> hello no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! hello, no on calf -- hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! thank you very much. my name is brad woodhouse. i'm the executive director of protect our care. and i just want to say, we're going to oppose this nominee. president trump had two litmus tests on this nominee for the court. to overturn roe and to gut american health care and to eliminate protections for 130 million americans with pre-existing conditions. and we're not going to let him do it. [cheers and applause] two years ago -- two years ago people said that the a.c.a. was

going to go, that we couldn't win that fight. but we defied the odds. we won that fight. we'll win this fight. it's a fight we must fight. it's a fight we must win. we're going to do this work. 50 states, every single united states senator is going to hear about what's at stake in health care, pre-existing conditions, medicaid, reproductive rights, a woman's right to choose, and this is our message to every united states senator. hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! thank you! thank you! cheers and applause] >> i like that.

one more time. hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! hell, no on kavanaugh! thank you. my name is valerie long. i'm with the service -- union. this judge would weaponize the supreme court against working people and for the wealthy and powerful. the court is divided and if this narrow-minded extremism is confirmed, he will chip away at our rights in the workplace, the doctor's office and the ballot box. working people know all too well how important the supreme court is to upholding key american values. with the janus decision that attacked the rights of working people and bad decisions on voting rights and the muslim ban. [siren] the service employees international union and two million members stands against this judge, we will fight in

the streets. cheers and applause] hey, hey. anybody ready to fight? anybody ready to fight? y'all, we ain't going to stand for brett kavanaugh because the people that are here tonight doesn't trust the supreme court. this is the people's supreme court. are you with me? [cheers and applause] we won't stand for any nominee, no brett kavanaugh who wants to take away our constitutional rights to decide what to do with our own bodies. yes! because when people's rights are under attack, what do you do? fight back. when women's rights are under attack? what do we do? >> stand up and attack. >> what do we do? >> stand up! >> we are going to let him know that we are out here tonight and we are going to come back tomorrow. we are going to be in the states after that. we are going to be damn sure be

out here in november. are you with me? [cheers and applause] >> yes. we're going to make sure that the senate blocks this nomination and stand with the women across this country. two million people we serve every year, planned parenthood, and we ain't going to go back now. come on, y'all. let's fight back. let's fight back. et's fight back! [siren] >> stand up. fight back. stand up. fight back! i want to talk to you tonight about what we know about brett kavanaugh and what donald trump knows about brett kavanaugh. we, the american people, have seen his record. we've seen his decisions. we've seen his writings, and we've seen it and that gives us plenty that kavanaugh will be

another justice like gorsuch. vote to overturn health care reform. will undermine unions. will chip away at lgbtq equality. and will sacrifice the rights to vote. but i want to be clear. donald trump knows much more. that's because he outsourced his selection process. to the federalist society and the heritage foundation. two right-wing organizations pushing an enormously huge overly conservative agenda at the court. and let me be clear, they know things we don't. they know what kavanaugh has said. at federalist society cocktail parties, over dinner. the whole point -- their whole point of their vetting was an ironclad guarantee that kavanaugh would deliver for the far right.

so if anyone tells you we don't know where brett kavanaugh stands on an issue, remind them that donald trump knows, mike pence knows, leonard leo knows. they chose kavanaugh to overturn roe, to take away our health care, to undermine your unions. you can bet your bottom dollar that's why they're going to use every trick in the book to get kavanaugh confirmed. but you know what, we won't let them. we won't let them. we are going to fight hard against this nominee. and mark my words, we're going to win! we're going to win! we're going to win! this is our court! this is our court! we're going to win! e're going to win!

>> my name is fatina. i'm president of the national women's law center and i am here to say we will win this fight! e will win this fight! we know that judge kavanaugh could tip the balance of this court. we know what is at stake. it's our reproductive freedom that is at stake. it is our fellow rights that are at stake. it is our health care access that is at stake. and we are not going back to the days where women were considered a pre-existing condition. [cheers and applause] we know judge kavanaugh's

record. we know trump's promises. we know the lists that he picked from which was tainted from the beginning. and if we all join togetherle we will win this fight. cheers and applause] >> bernie! bernie! bernie! bernie! bernie! bernie! enator sanders: thank you. are you ready for a fight? audience: yes! senator sanders: are you ready to defend roe vs. wade? [cheers and applause] are you ready to tell the supreme court that we think it's absurd that they give

constitutional rights to billionaires to buy elections? [cheers and applause] and they tell women they don't have the constitutional right to control their own bodies. are you ready to tell the supreme court that we are not going to eliminate pre-existing condition protections? [cheers and applause] look, i am not going to kid anybody. this is a tough fight, but it is a fight that we can win. [cheers and applause] hen 70% of the american people support roe vs. wade -- [cheers and applause]

when people support protection for pre-existing condition rights, when people support environmental protection and workers' rights. [cheers and applause] we have the american people on our side. now we've got to go state by state by state to make sure that senators do what their constituents want. [siren] [cheers and applause] this is a tough fight, but if we stand together, we're going to win. thank you! cheers and applause] >> good evening, everybody. i'm mara and the executive director of the national center

or transgender equality. people thought we couldn't save the a.c.a. and we saved it over and over and over again. are we ready to save it again? this is not -- this fight is senators? 's and d's it's about the a.c.a., it's about roe v. wade, it's about protecting people's health and their lives. [cheers and applause] transgender people will not go back to being an uninsurable pre-existing condition. [cheers and applause] brett kavanaugh has promised to defend trump's wrongdoings and his wrong-headed policies and we will fight him every step of the way.

[cheers and applause] all of us here will stand together. we will fight together. we will vote together. and we will win together! [cheers and applause] thank you all very much. >> thank you so much to all of you for joining us. i'm so glad to see so many out here speaking out and speaking against trump's extremist nominee for the supreme court. rett kavanaugh is simply unfit to serve as supreme court justice and will shift the balance of the court towards trump's ultra-conservative,

anti-choice, political agenda. kavanaugh supports policies that go against our core values. [cheers and applause] his hostility towards human rights, undermining women's reproductive rights, support for gutting our health care system and attacks on our civil liberties makes him dangerous and simply unfit. this nomination puts all of our rights at risk. and we must do everything we can to block it. putting kavanaugh on our nation's highest court would threaten women's rights, environmental protections, the rights of consumers, workers, and immigrants.

the supreme court is the last line of defense for our civil and human rights. and it serves as a crucial check on the other two branches of government. on the supreme court, the american people need and deserve a fair-minded constitutionalist who values equality and justice for all. and for me, this also means having someone on the supreme court who opposes trump's unconscionable and discriminatory muslim ban that keeps my own family in iran from visiting me. by appointing more extremists to the supreme court, we cannot -- we can expect further restrictions that would threaten the rights and liberties of our muslim and immigrant brothers and sisters and laws that would gut our asylum system and criminalizes asylum seekers. the american people deserve to have a voice in this process,

and it's shameful that republican leadership is ramming this nomination through when a third of the senate is up for election this november. we need all of you to contact your senators and urge them to vote no. call the capitol switch board every day and let your senators know that you're holding them accountable and that you expect them to reject kavanaugh because of his inability to defend our rights and uphold american values. thank you so much. cheers and applause] >> are you fired up? are you fired up? [cheers and applause] >> my name is victoria and here with the lgbtq top four representing -- [cheers and applause] >> representing lesbian, gay,

bisexual, transgender people across this country where we recognize that this is a pivotal moment in our nation's history. and that the future for all of us is at stake. whether we are lgbtq individuals in need of abortions or contraception or nonwhite students seeking access to a college education depend on the availability of affirmative action. tonight trump has the opportunity to protect the rights of all of us by pushing forward a nominee who would interpret the constitution in a way that would protect the rights for all of us, by pushing forward a nominee who would interpret the constitution, not just for the wealthy and who corporations. his nominee would threaten jurisprudence over the last half century that threaten to make the last words for real, liberty and justice for all. liberty and justice for all. excluding my daughter, the

importance of this election cannot be minimized. [siren] >> this person will have an impact on my little girl, my 9-month-old daughter and her children. as a black lesbian mother, my rights -- [cheers and applause] >> that's right, my rights have often been decided by the united states supreme court. when our legislative and executive branches haven't had the courage to do the right thing. it is the same court who also diminished the rights of my ancestors and advocates on whose shoulders i stand. it was in 1896 when this court ruled that the societal separation of blacks and whites are legal. this court was responsible finding that the internment of japanese was legal and constitutional. these -- for over half a century, when i say that my daughter and her children will be impacted by this person, it

is not hyperbole. her ability to attend equality schools with a diversity to reflect our station is at stake. her ability to marry the person she loves is at stake. my daughter's ability to choose if, when and how she wants to become a mother is at stake. and lastly, if she grows up and says to me her body doesn't match who she is, this court will have the opportunity, even perhaps next term, to determine whether that reality will make it legal and constitutional for her and others around the country to be discriminated against in public spaces. this court must choose to stand on the side of love. this court must choose to love all of our neighbors as ourselves and together, tonight is just the first step in the right direction of standing

has hat, no, kavanaugh got to go. no! got to go. kavanaugh has got to go. no. kavanaugh has got to go! audience: said hey, hey,, kavanaugh has got to go! said hey, hey, ho, ho, kavanaugh has got to go! said hey, hey, ho, ho, kavanaugh has got to go! >> my name is deborah and i'm president of the national partnership for women and families. [cheers and applause] president trump seemed pretty proud of himself tonight, didn't he? just because he's convinced

at judge kavanaugh will move to overturn roe v. wade. that judge kavanaugh will take away the women's rights, the civil rights, the lgbtq rights, to worker and immigrant rights, that we rely on our courts to protect. he expects that judge kavanaugh will undermined medicaid and health care, making it unaffordable for people with pre-existing conditions to get affordable care for themselves and their families. well, i have some news for you, mr. president. we are every bit as determined to block judge kavanaugh's nomination as you are to realize your anti-woman, anti-civil rights, homophobic agenda.

we will not let you shift the balance on the court. we are fighting, fighting for our lives, for our future, for our children. this will be the fight of our lives and we will win! cheers and applause] audience: we will win! we will win! we will win! we will win! >> we will win! we will win! we will win! we will win! we will win! good evening. i'm ben with moveon.org. [cheers and applause] so i want to start by thanking, i want to thank this gentleman on the other side because republicans are saying that brett kavanaugh would not

overturn roe. that's what they're saying, but he knows the truth. brett kavanaugh is a vote to end roe and criminalize abortion. and anyone who votes for brett kavanaugh is voting to criminalize abortion and punish women. if susan collins and senator murkowski want to stand by the principles they pledged themselves to, they need to listen only to this man and know that they cannot vote for brett kavanaugh. [cheers and applause] republicans will try to blur the stakes. they will try to make us think this is not a life or death fight. they will try to make it sound like roe's not on the line, the a.c.a. is not on the line. they will try to make it sound like marriage equality is not on the line, that the rights of muslims are not on the line. but he is proof that all of

these rights are on the line. [cheers and applause] now, the wisdom in d.c. is that this fight is unwinnable, and they said the same thing about the affordable care act's repeal and medicaid repeal. they said there was a 100% chance the republicans would win, that they had the votes. but we didn't let them stop us. we did not let them stop us. and every step of the way when they came for our health care, we stood and we fought. 2017, hed on january 21, we mearched in the women's march -- marched in the women's march. we greeted them at the airports, we sat in their congressional offices, we monstrated senate offices in

rain, snow, heat. we went across the capitol. we protest at the capitol. although they thought they had the votes in the final analysis on that last night in july, it came time to vote and lisa murkowski voted no. and susan collins voted no. and this time lisa murkowski has to vote no. and susan collins has to vote no. and we stopped them then and we ill stop them now. kava-no. kava-no! kava-no! thank you. over to senator corey booker from the great state of missouri. [cheers and applause] senator booker: good evening,

everybody. there's an old saying -- there's a belief -- there is a belief that some people are trying to put out there that we should be discouraged, but i am not discouraged. there are people that are trying to shut us down, but i . ll not be silenced [cheers and applause] there are people that want to us give up but i will never stop fighting for our rights. [cheers and applause] we got a mountain to climb. we got challenges ahead, but we cannot grow weary now. [cheers and applause] president trump has told us what he wants to do. he wants to roll back individual rights. he wants to roll back a woman's right. he wants to roll back workers' rights. he wants to roll back civil

rights. but i want to tell you right now, we will not go backwards. [cheers and applause] we will not surrender. we will not move. we will go forward. and so tonight, i want to join with everybody now, this fight is not over. this day is not done. we stand strong. we stand together. we stand convicted. let us push forward. and i call upon everybody now, this won't just be decided in the united states senate. everybody around america must decide now. do we want to go backward 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years? [cheers and applause] do we want to allow corporations to drown out individual voices? audience: no! senator bookers: do we want to undermine workers' rights to

organize? audience: no! bookser: if your answer is no, -- senator booker: if your answer is no, say yes to liberty and justice. thank you, everybody. thank you. cheers and applause] >> thank you, senator booker. i'm sharon, legal director of amb legal and i say we object. we are here today standing arm in arm with our brothers and sisters because we demand better and we object on behalf of our children, on behalf of parents, on behalf of trans service members, on behalf of students. we object on behalf of the constitution and every senator will hear our voice, from the tip of alaska to the tip of the florida keys, this is in our

hands. they have overplayed their hand, and they have woken up the dragon! [cheers and applause] hey will hear us roar in the streets, on the phones, blow up their emails, twitter feed. get your grandma on the phone. do whatever it takes. this is -- [cheers and applause] we cannot have 40 more years of trump values on this court. [cheers and applause] this is the fight of our lives, for our lives. when i said brett kavanaugh you say, we object. brett kavanaugh, we object. donald trump, we object. mike pence, we object. chuck grassley, we object. all of us, we stand together for liberty and justice for all. i will not stop fighting until the day is done.

whoa! cheers and applause] audience: we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! we object! >> good evening. i'm jodi, director of washington operations at the national council of jewish women. [cheers and applause] if mr. trump and mr. mcconnell and mr. grassley think that the 90,000 members and supporters of the national council of jewish women aren't going to fight like hell to defeat this nominee, then they are sadly mistaken! we have been here before and we have been successful. will we do it again? ?ill we defeat this nominee

yes. will we defeat this nominee? yes. we have been here before and we will do it again. we can't let politics to masquerade as constitutional law. we say hell, no. we will work to defeat this nominee across this country in every state. we will work with all of you and we look forward. go, fight, win, team! [cheers and applause] >> good evening, everyone. my name is elizabeth. i'm president of the constitutional accountability center. [cheers and applause] and we are here to say that we are reclaiming the constitution for the american people, for all people who come to this country looking for that american dream that we all used to have.

and the supreme court behind us is crucial to the protections and liberty and equality that are part of that american dream. trump has told us what he's giving us with his nominee. do we want a nominee who's going to overturn roe vs. wade? no. no, we don't. do we want a nominee who, despite the tragedy of gun shootings, is going to stay on the second amendment? no, we don't. but we do want a nominee who will focus on equality and justice for all and we will not give up the fight until we get that nominee. so we at constitutional accountability center are fighting with you every day to make sure that we get justices on the court who respects the whole constitution, who respects the rights for all of us cannot be trumped by those big business interests and a court that favors the rich and

the powerful. we are here to say we will not accept that. we are reclaiming the constitution for we the people and we will win this fight. thank you! cheers and applause] >> my name is hillary shelton. i'm director of the naacp's washington bureau and senior vice president for policy and advocacy. i'm fired up. and ready to go. fired up, ready to go. fired up, ready to go. fired up, ready to go. fired up, ready to go. i'm fired up because today our nation celebrates the 150th anniversary of adoption of the 14th amendment to the constitution, which transformed our democracy by guaranteeing equal protections for all under law. yet, our nation still struggles

to realize the promise of equality. equal protection and equal opportunity under law for all americans, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, point of national origin, sexual orientation, other differences. all americans should be treated fairly and equal under law. the next appointment to the supreme court is central and crucial to this struggle. he rights of americans and all racial and ethnic minority of our lives on a equal base. this nominee will determine the faith of our rights for at least a generation. voting rights, equal opportunity, programs for the affirmative action, housing, fair employment, affordable health care, environmental justice, workers' rights, women's rights, and the right

to be free from racial criminal justice attacks. this nomination is too important to rush. we are too perilous a time to follow regular order. we have a criminal investigation into the presidency itself. that investigation must be completed before the senate even thinks about evaluating a lifetime appointment of a supreme court justice. the nominee should not only be considered by the senate, lected by the american people, after november's election and not before. brett kavanaugh, brett kavanaugh is a dangerous ideologue whose views on civil rights will launch the supreme court to the extreme right. coming after neil gorsuch's appointment, a kavanaugh confirmation will allow trump to remake the supreme court in his own image.

this prospect is unacceptable to the american people and to the naacp, which is ready to lead the fight for this generation. . he has ruled against civil rights protections, workers' rights protection, consumer protections, and the

rights of women throughout our country. he husband must not be allowed to be confirmed. ith justice cavanaugh on the can see the , we first of so many important decisions, securing equal opportunity in can see the first of so many important decisions, securing equal opportunity in education, employment, and housing. we could see further evisceration and exclusion of communities protections, and th rights of women throughout our to ould see the women

guarantee equal quality and the health for all americans. guarantee equal quality and the health for all americans. brett kavannaugh does not deserve a promotion to the highest court in the land. the naacp has understood the crucial importance of fair-minded justices since 1930 when we helped successfully defeat herber hoover's extremist nominee to the supreme court, a guy by the name of john parker. we cannot allow this to happen, either. we will fight this confirmation, this nominee with everything we've got from our state conferences, to our local community branches. from our youth, to our prison k4579ers. they are fully engaged -- they are fully engaged. that our civil rights and human rights hang in the balance and brett kavannaugh must be defeated. to each and every senator we say this is the civil rights vote of your career. let me say that again. this is the civil rights vote of your career. we will be watching closely. make no mistake, we're in the

fight of our lives and we hope you are fired up and ready to go. fired up. fired up! ired up! >> good evening. allison, executive vice president of the leadership conference on civil and human rights. guess what? it's my body and it's my choice. it's my body, and it's my choice! it's my body, and it's my choice! tonight, we're here to fight for the sole of our nation -- soul of our nation. during trump's political campaign he bragged that he would pick a justice that would everyturn roe and the a.c.a. tonight he made good on that promise. brett kavanaugh was picked off that toxic list of nominees and

we already know what kind of justice he will be. kavanaugh has shown he has banned against the a.c.a. he's ruled for the wealthy and powerful and against the rights of workers, consumers, and women. there's too much at stake right now. access to health care, access -- progress on criminal justice reform, lgbtq rights, immigrants justice rights. all of those things are at stake. let's be clear, tonight here at the leadership conference and the 205 civil and human rights organizations that we represent say no to kavanaugh. we say no. we say our body, our choice. thank you. >> hey, everyone, my name is richard blumenthal. and i am a united states

senator from connecticut. i just want to say how proud i am to stand with you tonight, to stand with you for our constitution. to stand with you for women's and s and gay rights voting rights and civil rights. and we're at a critical juncture. and voting rights and civil rights. and we're at a critical juncture. for our nation. the question is, will we vote to preserve roe v. wade? no to this i say nominee. say no to this nominee because in his writings and his records and his passing the trump litmus test, he has shown he would overturn roe v. wade which is unacceptable to

me. and he would turn back the clock on health care so that millions of americans would be denied protections against pre-existing conditions. and he would turn back the clock to a time when abortion was criminalized, women were prosecuted, women died, women were denied essentially access to contraception. like the morning after pill. but let me make one point, and i think it's the most important this fight e in together. this fight together. because women's rights are human rights. and all of our rights, all of our rights are at stake in this fight.

we need to save the supreme court and our democracy against a president who believes he is above the law. and there is something we all treasure. no one is above the law. no president is above the law. and this president should not be appointing someone who will decide whether he asked us -- has to comply with a subpoena himself or others, or comply with the critical anti-corruption statute in our constitution. himself or others let's resolve this day that we're going to stand together, we're going to fight together, we're going to win together and to make sure that

women's rights and human rights and our constitution are preserved. thank you for being here. with you.to stand i'm going to fight with you. and we'll win together, thank you. >> save our rights! save our rights! save our rights! save our rights! and i'm the president of citizens united. a we're here to stand with you to say hell no to kavanaugh! hell no to kavanaugh! ell no to kavanaugh!

our organization was created in direct response to the horrible supreme court decision that merged two really our terrible ideas. that money equals speech, and hat corporations are people. they used those ideas to put a for sale sign on our government. e're here to take it back. we know what's at stake tonight. our women's rights are at stake. gay rights are at stake. our very democracy is at stake. they think they can outshout us. hell no! they think they can outspend us. >> hell no! >> but we know that we're tronger than they are. we know that we -- when we joined together to tell all the senators to vote no to kavanaugh. hell no to kavanaugh!

hell no to kavanaugh! hell no to kavanaugh! hell no to kavanaugh! thank you. >> real quick. let's make some noise to drown out all the folks not with us tonight. we will not be drowned out. cheers and applause] >> we will not drown ourselves. not tonight. we will not -- you will not rown us out. my name is stasha rose, i am he' with an organization to prevent gun violence. every day 96 people in america

are killed with gun violence. every day that's four people every hour. and these are not just stats. these are real people. with moms and dads. dreams and aspirations. real people were taken away from us every day. gunfire now has overtaken car accidents as the leading cause f gun deaths for young people. anyone who cares about protecting our communities from gun violence should be deeply concerned with the nomination f brett kavanaugh. if the senate confirms his nomination, we have every reason to believe that he will prioritize an agenda backed by the gun lobby, putting corporate interests before our afety.

make no mistake. with this pick the progress we have achieved passing laws in several states will be seriously in danger. america needs a supreme court justice who respects the second amendment, but also understands that reasonable regulation to reduce gun violence do not infringe on anyone's onstitutional right. america needs a supreme court justice who also understands that protecting women's rights also means ensuring our partner -- her partner doesn't shoot her. today president trump did not nominate that justice. today he chose to ignore the same people he pretends to

protect. remember, that we have four deaths each hour from gun violence. in the time that we have all been standing here, eight people have died. call your senators tonight, tomorrow, next week and tell them to reject the gun lobby nd protect american lives. let me hear you say our courts. our lives. our courts. our lives! our courts! our lives! all the young people, let me hear you make some noise right now. cheers and applause] my name is c.c. and i'm the director of young people for.

i want to talk to you all a minute about what's really at stake. and who is at stake for. we know that when a supreme court justice is confirmed, they don't serve for four years or eight years, they serve for lifetime. say lifetime. >> lifetime. >> say lifetime. >> lifetime. >> a that means that kavanaugh, if he's confirmed, could serve for decades. i want you-all -- yes, decades. i want you-all to think of that. years, 40 years of just tisses taking away our right to vote. 40 years of a justice voting to take away our health care. 40 years of a justice voting to undermine our civil rights and our right to vote. 40 years of justice upholding

institutional racism. 40 years of a justice voting to make the life of immigrants more difficult. 40 years of a justice chipping away at the rights of lgbtq people. come on, now. 40 years of a justice voting to our democracy to the highest bidder. and 40 years of a justice pretending, pretending that our corporations are better than people. and if kavanaugh confirms, he would serve for decades, you-all. decades, you-all. and it is young people, young people make some noise. [cheers and applause] >> it is young people like us, it is young people like us who are going to bear the brunt of this every single day of our lives. it is young people who have the most at stake in this fight.

and let me tell you something, young people, we're not going to have it. we're not going to have it. we're the largest voting block and we're not going to have it. anyone t going to let who says they care about civil rights vote to confirm this nominee. we're not going to let anyone who anyone who says they says they love ou to confirm this nominee. we're not going to let anyone who says they care about young people, vote to confirm this nominee. and we're not going to say anyone who says they care about the future of this country vote to confirm this nominee. because a vote to confirm this nominee is a vote to take away our rights. a vote to confirm this nominee is a vote toe take away our health care. the vote to confirm this nominee is a vote to turn back

the process that we have fought, that people have put their bodies on the line to work for. and let me be clear, young people, we're not going to have it! [cheers and applause] >> young people, we're not going to have it! >> no! >> why? our court. our court. our court. >> our lives! >> our court! >> our lives a! >> thank you. >> my name is rachel and i'm the president of americans united for separation of church and state. me tell you what's so important about the separation of church and state. it protects religious freedom for all of us and not just for some me tell you what's so important about the separation of church of us. let me ask you something, do you believe in the separation of church and state?

let me tell you what brett kavanaugh thinks of the separation of church and state. he says that the law of separation of church and state was the wrong metaphor in law and history. we say, no. we say that the separation of church and state is embedded in our first amendment. that america wouldn't be america if it weren't for the separation of church and state. [cheers and applause] >> let me ask you a question. do you believe that the government should treat americans of all a religions and nonreligions merges -- nonreligious americans equally? do you believe that public schools shouldn't promote any religion to its students? >> yes. >> do you believe that businesses shouldn't use their personal religious views to deny services to lgbtq people? >> no! >> do you believe that your boss should not deny you access to birth control based on their religious beliefs?

do you believe in dismantling racism, challenging anti-muslim bigotry? [cheers and applause] >> then you need to oppose brett kavanaugh with all you've got. kava-no kava-no kava-no kava-no >> all right. good evening, everybody. how i wish i could say that and feel it in my heart. because today is not a good day. today president trump nominated judge kavanaugh to the supreme court. and i say again, it is not a good day.

indeed, i feel sadness. sad for our democracy. am sad for this president who has made it clear that he prioritizes corporate profits over people. over consumer protections. and public safety. and over the health and well-being of our children and our families and our community. y name is patrise -- patrice simms and i'm with earth-justice. i am he a sad this administration set to undo the very rights we have fought for so long and for so hard to win and protect. and it has adopt add posture that is contrary to the very rule of law. i'm sad that we must rely on the courts on a regular basis

to hold back an administration that is determined to be illegal. and believe me, we have. in the last 18 months we filed ore than 100 cases against the trump administration. [cheers and applause] >> we have trump administration. [cheers and applause] >> we have won case after case. and will we keep winning? yes, we will. we're forcing agencies to take action when they want to stall. and we're keeping them from pulling back on the regulations and the protections that clean our air and clean our water and keep our community safe from toxins. but i'm sad that our supreme court should be -- needs to be committed to upholding the law. and that it's not beyond any

doubt that it should recognize it has to defend people's rights. , sad that the constitution the constitutional role of the a political me bargaining chip. is that ok? >> no. >> no, it's not! a and it even -- that we even need to ask whether a nominee for this highest court is committed to defending the people of this land. committed to defending our health and well-being. the courts -- the court is our court. [cheers and applause] >> and this is our country. [cheers and applause] >> our country, our court. our country. our court. our country, our court. our country, our court. >> our country, our court. our country, our court.

> judge kavanaugh has proven himself unwilling to defend the rights of the people to be in the courts of law fighting for their rights. and he's willing to embrace erly restrictive rules whether people can get into court. and undermine the power of our federal agencies to protect us, protect our air and water and fight climate change. this jeopardizes the ability of the federal court, federal agencies to do what it needs to to protect us all. again, this is our country, and they are our courts. our country, our courts. our country, our courts. our country, our courts. >> our country, our courts. our country, our courts. our country, our courts. our country, our court.

our country, our court. [cheers and applause] >> a hey, hey who who -- ho ho, kavanaugh has got to go. hey hey, howhow, kavanaugh has got to go. , kavanaugh has got to go. hey, hey, ho ho, kavanaugh has got to go. hey hey, hey hey, ho ho, kavanaugh has got to go. >> hey, hey ho ho, kavanaugh -- >> kavanaugh has got to go. >> hey hey, ho ho -- >> kavanaugh has got to go >> thank you, guys. my name -- thank you. my name is a, nisha, i'm here o behalf of generations not even here to represent themselves. i'm here on behalf of generation progress.

and our mission, our goal is to make sure that young people are taken care of. that their futures are secure. and we know so far that this president has not been taking are of young people. today itself we heard about women at the border having miscarriages during -- while they are in detention. shame. shame. shame. shame. shame. shame. shame. >> shame. shame. shame. shame. shame. shame. >> and it is that same president that wants to nominate someone who is anti-choice, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, anti-health care, anti-young people, anti-everything that young people need in this country.

we have seen this before. 5-4 tch gorsuch be the leading vote that said muslims cannot come here. that individuals -- >> boo! >> shame. hat young people who are graduating cannot have their families come see them graduate coming from a a country that this president does not agree with. a >> shame. >> we watch workers' rights be dismantled because this president does not care about workers. he cares about corporations. >> shame. >> and so we know what the litmus test was here for this nominee. we know that kavanaugh had a sit down with this president and claim his loyalty and claim that he would also overturn roe. that he would also forgive this president and dismiss this president and make sure that this president does not get in trouble if or when he is coming efore the court himself.

>> lock him up. lock him up. lock him up. lock him up! lock him up! lock him up! >> so we're here outside the supreme court today on behalf of young people everywhere, because they did not create this mess. [cheers and applause] coming fr country that this president does not agree with. a >> >> and it will be our children and grandchildren who will all suffer from this decision. >> shame. >> so we tell senators today that you must vote no. or we will come for you in ovember. >> vote them out. out!them vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out!

>> call your senators and remind them this is going to last decades. this is for immigrants, this is for women, this is for our choice. this is for health care. this is for the dignity and the soul of this country because there is a lot at stake and this is the fight for our lives right now. this is the most important fight we have. thank you. cheers and applause] >> wow, what an amazing crowd. the league of conservation voters. i'm here on behalf of our more than two million members. i'm also here on behalf of all people in this country who want o threatt a clean air. all people in this country who want to drink clean water.

[cheers and applause] >> all people in this country who want to protect our public lands. [cheers and applause] all people in this country who want to fight the climate crisis. [cheers and applause] all people in this country who want to participate equitably [cheers and applause] >> all people in this country ho want in our democratcy. [cheers and applause] and we're here to say hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, calf nall. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. >> the rights of all people in this country to breathe threen air, to drink clean water, to ave our children a healthy planet, to participate in our democracy, all that is on the ine. [cheers and applause] e're here to tell the senate

to vote no for judge kavanaugh. the league of conservation voters is all in on this fight. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, in kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. hell no, kavanaugh. cheers and applause] >> ok. so president trump has announced his plan to nominate judge brett kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment to the united states supreme court. i am not going to sugarcoat this. we're in the fight of our lives. the fight, we're in the fight of our lives. [cheers and applause] judge kavanaugh has been sitting on a preapproved list of right-wing nominees for

eight months now. reviewed his record and let me tell you, brett kavanaugh did not end up on this list because he is the consensus nominee. his record, his record as a judge and let me tell you, brett kavanaugh did not end up on this list because he a lawyer i. he is hostile to health care for millions of americans. he is opposed to the consumer financial protection bureau and corporate accountability. he is opposed to the rights of women, workers, and consumers. he is hostile to just about anyone. - anyone who isn't wealthy and powerful. he thinks powerful. he thinks presidents like trump should be above the law. and conservatives -- >> boo. conservatives know he

would overturn roe vs. wade. i will be voting no. cheers and applause] >> a president trump has made his pick. but donald trump isn't a king. no one makes it to the united states supreme court without getting a majority in the senate. and now the attention turns to the united states senate. and the senate needs to hear from you. and the next few weeks next few months, it is clear our job is to raise our voices. are you ready to be heard? [cheers and applause] people in the senate need to hear you loud and clear. are you ready? [cheers and applause] are you ready?

[cheers and applause] are you ready [cheers and applause] >> will you speak out? i know this will be hard, but we didn't get into this fight because it was easy. we didn't get into this fight because when the odds would be stacked into our favor. we got into this fight to build a country that embodies the best in america. cheers and applause] and building that country starts with raising our voices. [cheers and applause] when people raise their voices in a democracy, it's amazing what can be done. you know, we didn't have the votes to stop the repeal of obamacare, but we raised our voices together. you raised your voices.

you showed up at town halls. you showed up at rallies. you showed up in emails and tweets. and you came to the united states congress to make your voice heard. [cheers and applause] and in the end, because we raised our voices together, we saved health care for tens of millions of americans. [cheers and applause] and that's what it's going to take in this fight. the road ahead will not be easy. but we won't back [cheers and applause] down. we won't give up. we won't go back. we will fight for the future of our kids. we will fight for the future of this democracy.

and we will fight for the soul of this nation. cheers and applause] [inaudible] cheers and applause] >> a give it up for senator elizabeth warren! all right. my name is adam green with the

progressive change campaign committee. who here is ready to get political for a second? i'd like you to join me in sending a very important signal. will you join me in saying -- susan collins! >> susan collins! >> voters are watching you. >> voters are watching you. >> lisa murkowski. >> lisa murkowski. >> voters are watching you. >> voters are watching you. >> senate republicans. >> senate republicans. >> voters are watching you. >> a voters are watching you. >> we support choice. >> we support choice. >> we support workers. >> we support workers. >> we support health care. >> we support health care. >> we support equal rights. >> we support equal rights. >> we will fight. >> we will fight. >> and we will win. we will win!

[cheers and applause] >> we also have a very important message to we will wi single one of the 49 senate democrats. we need you -- >> we need you. >> to unify. >> to unify. >> we need you -- >> we need you. >> to stay together. >> to stay together. >> stop kavanaugh. >> stop kavanaugh. stop kavanaugh. >> stop kavanaugh. >> stop kavanaugh! >> a stop kavanaugh. together we have a message for every single democrat and activist out there who is wondering if their voice can make danchese in the next days and weeks. it is very simple. if we fight. we can win. >> we can win. >> if we fight. >> a if we fight. >> we can win. >> we can win. >> if we fight. >> we can win. >> we can win! >> we will fight. > we will fight.

cheers and applause] >> what do you want health care? what do we want? >> health care. >> what do we want choice. what do we want, choice. >> when do we want it. >> now! >> what do we want? what do we >> equality. o. want, equality. >> now! >> what do we want. >> eyou quality. >> a what do we want? >> equality. >> when do we want it? >> quality. >> workers' rights. >> workers' rights. >> when it do we want them? >> now. >> what do we want? >> workers' rights. >> when do we want them? >> now. >> thank you, everyone, for being here. want, equality.ause] >> now! >> what do we want. >> eyou >> vote them out!

vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! vote them out! [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> this morning outside the white house, deputy press secretary shaw spoke briefly with reporters about the nomination of brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. mr. shah: hey, guys. good morning. it's nice out.