Susan Collins gave Senate Democrats the scolding they deserve
by Nicole Russell
| October 06, 2018 08:37 AM
In her nearly 45-minute speech that rocked the Senate floor and the country, Collins walked America through her logic and gave a stern scolding, calling the confirmation process something “that has become so dysfunctional it looks more like a caricature of a gutter-level political campaign than a solemn occasion.â€
With clarity, candor, and ferocity, Collins laid out her reasoning for voting “yes†for Kavanaugh. Largely: “The four witnesses she named could not corroborate any of the events of that evening gathering where she says the assault occurred.â€
Collins also did not hesitate to utterly skewer Democrats in their handling of this nomination, admonishing them. She spared no criticism for the Democrat who leaked Dr. Ford’s letter to the press originally and she said she hopes the last month’s antics will propel the Senate to ditch the current nomination process and find a new method of confirming judges.
“I suspect, regrettably, we will never know who did it. To that leaker, who I hope is listening now, let me say that what you did is unconscionable. You have taken a survivor, who is not only entitled to your respect, but who also trusted you, and you have sacrificed her well-being in a misguided attempt to win whatever political crusade you think you’re fighting. My only hope is that your callous act has turned this process into such a dysfunctional circus that it will cause the Senate and, indeed, all Americans to reconsider how we evaluate Supreme Court nominees. If that happens, then the appalling lack of compassion you afforded Professor Ford will have some unintended positive consequences."
Collins makes an interesting point that few politicians, particularly on the Senate floor, have had the chutzpah to make: Not only was there little, if any, evidence corroborating Ford’s claims, but the more time passed, the more the FBI looked into the allegations, and the more the media seemed to collude with Democrats, the more the process looked like a dysfunctional circus masquerading as a political crusade.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/susan-collins-gave-senate-democrats-the-scolding-they-deserve