Minnesota Democrats React In Outrage Over Brett Kavanaugh Vote

Anthony Gockowski

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to narrowly sneak by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Minnesota Democrats are outraged at the prospect.

During Thursday’s historic hearing, Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford painfully recalled a decades-old high school party at which the alleged assault occurred. After hours of testimony, it looks like Republicans just barely have enough votes to send Kavanaugh’s nomination to Congress.

Throughout the hearing and after, Minnesota’s Democratic candidates for office chimed in on the affair, including State Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minneapolis), who is now running for Minnesota’s Third Congressional District.

“Stop yelling! He is giving us a glimpse to why these women were afraid to come forward all these years. I am terrified just watching him on TV,” Omar tweeted during Kavanaugh’s testimony, later encouraging her followers to vote Republicans out of office.

“The Senate Judiciary Committee scheduled a vote for 1:30 today, when thousands of people, rape survivors, even the American Bar Association asked them to delay the vote,” Omar added Friday morning. “But the people have a vote too, that one is scheduled for November. They will not forget what happens today.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) agreed with Omar’s calls for delaying the vote, saying that the “Senate can’t vote on Kavanaugh now” until the FBI reopens its background check.

“My colleagues can defiantly beat their chests all they want—I believe we need the facts,” said Klobuchar, who is currently running for a third term in Congress.

Dean Phillips, who is running against incumbent Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN-03), criticized Republican senators for lacking “courage.”

“I believe Dr. Ford. And I believe our Constitution anticipated a president like Donald Trump, but it did not anticipate a Congress filled with so many who lack courage,” Phillips tweeted. “The consequences of our votes are clear, and a better way forward begins Nov. 6 if we come together for change.”

Sen. Tina Smith (D-MM) repeated Klobuchar’s calls for an FBI investigation into the allegations, calling the process “reckless.”

“What we really need to do is open an FBI investigation. Jamming someone through for a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court without getting all the facts out is reckless,” she tweeted, saying that her “decision to oppose his lifelong appointment to the Supreme Court is the right one.”

The committee is scheduled to vote Friday at 1:30, and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced that he would vote in favor of Kavanaugh’s nomination, meaning Republicans now have enough votes to send the nomination to the full Senate.

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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].

 

 

 

 

 

 

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