Americans For Prosperity-Florida to rally support for Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination

Amy Coney Barrett and a conservative SCOTUS will consider ending the ACA. Democrats hope that will spur a protest vote. Him Image via AP.

Count the Florida chapter of Americans For Prosperity among those rallying for a speedy confirmation for Amy Coney Barrett.

Americans For Prosperity-Florida joined a nationwide campaign to lobby for support for President Donald Trump’s third appointment to the Supreme Court.

“Amy Coney Barrett is a fantastic nominee to the Supreme Court,” said Skylar Zander, state director for AFP-FL. “Her strong record as a constitutionalist and defender of Americans’ fundamental rights will ensure she will rule on cases based not on her policy preferences, but on faithfully interpreting and applying the law. We applaud President Trump for nominating another excellent jurist. Our activists are eager to hit the ground running and help Judge Barrett be swiftly confirmed to the Supreme Court.”

The organization intends to encourage its Florida membership to reach out to U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott to encourage them to support confirmation.

That doesn’t seem like a hard sell at the moment, as Florida’s Senators, both Republicans, came out immediately and said they intend to support Barrett. Rubio issued a statement on Saturday, the day Trump announced Barrett’s nomination, saying her would support the federal judge’s elevation.

“Judge Barrett is a well-qualified, highly respected nominee, and that’s why the Senate previously confirmed her,” he said.

“She is also a person who is strong in her faith. Sadly, I expect my Democratic colleagues and the radical left to do all they can to assassinate her character and once again make an issue of her faith during her confirmation process. And in doing so, they will attempt to obstruct the Senate from fulfilling our constitutional duty of advice and consent.”

Scott also made his support clear immediately.

“I applaud President Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve of the U.S. Supreme Court,” Scott said in a statement. “I am one of the few Senators who has appointed people to the bench, and I believe in selecting candidates who respect the separation of powers and the proper role of the judiciary in our democratic system. Their job isn’t to make policy — it is to uphold the rule of law.”

AFP-FL plans to educate the wider public about Barrett’s qualifications, including clerkships with both Justice Antonin Scalia at the Supreme Court and Judge Laurence H. Silberman at the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She has taught law at George Washington University, University of Virginia and University of Notre Dame.

Trump previously appointed Barrett to her current seat on the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago.

The national Americans for Prosperity organization, meanwhile, launched a national ad campaign backing Barrett at UniteforBarrett.com. The nationwide effort will include targeted direct mail efforts in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia.

Last time there was a court vacancy, the group went as far as conducting a door-knocking campaign reaching a million Americans face-to-face while rallying support for now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.