MARGE BAKER: So there are two women who separately have come forward with credible allegations of sexual assault. Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has made serious incredible allegations about sexual assault when they were in high school. And then, just recently a Deborah Ramirez who was at Yale College with Kavanaugh came forward again with credible allegations of a sexual assault while they were at Yale. So there’s two women who’ve made credible allegations. The Republican effort to shut this down has been remarkable even for them. These women are being treated, certainly worse than Anita Hill, who made allegations against Clarence Thomas many years ago. In particular, what the Republicans are doing is resisting any kind of independent investigation. Dr. Blasey Ford has requested that the investigation be done by the FBI, which normally routinely does vetting of potential nominees and so they’ve turned on any effort to have the FBI investigate all of the background circumstances around these credible allegations in order to add some additional information and context.
And at the hearings that are scheduled for Thursday were Dr. Blasey Ford is going to be appearing, no additional witnesses will be called. During the Anita Hill situation, there were I think 22 outside witnesses called and these outside witnesses would testify to a context around survivors of sexual assault and how it is totally realistic, for example, that a woman would not come forward at the time of the event and might come forward many years later and had concerns about her own safety and security and whether she would be believed. You would have witnesses to whom she related things in recent years – none of that’s being allowed. So it’s just Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey Ford turning it into a “He said, she said,” where it makes it look like she’s on trial when in fact what this should be about, is investigating Brett Kavanaugh’s character and fitness for the promotion that he’s seeking, which is a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.
BETWEEN THE LINES: Republicans above all want to cement in place a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that will hold sway and make important critical decisions for the American people for a generation to come. And apparently they think that is a more important goal than going through any kind of fair process and getting at the truth about these allegations. They’re weighing both those options. I think we’ve see where they come down. They want that conservative majority regardless of the price.
MARGE BAKER: But that’s exactly right. And in the process, I think they’re totally undermining the legitimacy of the court, which is a serious problem. I mean our democracy works because people have faith in the institutions of government and one by one they’re destroying those institutions of governance and destroying the American public’s faith in those institutions. I mean, how could you possibly believe that someone coming through this process is going to give any litigant before him fair treatment? This is very clearly part of their plan to pack the court with justices who will rule in their favor and that’s not the way it’s supposed to work. It’s just not the way it’s supposed to work. And it really undermines the legitimacy of the court.
BETWEEN THE LINES: If this nomination goes through, if Sen. Susan Collins (of Maine) and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, both Republicans who state they are moderate in their politics, if they choose to vote for Kavanaugh, he does take a seat on the Supreme Court, what price will the Republicans pay, if any, for diverting the Senate and the country out of a fair process to understand really who Brett Kavanaugh is?
MARGE BAKER: You know, it’s a good question. I think both of the senators come from states where the electorate is once kind of balanced legislators, wants people who are really serious and weigh issues and weigh concerns and come to a considerate opinion. I don’t see how either of the senators gets re-elected if they support Brett Kavanaugh under these circumstances. I have not seen women more mobilized, progressive activists more mobilized around an issue around Supreme Court during the entire time I’ve been working on these nominations. People are mobilized. They’re angry at the treatment these survivors are being given. They’re angry, they’re angry at this sort of failure to understand survivorship and treats survivors with decency, and they’re really fearing what kind of Court we could get with somebody like Brett Kavanaugh on the Court, so people are mobilized and I think there’s gonna be consequences. I mean there was a backlash as you and your listeners know, probably to the Anita Hill fiasco that led to the Year of the Women in the Senate and I think you’re going to see that many times over. I mean, you’re going to have a situation on Thursday where 11 white men on the Republican side are going to be assessing the credibility of a survivor who bravely is coming forward telling her story and you know, nothing’s changed for them on that side of the aisle in the years since Anita Hill. I just can’t imagine it not being a serious, serious backlash for the Republican Party in the upcoming midterms on this.
