Nominate a Woman

Women make up 51% of our nation's population.

Yet only 17% of the seats in Congress are held by women. Only 3% of corporate CEOs are women. And just one out of nine Supreme Court justices is a woman.

President Obama can change that.

Since Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement from the Supreme Court four years ago, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been the sole female Justice.

Now, with Justice Souter's recent retirement announcement, President Obama has a chance to nominate an intelligent, well-qualified person to the Supreme Court -- and I believe that person should be a woman.

We need a Supreme Court that is more representative of all Americans, so that its decisions better reflect the diversity of life experiences and points-of-view in America.

Join me now by sending an email to the White House urging President Obama to nominate a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court!

Many pundits have warned President Obama to make his choice based on merit -- and I agree. In fact, there are many highly qualified women to choose from.

When 96 percent of all Supreme Court Justices throughout our history have been men, clearly it is evident that we need another woman on the Court.

It's time to change that.

President Obama may select his Supreme Court nominee in a matter of days -- so it's critical that you join me and make your voice heard now. Please forward an email to the White House now -- and urge President Obama to nominate a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court! Then invite your friends and family to email the White House as well!

Comments

[PitBull6]

Using the Boxer example:

-America is 49% male yet most nurses and teachers --those who care for our injured and dying and those who shape the minds off ALL of our future citizens--are female.

-The majority of Americans are caucasian. Yet, in professional sports, white males are disturbingly underrepresented.

Nominate a white man.

It's disturbing that this kind of sexism is not only tolerated widely, it is celebrated.

[courtwatchr9]

We need another woman justice, and we need one that is not currently sitting on the federal judiciary. Obama has stressed a connection with the real world, and that connection is apparently lost when you get to the appeals court. Take Wood and Sotomayor for example. Both have recently ruled against groups of employees, not even letting them have their day in court or present evidence against their employers and Wall Street. Yahoo the cases. Hecker and Young. If these judges had any connection with average working Americans, their decisions wouldn’t be threatening the ability of every older American to retire with dignity.

[CitizenIndie]

I would only add "QUALIFIED" to Boxer's title, and then I would wholeheartedly agree. I just don't like the infererence that it be 'just a woman'.
After all, we just tried that with Harriet Miers.
Bad title is bad title.

[Badger84]

I like the president's criterion: empathy. I don't see how gender or race have any relation to this quality. Take Clarence Thomas, please.

[citizensrus]

13 year old girl was strip searched by administration officials in her public junior high school in Arizona.
None of these male justices could understand the issue. She, by the way, was being searched for possession of ibuprofen.­..get this, ON THE TIP FROM A CLASSMATE! Which she could have needed at the time for menstrual pain..or not. That isn't made public, thank God, because she's suffered enough in violation of her privacy.
I can imagine when I was that age..what that would have done to me. I was extremely sensitive and also an extremely obedient and good student. The ridicule would have tormented me. The shame would have crushed me. I'm sorry..man­y callous and hardened people just don't understand.
Now..to go to the Supreme Court case. In discussing this..the male justices describe their experience of the male rite of passage in America of being nude in P.E...and laugh about it. They see nothing wrong with the strip search. They justify it by saying well we need to not have privacy laws for a greater good....wh­at if this 13 year old girl had meth on her. She's automatically put into the position of an criminal..­she's not a person. She's a "carrier" who could bring down the entire school..if her drug of choice had not been ibuprofen.
Justice Breyer makes a joke about sticking things in underwear during his days in junior high.
I WANT A FEMALE ON THE COURT.

[PitBull6]

Pure sexism. By the standard of your example, none of the justices could effectively rule on a case involving Muslim extremists because they are neither Muslim nor have engaged in terrorism. It is this thinking which ok'd racism and sexism in the past; we've simply changed the lables.

Pick a great justice and you'll get great justice.

[MissDevore]

Elizabeth Holztmann. Or someone who actually cares about the Constitution.

[Andialu]

The Supreme Court’s job is to interpret the constitution, not to advocate for any given demographic. The notion that he should pick a woman is sexist.

[me4you]

I'm not usually one to ask for a specific gender for a specific role, but I for one feel the need to make an exception on this. I think Sen. Boxer made some very real points and I share her feelings that we really DO need more women on the Supreme Court. I'm sure there is a qualified woman .... somewhere, and it is my wish that President Obama finds her . Now you can call me sexist too, if that is how I sound

[citizensrus]

A woman is transforming the Islamic court in Palestine.
It's not sexist, it is sexist to not have the view of the opposite sex, it's about the whole picture.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/13/palestinian-woman-judge-t_n_203162.html

[PitBull6]

How can you say with a straight face that it is not sexist to suggest a woman solely because she has different plumbing than her male peers???

[freddiefreeloader]

Valery Plame Wilson

[kimleehan]

The Republicans would go nuts, I like it.

[CarlosQC]

Nominate a qualified person, regardless or race or gender.

[sbrown80]

If a minority asked 4 this type of treatment, Ms. Boxer's anti-affirmative action state would scream "reverse discrimina­tion." But now tht she wants a woman, bring out the affirmative action. What about "reverse discrimination" towards white men Ms. Boxer. It's not like women aren't successful. Afterall the last two SoS r women. You guys in Cali are such hypocrits. Well newsflash Ms. Boxer, Pres. Obama doesn't care about your recommendation. He'll nominate a minority who might happen to be a woman. Not your Sandra D'Occonor phenetype. Go save California and start admitting some minorities in UCLA instead of worrying about diversity on the Supreme Ct.

[JEP]

Surely our leadership at every level should reflect the population as a whole.

Specifically chosing the best qualified woman is no different than choosing the most qualified person, she would no doubt be as qualified as the men around her. And at the same time, choosing a woman intentionally helps change the embarrassing mono-cultural image we portray to the nation and the world.

Our rich and fruitful cultural diversity is poorly dislayed at every level of our white-male dominated government. If not for Obama in the White House and Pelosi at the helm of the House, our government would look a lot like South Africa's government during aparthied, as it did under the Republican majority years of the Cheney/Bush administration.

[PitBull6]

By your own logic, you contradict yourself. If the best qualified woman i no different from her male counterparts, why not choose a man? He's not different than her, according to you (and I agree)

Now, I realize that SCOTUS picks are always political (whether it be ideology, background, religion, region, etc) but to blatantly call for a woman is no different than calling for a white male.

I haven't seen this mono-cultural image you speak of. Have you seen the cabinet and president lately?

[monoxboogie]

Our country is not just white men. It's not. Our representative body represents our population so therefore there should be more diversity.

[monoxboogie]

That's great, I was actually talking to my Dad about Sen. Boxer and my father's involvement when he lived in California. We were talking about the Patriot Act and how Sen. Boxer was one of the few to actually question it.

[UltraClassic]

So, we should choose our justice based on whether he/she pees standing up or sitting down? Hummm.

[monoxboogie]

That's not what she's saying. She's saying that women are just as qualified and if the government is representative to our populace then we should have more women. Not because they are women but because that would more properly reflect our population. None of these issues are black and white. Your point of view (that you just stated) is.

[PitBull6]

Well, she is, in effect, saying just that monoxboogie. The only differing qualification a female nominee has than a male peer is her plumbing.

I don't believe the SCOTUS is supposed to be reflective of our society. We ostensibly nominate people who are both more politically adept and smarter than us so they can handle the day to day responsibilities of the governement so we can go about our lives.

If it were a true mirror, the court would consist of only about 25% college grads, would have less Catholics, and half would be divorced.

[Rule Of Law]

Appointing A woman, or A man, or any other one person to carry the flag for all of those people is exclusionary and ignorant of the dozens of minority and oppressed groups that live in this country and are unrepresented. Diane Feinstein is a woman, and in no way represents any woman I know. She represents the military industrial complex and her husband's war profiteering interests. But based solely on her gender, for many people, she'd do. Same with Harman in So. Cal. who wrote the Home grown Terrorist Act. She practically channels Dick Cheney, but she's a woman. This is not the sort of job that can or should be filled by an affirmative action policy.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

Nominate someone qualified for the job.



If they HAPPEN to be a woman, then fair enough.

But don't nominate them simply because they are female.