D.C. has been in a state of disarray after a week of Democrats and Republicans battling over attempted sexual assault allegations against Brett M. Kavanaugh, Supreme Court Justice nominee.
Since the beginning of the #MeToo movement, people have struggled to find the right way to deal with sexual assault allegations.
The movement swept Hollywood, and directors, actors and producers alike were exposed by their accusers. What was refreshing about the #MeToo movement in Hollywood was that victims of sexual assault and harassment were, more often than not, believed and comforted.
D.C. is void of this movement. Politicians and President Donald Trump continue to prove that sexual assault and harassment allegations rarely and minimally affect men of power on Capitol Hill and in the White House.
What is most disconcerting out of Washington is that Republicans like Sen. Mitch McConnell (R‒Kentucky) are dismissing the accusations of Christine Blasey Ford against Kavanaugh. While the Senate Judiciary Committee has agreed that a hearing will take place, it has become the narrative to dismiss Blasey’s allegations and say she is attempting to obstruct or delay President Trump’s nomination.
Politicizing an accusation like sexual assault is of utmost ignominy and disrespect to victims. Asking why Blasey is coming forward now, saying she’s been placed in this position by Democrats or dismissing her claims without hearing her testimony is disgraceful.
Republicans also seem to forget that they blocked President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination in 2016. After Antonin Scalia’s death, President Obama made his nomination for the Supreme Court. Republicans, who had made it clear throughout the Obama presidency that they would do their best to slow him down, blocked the nominee for the remaining 310 days of his presidency.
The only reasons Republicans could give for the block was because the presidential election was about to occur.
Now the president, a man with numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations of his own, has made his nomination. To accuse Democrats of blocking this nomination by using a tactic like this is abhorrent and callous. It is an insult to victims everywhere.
Blasey agreed to testify Thursday, according to The New York Times. The Senate Judiciary Committee is unsure who will question her. The person questioning Blasey should be a woman of the opposing party. This seems to be the most fair. If a Republican were to question Blasey, the questions could be as one-sided as America saw during the sexual harassment allegations of Clarence Thomas in 1985.
It should be a woman for the same reasons—only another woman could understand what Blasey is going through and what she experienced in her claims.
Blasey is about to put her personal life, her professional career, her family, and her friends on the line to be bombarded by questions from politicians and media. To make such an accusation about such a man of power is dangerous and is not for the weak-minded or faint of heart. Her accusations must be heard and taken seriously.
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