It's been a month of mixed emotions for those of us who care about civil
rights. There was the elation when the Supreme Court overturned the
so-called Defense of Marriage Act -- the discriminatory law that has
hurt so many Americans in its nearly 17 years of existence -- and let
marriage equality return to California. There was the anger when the
Court twisted the law to make it harder for workers and consumers to
take on big corporations. And there was the disbelief and outrage when
the Court declared that a key part of the Voting Rights Act that was so
important and had worked so well was now somehow no longer
constitutional.
It remains true that this Supreme Court is one of the most
right-leaning in American history. The majority's head-in-the-sand
decision on the Voting Rights Act -- declaring that the VRA isn't needed
anymore because it's working so well -- was a stark reminder of why we
need to elect presidents who will nominate Supreme Court justices who
understand both the text and history of the Constitution and the way it
affects real people's lives. Just think of how different this week would have been if Sonia
Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were not on the court and if John McCain had
picked two justices instead. We almost certainly wouldn't have a strong
affirmation of LGBT equality. Efforts to strip people of color of their
voting rights would likely have stood with fewer justices in dissent.
And the rights of workers and consumers could be in even greater peril.
