Other than Michelle Obama and Ted Kennedy, the most compelling speaker at the Democratic convention so far has been Lilly Ledbetter. The victim of discrimination at a Goodyear plant, Ledbettter won her case before a jury before losing it in the Supreme Court. On paper, she is the best the best personification in years of why the Court matters to ordinary people.
She's even better in person. With a deep Southern drawl, and with a clearer speech than many politicians, she explained how the Court had "sided with big business" against her. Simple and powerful.
Ledbetter’s
story brings together two issues: an economy that works for everyone
and a Supreme Court that does too. Her message of economic fairness resonates
with women—and with everyone. It's too bad the network TV audience will miss her.
--Robert Gordon and James Kvaal