Today’s 50-48 vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court is a travesty for women, People of Color, LGBTQ people, and immigrants around the country, and for those who value an independent, non-partisan judiciary. From the hyper-partisan ideology Kavanaugh has displayed in his rulings and spouted during the hearing, to the misogyny on display as survivors’ stories of abuse were ignored, dismissed, and ridiculed, the harmful impact of this confirmation and its undemocratic process will be felt for generations.
From the moment Justice Kennedy announced his retirement in June, we knew the end game of this current administration was to appoint a justice who would gut Roe v Wade, end access to legal abortion, and decimate reproductive rights, workers’ rights, voting rights, and civil rights. Brett Kavanaugh was clearly chosen as a nominee who would carry out this agenda.
For more than 30 years, conservatives, the anti-choice movement, and their allies in the Senate have built towards this moment: The moment they could own the U.S. Supreme Court and force their radical agenda on the rest of us, no matter the will of the American public. From packing the lower courts, to multiple-billion dollar astroturf campaigns, to the sheer audacity of blocking Merrick Garland’s nomination—this has been their plan all along.
Kavanaugh’s supporters in the Senate are not, and never were, interested in the truth about his history of sexual assault and his history of lying. They are only interested in forcing their ideology on all of us: An ideology that refuses to accept equality for all, and instead strips us of our most fundamental freedoms. Brett Kavanaugh is a means to that end.
We will not forget that every Senator who voted for Kavanaugh after listening to, and maybe even believing, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s compelling testimony did so not because they felt ‘’due process” was served; but, rather, because they felt more empathy with a man potentially losing a job promotion than with a woman whose life had been forever altered by that man’s violent actions.
The Senate voted for a badly composed, highly partisan, political operative in order to radically change the Supreme Court for generations, just so they could consolidate their own access to power.
We will not forget this moment, and neither should any of our Senators. This is a continuation of our fight for bodily autonomy, abortion access, and reproductive freedom for all, not an end. We have raised our voices in dissent throughout this process, and we will not stop now!