Editorial: Kavanaugh Nomination Process a Failure of Government, but a Catalyst for #MeToo

Through the recent failure of the Supreme Court Justice nomination process, and confirmation of Kavanaugh, the #MeToo movement has taken a hit, but one that it will likely bounce back from … hard.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court by a margin smaller than any other nominee in U.S. history, 50-48. The way the Senate got there? Ugly politics, mostly.

Both sides of the political aisle are at fault for the flawed process — Democrats used Kavanaugh’s accusers as political pawns to stall the process, and Republicans refused to reconsider their nominee, many of them criticizing Kavanaugh’s accusers despite there being no concrete evidence proving the accusations false.

Yet, in the midst of this atrocious confirmation process, we remain optimistic. In wake of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, the outrage and contempt felt by many in the nation could very well prove to be a catalyst for a second wave of the #MeToo movement.

The unrest caused by Kavanaugh’s confirmation may lead to something much larger than the nomination itself — a host of women encouraged to tell their stories without remorse, a new wave of female leaders elected to diversify the majority-male Congress and a push to tighten the wage gap, just to name a few.

Given the current political climate and the inflammatory words uttered by U.S. leadership regarding Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations, these changes seem inevitable.

After Ford’s empowering and heart-wrenching testimony, several U.S. senators criticized her account. Perhaps the most passionate, and angry, being Sen. Lindsey Graham. Graham declared the FBI’s investigation into Ford’s claims, as well as the hearing as a whole, to be the “most unethical sham since [he’s] been in politics.” And later, at the Atlantic Festival, he claimed Ford was “treated respectfully” and Kavanaugh was “treated like crap.”

At a campaign rally in Mississippi, President Donald Trump blatantly and baselessly mocked Ford.

“‘How did you get home?’ ‘I don’t remember.’ ‘How did you get there?’ ‘I don’t remember.’ ‘Where is the place?’ ‘I don’t remember,’” Trump said. “But I had one beer, that’s the only thing I remember.”

Instead of addressing anything near sympathetic for victims of sexual assault, Trump declared that today’s age — the age of the #MeToo movement — was a “very scary time for young men in America.” He had much to say of the difficulty men face living in America, but nearly nothing to say about how much harder it is to be a woman, in every sense of the word.

These comments and Kavanaugh’s confirmation lit a fire of fury in the hearts of many Americans, sparking protests against his confirmation on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court and in cities across the nation. The Senate’s decision left 51 percent of the nation against Kavanaugh’s appointment, according to a CNN poll. The entire case now leaves a lasting impact on voters less than a month away from the midterm elections, which could lead to both an increase in votes for female candidates and a higher voter turnout.

This seems like more than enough to spark new changes, but clues the past gives us into what comes next are even more compelling. We’ve found history isn’t repeating itself, but it’s certainly rhyming.

Twenty-seven years ago, in 1991, it was Justice Clarence Thomas being confirmed in spite of sexual misconduct allegations.

Anita Hill, who worked under Thomas in the Education Department, claimed he sexually harassed her frequently during their time working together — citing conversations about “pornographic films, such as women having sex with animals” among several other serious offenses.

Due to the lack of evidence supporting Hill’s claims, it wasn’t a question of whether or not it happened, it was just his word against hers. It was whether or not it was even worth the chance of Thomas having done these things, in the same way it was for Kavanaugh.

Four days after Hill testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Thomas was confirmed anyway. Then the nation erupted.

The next election brought five women to the Senate and twenty-four to the House — more women elected in one year than ever before. 1992 was appropriately dubbed the “Year of the Woman.” 

This was in a time before the #MeToo movement, and today’s world — driven by #MeToo ideals, its sights set on believing women in their stories, their credibility stemming from the emotions and trauma they face — could prove to yield even more.

We’re ready for this new period of change, and in the coming months, we may not only see the mostly-male Congress diversify, but witness an age of unprecedented reform along with it.

We’re ready to put up a new and relevant fight for #MeToo and the rights of women across the nation by spreading the word — letting the collective of powerful and determined women with their own stories rise above the criticism shown by U.S. leaders.

We’re not ready for a new year for women — we’re ready for an era.