Conservative Christian Women Rally in Support of Judge Kavanaugh, Warn Against 'Weaponizing' #MeToo
WASHINGTON — Amid a high stakes Supreme Court confirmation battle, conservative and other Christian women rallied in support of Judge Brett Kavanaugh Thursday, urging the Senate to confirm him promptly and warned against weaponizing the #metoo movement.
At a gathering sponsored by Concerned Women for America in a park next to the Russell Senate Building, hundreds of women and other supporters assembled to voice their solidarity with the embattled federal judge whom President Donald Trump nominated earlier this year to fill Anthony Kennedy's seat.
Betty DeHaven, who is a chapter leader for CWA took the train in from Martinsburg, West Virginia to show her support.
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"I think it is very important to give fairness to Judge Brett Kavanaugh who is being ridiculed and shamed for no reason and I think this has become a circus. It's absolutely ludicrous when you consider what they are doing to this man when he has had a reputation of impeccable behavior and to go back 35 years is crazy," she told The Christian Post in an interview following the rally.
"I think this is about abortion, ultimately," she added, "and they [the Left] are afraid. They are clutching at anything they can to preserve what they have with Roe v. Wade."
Although she hails from a conservative county she believes "the majority" of American women see this as a politicized scheme to keep Kavanaugh off the bench, and is an effort stemming from their disdain for President Trump.
At the podium, Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, spoke in Kavanaugh's defense, highlighting that the judge has undergone six FBI background checks where no hint of wrongdoing or abusive pattern has ever showed up.
"What we're seeing here, unfortunately, is an actual pattern of Democrats pushing forward allegations that as soon as you press on them, start to fall apart," she said.
"This is not how our American system ought to work. This is a Senate judiciary process that is broken. And it is unfortunate that what we've seen is instead of treating these allegations with the respect they deserve and the confidentiality they deserve."
Severino added that in the United States "innocent until proven guilty" is not just a law of criminal procedure but a fundamental value of justice and due process. She urged the senators to stop "the circus" and vote to confirm Kavanaugh.
The first accuser to come forward, Christine Blasey Ford, testified Thursday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her approximately 36 years ago at a high school party.
"I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives. Those who say that do not know me. I am a fiercely independent person, and I am no one's pawn," Ford said in her prepared remarks to the committee. "My motivation in coming forward was to provide the facts about how Mr. Kavanaugh's actions have damaged my life, so that you can take that into serious consideration as you make your decision about how to proceed. Apart from the assault itself, these last couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. I have had to relive my trauma in front of the entire world, and have seen my life picked apart by people on television, in the media, and in this body who have never met me or spoken with me."
Presently, none of the sexual assault claims against Kavanaugh have been corroborated by eyewitnesses. Kavanaugh gave testimony on the allegations Thursday afternoon.
Conservative podcaster Allie Stuckey believes the opposition to Kavanaugh is rooted in fear that he will vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case in 1973 that legalized abortion nationwide, even though the judge has never said he would.
"But they accuse us, people like me, of secretly wanting to see Roe v. Wade overturned. And I say that's absurd. I don't secretly want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. I openly want to see Roe v. Wade overturned."
Her opinions aside, "this is a matter of the Constitution," she added, urging that Kavanaugh be confirmed tomorrow.
Patrice Onwuka, senior policy analyst with the Independent Women's Forum said that as a mother of a stepson and soon to be newborn son she was concerned about how the process was being handled.
"The world I want these boys to enter into is a world in which there is opportunity, freedom, and promise. And also a world in which boys and girls are treated fairly," she said.
"But fairness is at risk right now. Fairness is at risk today."
She decried the injustice of sexual assault and how unfair it is when women receive no closure.
"But," she added, "it is also unfair to make Judge Brett Kavanaugh the stand-in for every predator and perpetrator of those wrongdoings."
"We should be very concerned and demand nothing but fairness," Onwuka said, adding she wanted to hear from both Ford and Kavanaugh.
In closing remarks Penny Nance, president of CWA made a point to say that the mass movement of women coming forward telling their stories of sexual assault in the past year is important, as she was a victim of sexual assault. Nance was attacked by a complete stranger on a running path in Virginia approximately 20 years ago. Yet she believes the movement is being misused.
"The #metoo movement is important and it is real. But we also believe in justice and due process. We believe in a presumption of innocence. And the minute we weaponize and politicize an important issue like rape we degrade every victim in this country. And it has to stop."
The rally concluded with everyone singing the first verse of "God Bless America."
