Real Life Heroes: Doctor Christine Blasey Ford and her supporters in the Senate

This week we lived through the televised hearing of a Supreme Court nominee who was accused of sexual assault. His accuser got her time before the Senate, but is it enough? Time will tell, but she will remain a hero to most of America and beyond. Her supporters in the Senate were just as amazing, and we want to highlight them today in this special supplement to our usual Women of the Week feature.

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford

On September 27, 2018, there was bluster, sturm, and drang from many men in the Senate – lamenting how a judge’s life has been ruined by allegations of sexual abuse from several women. Many words come to mind. Rage, Vitriol, Anger, Despair… those were all emotions shown by the nominee and his most vocal supporter, Sen. Graham, during his questioning. The ludicrousness of this wasn’t lost on most of the viewers.

Earlier in the day, Christine Blasey Ford testified with clarity and utter calmness about a horrifying event in her past. At times she showed emotion, but it was contained. She never once shook with righteous anger or raised her fist in outrage over the appointment of a man she felt was unqualified for the Supreme Court.

The hypocrisy here is that if the roles were reversed, she would have been utterly blasted for her “performance” and emotion, while he was praised for it. The double-standard, it infuriates.

I want to highlight the women who stood up during this hearing and made their voices heard.

Firstly, and most importantly, is Dr. Ford herself. She had absolutely nothing to gain by coming forward. This has been said over and over again, and yet I need to repeat it. Coming forward after a sexual assault is one of the most difficult things a survivor can do, and yet there she sat. In judgment from a mainly hostile audience.

I’d like to share some of her quotes:

I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. I am here because I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me while Brett Kavanaugh and I were in high school.

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I struggled with a terrible choice: Do I share the facts with the Senate and put myself and my family in the public spotlight, or do I preserve our privacy and allow the Senate to make its decision without knowing the full truth of his past behaviors?

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Apart from the assault itself, these past couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. I’ve had to relive this trauma in front of the world.

In order to talk about the hearing, I feel I should also mention the women in the Senate who supported Dr. Ford and were vocal in that support. They are part of the solution. They are trying to change this country for the better. I watch Senate and House hearings regularly in the course of my regular job, and I see over and over again where these strong, independent women stand for the rights of the people.

I’m glad I can share them with you today.

Senator Kamala Harris

First up: Sen. Kamala Harris of California. She speaks up often and makes her voice heard. A graduate of Howard University and UC Hastings, she has conducted herself with great care and jurisprudence throughout her career. As a previous State Attorney General, she is extremely qualified to sit on this committee.

Sen. Harris’ quotes:

You have called for an independent FBI investigation into the facts. Judge Kavanaugh has not. And we owe you that, we owe the American people that.

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I believe you are doing that because you love this country and I believe history will show that you are a true profile in courage at this moment in time in the history of our country. And I thank you.

To Judge Kavanaugh:

Do you agree that it is possible for men to both be friends with some women, and treat other women badly?

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HARRIS: I only have a few seconds left and I’ll just ask you a direct question. Did you watch Dr. Ford’s testimony?

KAVANAUGH: I did not. I plan to…

HARRIS: Thank you, I have nothing else.

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Now let’s talk about Sen. Dianne Feinstein from California. Sen. Feinstein was a driving force in seeing this hearing come to fruition. She has been crucified over and over again and falsely accused of releasing the accusations which Dr. Ford had asked her to keep private. Dr. Ford herself has stated that is not the case, yet Sen. Feinstein remains accused.

In the face of reprisals and rebuke, she remains stoic and steadfast. Her defense of Dr. Ford is unwavering. I find her just as strong and heroic as any woman that speaks out in defense of survivors.

Sen. Feinstein’s quotes:

What I find most inexcusable is this rush to judgment, the unwillingness to take these kinds of allegations at face value and look at them for what they are: a real question of character for someone who is asking for a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court.

To Judge Kavanaugh:

All three of these women have asked the FBI to investigate their claims. I listened carefully to what you said. Your concern is evident and clear. And if you’re very confident of your position, and you appear to be, why aren’t you also asking the FBI to investigate these claims?

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Next up is Sen. Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota. Another lawyer, she has a distinguished career record with many awards received. Like the other women named here, she is a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights, and she favors Universal Health Care. She also participated in the Chris Murphy gun control filibuster.

Klobuchar was also instrumental in the passage of her state’s most current DWI laws and made a point of focusing on the most violent of career criminals during her tenure as Attorney of Hennepin County. No one should argue that she shouldn’t be sitting at the table with any other Senator or high lawmaker in the land.

Now I’d like to share some of her highlights from the questioning:

In my old job as a prosecutor, we investigated reports like this, so it gave me a window on the types of cases that hurt women and hurt all of us. And I would always tell the women that came before us that they were going to have to tell their story before a jury box of strangers. And you’ve had to tell your story before the entire nation.

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KLOBUCHAR: Many people are focused today on what you’re not able to remember about that night. I actually think you remember a lot. I’m going to phrase it a little differently: can you tell us what you don’t forget about that night?

FORD: The stairwell, the living room, the bedroom, the bed on the right side of the room as you walk into the room. There was a bed to the right. The bathroom in close proximity, the laughter, the uproarious laughter, and the multiple attempts to escape and the final ability to do so.

After sharing that her father at 90 years old is a recovering alcoholic:

KLOBUCHAR: So you’re saying there’s never been a case where you drank so much that you didn’t remember what happened the night before or part of what happened.

KAVANAUGH: It’s — you’re asking about, you know, blackout. I don’t know. Have you?

KLOBUCHAR: Could you answer the question, Judge? I just — so you — that’s not happened. Is that your answer?

KAVANAUGH: Yeah, and I’m curious if you have.

KLOBUCHAR: I have no drinking problem, Judge.

Senator Mazie Hirono

And finally, I’d like to talk about Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. Another tough talker in the Senate, I regularly hear her speak as if she’s actually representing her constituents. Imagine that!

A groundbreaker in her own right, she was the first Asian-American woman elected to the Senate, and the first U.S. Senator born in Japan. Before her term there, she served in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013. She has dual degrees in psychology and law. An amazing woman and I’d be more than honored to have her in my corner.

Here are Sen. Hirono’s words:

We should look the question square in the face: does character matter? Do our values, our real values about what is right and what is wrong, and about whether we treat our fellow human beings with dignity and respect, do they matter anymore? I believe they do, and I believe the reaction we have seen to this coverage right now, and your courage all over this country shows us that we’re not alone, you’re not alone; that women and men all across America are disgusted and sick and tired of the way basic human decency has been driven from our public life.

To Judge Kavanaugh:

This morning was that we heard from Dr. Christine Ford, who spoke to us, with quiet, raw, emotional power, about what happened to her. She said she was 100 percent certain that it was you who attacked her.

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When you and my colleagues on the other side accuse us of ambushing you with false charges, I think we all have to remember Dr. Ford’s testimony and her courage.

Anita Hill

I would be neglectful in my duties if I do not mention Anita Hill, who went through a similar process to Dr. Ford back in 1991. There is an excellent article in the NY Times comparing the two hearings, and further, the two women and nominees. Twenty-seven years have passed chronologically, but it feels like we’ve taken a step backwards in the Country’s moral temperature.

Professor Anita F. Hill testifies before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on the confirmation of Judge Clarence Thomas to be Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC on October 11, 1991. Credit: Arnie Sachs / CNP Photo by: Arnie Sachs/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images