'I believe Dr. Ford' — Whitmer and others respond to the Kavanaugh hearings

Sep 28, 2018 at 12:08 pm
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From left: US Representatives Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, Debbie Dingle (MI), Shelia Jackson Lee,  Brenda Lawrence (MI), Joyce Beatty, Anne Kuster, and Julia Brownley - Brenda Lawrence/Twitter
Brenda Lawrence/Twitter
From left: US Representatives Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, Debbie Dingle (MI), Shelia Jackson Lee, Brenda Lawrence (MI), Joyce Beatty, Anne Kuster, and Julia Brownley

In what can perhaps best be described as a supreme spectacle, Thursday's hearing between Dr. Christine Blasely Ford and Judge Brett Kavanaugh broke precedent, turned stomachs, and dominated Twitter feeds.

During the two weeks leading up to Kavanaugh's confirmation for Supreme Court following his July 9 nomination from President Donald Trump, three women have come forward accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault. The first of these women, Dr. Ford, opened yesterday's eight hour hearing with gripping testimony, recounting her alleged traumatic sexual assault that took place at a party in the summer of 1982. A petulant rebuttal followed from Kavanaugh — the man Ford claims, with "one hundred percent" certainty, was behind the attack.

What followed was nothing short of unbelievable as Kavanaugh stuttered his way through defensive responses, shouting "I still like beer!" and attempting to paint a portrait of an all-American boy cutting lawns, playing football, and awkwardly avoiding sex well into his college years. When asked by Sen. Amy Klobuchar he had ever drank to the point of blacking out, he replied no, turned to her, and asked, "Have you?"

While the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to move forward on the nomination process Friday morning, during which time several Democratic senators walked out, Michigan representatives have taken to social media to stand in solidarity with Dr. Ford, and to call out Kavanaugh's petulant temperament as being unfit for SCOTUS.





Senator Debbie Stabenow issued a statement saying, "...if Brett Kavanaugh did not do these things, why isn't he calling for a background investigation to clear his name? This is an important day."

Democratic candidate Andy Levin called out Kavanaugh for blaming the Clinton's for these allegations, citing "revenge."

Dana Nessel, Democratic nominee for Michigan Attorney General, released a statement Friday saying, "Dr. Ford’s allegations are serious and credible – I believe her."

She continued, “Mr. Kavanaugh has demonstrated he lacks the moral fitness we should demand of anyone who aims to sit on our nation’s highest court. How can we expect him to rule fairly on the myriad of women’s issues, including sexual assault and harassment, which are likely to appear before the US Supreme Court in the coming years?”



Republican Gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette blasted Twitter with a call for voter registration without acknowledging the hearing. He was not alone as many of the Republican U.S. House candidates from Michigan also chose to remain silent.

President Trump, unsurprisingly, gave praise to Kavanaugh, deeming that "his testimony was powerful, honest, and riveting."


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