NOW fears Bush will
nominate
'extremist' judge to
Supreme Court
By ROSE FRENCH, AP
from Newsday.com on the Web, July 2, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. June 1 -- The
National Organization for Women began its annual convention Friday with members
worried the retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor could
further erode support for women's rights.
NOW president Kim Gandy declared a "state of emergency" for women's rights in
front of about 800 NOW members following news about O'Connor's retirement,
saying women need to send a message to elected leaders that they won't tolerate
"extremist" judges who set back women's rights.
"This is our time. This is our challenge," Gandy said as the crowd replied
by clapping and chanting, "Hell no, we won't go" and "We won't go back."
The first woman on the Supreme Court, O'Connor was often the swing vote on
abortion and other contentious social issues. She has been a stalwart
defender of the 1973 decision that said women have constitutional right to
abortion, refusing in 1989 to join other justices in reversing the decision.
O'Connor's retirement leaves Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the only woman among
eight remaining justices.
Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, also spoke to the
group she once led.
"Twenty-four years ago, as president of the National Organization for Women, I
testified for Sandra Day O'Connor before the Senate Judiciary Committee," Smeal
said. "I knew then that O'Connor, although a conservative voice, would be
one who would not permit the elimination of women's fundamental rights,
including the right to privacy."
NOW members have shifted the agenda for their three-day convention to include a
march to the Tennessee Capitol on Saturday to "make sure Senator Frist and all
senators are going to hear our voices. We're going to march on every
Capitol in this country," said Gandy.
"She (O'Connor) was the first woman on the Supreme Court," Gandy added.
"She broke an important barrier. She's also been one of the few moderates
on the Supreme Court, not always in our favor, but frequently in favor of civil
rights and women's rights. What we fear is there will be a nominee along
the lines of some of the extremist judges that have been put on the appellate
court by George Bush."
NOW members are set to elect their president Saturday night. Gandy, elected in
2001, is being challenged by Rosemary J. Dempsey, a Connecticut lawyer who's
held several national and state leadership roles since joining NOW in 1970.
Dempsey said she thinks NOW needs to focus more on shoring up grassroots efforts
to counter President Bush's economic agenda because it inflicts disproportionate
harm on women.
Dempsey said the NOW, which has about 500,000 members, also needs to attract
more younger women, many of whom have been turned off the last 15 years or so by
the idea of being a feminist.
"We were effective in the 70s, and we're effective now," Dempsey said.
"But there has been a backlash. Most young women don't know about NOW
these days. If NOW is visible and relevant where they (young members)
live, that's what makes NOW powerful."
Gandy said NOW does not track demographic information like age of its members
but said the group has a significant number of young members, many in leadership
positions.
Linda Manning, director of Vanderbilt University Margaret Cuninggim Women's
Center, said there has been a backlash toward the women's movement and that many
young women aren't comfortable with being called feminists.
"People say 'I'm not a feminist,' even though their beliefs and values they hold
are feminist values," Manning said. "I think it's very much a problem.
They misunderstand the meaning of the word."
She said some young women aren't aware of the forces that could keep them from
"full equality."
"They think as an individual, 'I can do anything I want.' If they're still
in school, they may not have experienced sexual harassment yet in the workplace
or the glass ceiling," Manning said.
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