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Fearing further chipping away at the separation of church and state, the erosion of civil liberties, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade if Bush gets his nominees for the Supreme Court confirmed, American Jewish groups are rooting for the Democrats to take control of the Senate, the Forward reports:
Polls show that the Democrats have the potential to score an upset in the Senate if they win six or seven out of eight races in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Florida, Alaska, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana.
Such an upset, said one Jewish communal official, "would change everything for us" by leading to a reversal of legislation chipping away at civil rights and church-state separation, while improving the chances for increases in social-service funding.
With Republicans leading the way, the Senate confirmed several of George Bush's more controversial judicial nominees, including those with conservative records on civil rights and church-state issues. . .
As for the upcoming 109th session, the most important issue facing the Senate could be the Supreme Court, with the presidential winner and the next Senate likely to shape the face of the Supreme Court for the next generation.
"That is going to be the 40-year impact of this election, and it is one of our highest priorities," said Nancy Kipnis, national vice president of the National Council of Jewish Women. . .
The addition of one conservative judge to the Supreme Court would jeopardize Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that guarantees the right to an abortion. Even if Roe would not be immediately rolled back by a new mix on the court, Kipnis said, "there will certainly be more infringement and more opportunity for states to impose limitations [on abortion] in a plethora of ways. It will be slipping away and eventually slip back. The danger is clearly there, not only to reproductive rights but also to other civil liberties and fundamental freedoms."