Hillary Clinton Campaign Press Release - Hillary Clinton Just Summed Up Exactly Why We Can't Let Republicans Shape the Supreme Court

"Whoever America elects this fall will help determine the future of the Court for decades to come."

This afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin, Hillary Clinton laid out the stakes of one of the most important issues of the 2016 election: the Supreme Court. Here's what you need to know.

The Supreme Court shapes nearly every aspect of American life.

At its best, the Supreme Court is a place where the rights of every American are heard and protected. And that notion left a powerful impression on Hillary growing up.

In recent years, the Court has made a lot of consequential decisions—some that uphold those ideals, and some that undermine them.

The Court?"made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, preserved the Affordable Care Act—not once, but twice—and ensured equal access to education for women," Hillary said. However, it also "cut the heart out of the Voting Rights Act. It overturned commonsense laws addressing gun violence."?

Justice Scalia's recent death leaves the Supreme Court at a critical crossroads: His replacement could tip the ideological balance on the bench, determining whether the Court protects and advances the progress we've made as a nation—or dismantles Americans' fundamental rights, one ruling at a time.

Republicans know what's at stake. That's why they're stonewalling President Obama's nominee.

President Obama has done his constitutional duty to nominate a justice to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. But so far, Republicans in Congress are refusing to do theirs—denying his nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, a proper nomination hearing.

They'd rather undermine the president and stall until after the election—when they think they'll have a shot of reclaiming the White House. That's not only unprecedented, it's also undemocratic.

Republicans in Congress claim they're just waiting for a new president to give the American people a voice. But Hillary called their bluff:

" As one of the more than 65 million Americans who voted to re-elect Barack Obama, I'd say my voice is being ignored right now because of their obstructionism. We chose a president. We chose him twice."

But the battle over the Supreme Court is bigger than just one empty seat.

On Election Day, two justice will be older than 80—past the Supreme Court's average retirement age. That means the next president could appoint multiple justices. In doing so, he or she will have the power to transform the makeup of the Court for decades to come.

Why does that matter? Just look at the cases on the docket in this term alone.

There are big issues in front of the Court right now.

In other words: The Supreme Court could undermine fundamental rights—and the progress we've made.

As Hillary said:

" As someone who has worked on every single one of these causes for decades, I see this as a make-or-break moment. If you care about the fairness of elections, the future of unions, racial disparities in universities, the rights of women, or the future of our planet, you should care about who wins the presidency and appoints the next Supreme Court justices."

We can't let Donald Trump—or any other Republican—anywhere near the Court.

For years, Republicans have been quietly and effectively using the courts to impose their aggressive agenda where legislation has failed. Now there's a very real chance that Donald Trump—someone who believes Muslims should be banned from entering the country, who wants to kick out 11 million immigrants, and who thinks wages are too high—could be the person appointing Supreme Court justices, an attorney general, and federal judges at every level.

And we can't forget that Trump is far from alone when it comes to extreme rhetoric and tactics. Republicans, led by Ted Cruz, shut down the federal government rather than fund the Affordable Care Act in 2013. They nearly shut down the government again last fall over Planned Parenthood. And they did so with the blessing of their leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who publicly stated that his and his party's No. 1 goal was to ensure that President Obama would be a one-term president.

As Hillary pointed out:

" Donald Trump didn't come out of nowhere. What the Republicans have reaped with their extremist tactics, they are now sowing with Donald Trump's candidacy. ... When you have leaders willing to bring the whole government to a halt to make headlines, you may just give rise to candidates who promise to do even more radical and dangerous things—because once you make the extreme normal, you open the door to even worse."

The bottom line: the Supreme Court can be our best vehicle for expanding rights—or rolling them back.

" It depends on what the Court decides. And it depends on who's deciding."Hillary

And we can't afford to let the Republicans make that call.