One week from today, we will know whether Al Gore or George Bush has won the Presidency. We will know which party will be in control of both houses of Congress for the next two years. And people will go back to their daily lives, some with a sense of hope, others with a sense of dread, based on the answers to those questions.
It seems fitting, then, to take a final look at the issues that have been of concern to women in this campaign. I have endeavored to provide a rich resource for you to research the candidates' stands on the issues that matter most to you. Now, I'd like to take the opportunity to share my opinions on the issues that matter most to me.
The Supreme Court
For me, the over-arching "umbrella" issue is the composition of the Supreme Court. Aside from the oft-mentioned likelihood that Bush will appoint justices that would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the decisions of the Supreme Court affect nearly every other issue that is important to me.
Consider affirmative action and civil rights. Every recent case involving a charge of discrimination against a state or state agency has been decided in favor of state sovereignty and against federal powers to pass anti-discrimination laws. And this Court is considered "centrist" by Court-watchers.
I have to say that I support State's rights in some cases. But, bottom line, I believe that people in this country ought to have certain basic rights and freedoms no matter what state they live in. I can't support a candidate that could create Supreme Court that sees state sovereignty as being above the "equal protection of the laws" guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. If Bush is given the opportunity to appoint additional "states-rights" conservatives to the court, can the complete gutting of affirmative action and anti-discrimination statutes be far behind?
Then, too, think about all the other Federal laws and statutes that might be invalidated by the "strict constructionists" Bush claims to want to appoint to the Court: Environmental regulations. Gun-safety measures and restrictions. Health-care reform and a "patient's bill of rights." Restrictions on police powers. Basic requirements regulating states' use of TANF funds (the block grants to states that replaced the federal welfare system in the 1996 welfare reform law).
This is also the main reason I won't be voting for a third party candidate - even though I agree with Nader on environmental issues, and with Harry Browne on some civil rights issues. There are too many areas in which a more conservative court could roll back every gain women have made in the past 30 years. As Candidate Bush's father is reputed to have once said, "Won't do it. Wouldn't be prudent."
~Karen~
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