Republican Senator Susan Collins delivered a passionate speech Friday, explaining why she will be voting yes to confirm the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.
“Our Supreme Court confirmation process has been in steady decline for more than 30 years. One can only hope that the Kavanaugh nomination is where the process has finally hit rock bottom,” Collins said.
Sen. Susan Collins: "Our Supreme Court confirmation process has been in steady decline for more than 30 years. One can only hope that the Kavanaugh nomination is where the process has finally hit rock bottom." https://t.co/N5yMUp1dH3 pic.twitter.com/fGwmycDh8O
— ABC News (@ABC) October 5, 2018
Collins mentioned the fact that Democrats pledged to “resist” Trump’s SCOTUS nominee regardless of who he selected.
.@SenatorCollins on Kavanaugh nomination: "The president nominated Brett Kavanaugh on July 9. Within moments of that announcement, special interest groups raced to be the first to oppose him." https://t.co/RYjqte19Tw pic.twitter.com/u2BvF6FsSx
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 5, 2018
Further justifying her decision, Collins clarified that she does believe Blasey Ford’s testimony is sincere, but that “the four witnesses she named could not corroborate any of the events.”
“I found [Christine Blasey Ford’s] testimony to be sincere, painful and compelling. I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life. Nevertheless, the four witnesses she named could not corroborate any of the events,” Collins said. pic.twitter.com/Fwav18AXWA
— POLITICO (@politico) October 5, 2018
During one segment of the speech, Collins addressed the importance of assumption of innocence and slammed allegations brought forward by Democrat lawyer Michael Avenatti’s client that Kavanaugh drugged and gang-raped women in high school.
“…but of the allegation that when he was a teenager, Judge Kavanaugh drugged multiple girls and used their weakened state to facilitate gang rape. This outlandish allegation was put forth without any credible supporting evidence,” she attested.
Watch Collins’ comments on the accusation here.
Avenatti responded to the senator, saying, “Susan Collins should be ashamed of herself.”
.@SenatorCollins should be ashamed of herself for attacking my client and Dr. Ford. How did she make a credibility determination as to my client? How is she qualified to do that without ANY investigation? She did ZERO to determine whether my client and her witnesses were credible
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) October 5, 2018
Democrat Senator Joe Manchin also announced his decision to vote yes on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
I will vote to support Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. pic.twitter.com/1FfuMTOZz8
— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) October 5, 2018
Liberals are already calling for top Democrats to run against Collins, with Obama-era National Security Advisor Susan Rice reportedly being among the first volunteering to run against her.
.@AmbassadorRice, who was Obama’s national security adviser, bluntly responded to a tweet, angry about @SenatorCollins, asking who would run against Collins in Maine. She tweeted: “Me.” https://t.co/P5OUixtFIv #Resist #StopKavanaugh
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) October 5, 2018
BREAKING: Prominent Democrats are already threatening to run against Susan Collins https://t.co/NbeIvC3iTK
— VICE News (@vicenews) October 5, 2018
The apoplectic response from the left has been predictable.
Pissed and disappointed in Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
But not surprised.
The Republican Party has wagered that every single woman who has ever been assaulted will not care about the Kavanaugh vote.
I cannot WAIT for voters to prove how WRONG they are.#VoteThemAllOut
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) October 5, 2018
"Me too matters," Said the hypocrite @SenatorCollins as she suggested Dr. Ford lacked the memory recall to recollect her own rape.#KavanaughConfirmation
— Amr Khalifa (@Cairo67Unedited) October 5, 2018
This speech by Senator Susan Collins is the slowest middle finger in human history
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) October 5, 2018
Susan Collins represents the white women who'll throw everyone under the bus for personal power https://t.co/6RUEQhtfZy
— Daily Kos (@dailykos) October 5, 2018
If I understood Susan Collins correctly, it's important to listen to women, then avoid eye contact and back away slowly until nothing changes.
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) October 5, 2018
Collins is pounding her desk in defense of Dr. Ford, calling her a "survivor." But she just finished saying she doesnt believe her story. There is so much bad faith in this speech.
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) October 5, 2018
Susan Collins stabs women in the back for her fellow Republicans https://t.co/K1FOPL0Zhr
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) October 5, 2018
perhaps the most offensive part of it all is that collins is of mediocre-low intelligence at best
— J. Escobedo Shepherd (@jawnita) October 5, 2018
Susan Collins says she will vote to confirm Kavanaugh, partially because the man who lied repeatedly in his confirmation hearings told her he considered Roe “settled law.” Senator Collins, there is still time to change your mind and do the right thing.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) October 5, 2018
We are all rightly pissed at Susan Collins, but let's save at least some of the outrage for Joe Manchin, a Democrat, who also just sold women out and was way more cowardly about it.
— Jill Filipovic (@JillFilipovic) October 5, 2018
It’s over https://t.co/ERzpXcbkEi
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) October 5, 2018
fuck susan collins but also fuck every other republican senator and joe manchin too
— E. Alex Jung (@e_alexjung) October 5, 2018
As women were being assaulted on the floor of the Senate today, Susan Collins locked the door and turned up the music.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) October 5, 2018
in case u missed it here is sen. susan collins speech to the women of america pic.twitter.com/yOn7DwlKKU
— m i t h (@ManInTheHoody) October 5, 2018
Watch Collins’ full speech below or click here to read the full transcript:
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