Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Friday afternoon tore into her Republican colleagues for proposing a hearing with Christine Blasey Ford on Wednesday after Blasey Ford asked to testify on Thursday about her allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Feinstein wrote in a statement that Republicans were failing to treat Blasey Ford with compassion and respect, and she pointed out that there’s no reason to rush, given how long a Supreme Court seat sat vacant while Republicans refused to confirm Obama’s last Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland.
Read the statement:
Republicans today announced their intention to move forward with a hearing on Wednesday without talking to Dr. Ford or her attorneys. This announcement was made knowing that Dr. Ford already said she couldn’t come before Thursday. These are serious allegations that should be treated with gravity and respect.
Dr. Ford is receiving death threats. She’s had her identity stolen and her email account hacked. She fled her home with her family. But Republicans want to rush her into a hearing. It’s mean-spirited and candidly shows no sympathy or empathy whatsoever. It’s just an extra day, why not wait 24 hours?
Republicans should show a little compassion, not to mention consideration that she’ll need to prepare for the hearing. Republican senators want to turn over their duty to ask questions to outside counsel, but Dr. Ford can’t do that. Just because Republicans don’t need to prepare doesn’t mean Dr. Ford should be rushed.
I would remind my Republican colleagues that they blocked President Obama’s nominee for a year and the court survived. Show some heart. Wait until Dr. Ford feels that she can come before the committee.”
Towards a … woman? Not in this lifetime, DiFi.
And that’s just the response from Mitch McConnell so far!
Republicans have to show how manly they are by pushing around a woman.
They,like Trump, are not men but slimy little cowards .
If you back a coward you are a coward.
Said Barbara Speicher Grassley:
“Can you imagine what a joy it is to be married to Chuck? Every single goddamn thing he has to niggle and correct me. If I say let’s do something on Thursday, he says Wednesday instead. He’s such a controlling psychopath, its driven me to a life of writing confessional books about my personal relationship with God.”
[Note: That last part is true: on the website for Loving My Lord Through Poetry it says: “Barbara Speicher enjoys writing personal accounts about God in her life, in addition to penning scriptural reflections in poetry and song.”]
While we’re on the subject, it would be nice if somebody would point out that the GOP looking for a female outside attorney to question the witness because there are no GOP women senators on the committee is really twisted.
If Senate leadership doesn’t want women on committees, this is what they’re going to have a problem with – everyone on earth knowing that the sitting members of the committee can’t do their job.
If the problem is not enough GOP women in the Senate, well, that’s just another problem they have to address.
Having someone from outside the Senate sit on a committee to question an important witness because you’ve determined it’s impossible for the people on the committee to do the job should make Grassley and McConnell laughingstocks everywhere.