After Senator Norm Coleman bragged to the Minnesota GOP convention about the supposedly crucial role he played in winning confirmation for Chief Justice John Roberts, People For the American Way President Kathryn Kolbert issued the following statement:
“It’s hard to believe that Norm Coleman is actually taking credit for putting Chief Justice Roberts on the Supreme Court. Under Roberts, the Supreme Court has voted to:
- deny equal pay to a woman who was paid less than the men in her factory
- strike down voluntary integration plans for public schools that wanted to bring black and white students together
- uphold a ban on an abortion procedure with no exception for the health of the woman
- and deny free speech protections to internal government whistle-blowers.
“And that’s just the Supreme Court. Norm Coleman has supported each and every nominee President Bush has sent to the Senate for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. And many of them are far out of step with the values of ordinary Americans. The more Minnesotans learn about Norm Coleman’s support for Bush’s judges, the less they’re going to like it.”
People For the American Way has highlighted some of the most destructive rulings by the Bush nominees supported by Coleman: