During the days of the contentious Brett Kavanaugh hearings, protesters poured into D.C. to try to stop his confirmation. Themes of “I believe Dr. Ford” and “We believe survivors” filled signs and chants, while those who supported Kavanaugh were met with angry voices and words of rage.
When Justice Kavanaugh was confirmed, more rallies ensued, then soon died off. While the accusations of (roughly) 36-year-old sexual misconduct struck a definite chord with a segment of the public, one must ask why these protests sprang so loud, and why at that moment.
In Minnesota where I live, charges of sexual misconduct have been hitting the front page all too often lately. In the past year we have lost several public figures to sexual allegations, and outstanding claims against other politicians still remain. The two most prominent cases arose from allegations against our U.S. senator, Al Franken, and Rep. Keith Ellison, the former deputy chair of the DNC, currently running for state attorney general. Both are Democrats.
The contrast between the treatment of these two national figures and Kavanaugh is significant. In December of 2017, Al Franken resigned his senate seat due to allegations of sexual misconduct. In the weeks leading to his resignation, 60 percent of eligible voters believed Franken had groped multiple women. There were photographs and multiple recent accusers with corroborated accounts.
There were no rallies protesting Franken’s behavior. After the senator stepped down, almost half of all eligible voters, including two-thirds of Democrats, said Franken should have remained in office.
Ten months later, the Kavanaugh protests led us to believe that because of sexual misconduct accusations, most Democrats in the United States wanted Kavanaugh to withdraw. Anyone voting for him, specifically Republicans, was immoral for trampling on the rights of women.
Either something changed at the core of Democratic Party values during the ten months between Franken’s downfall and Kavanaugh’s nomination, or the protests in D.C. were not purely about allegations of abuse.
The Kavanaugh hearings have passed, but Ellison remains in the race for Minnesota attorney general. And polls show him slightly leading his opponent, despite the abuse allegations against him. There are no protests at his gatherings, no yelling into his face as he walks from meeting to meeting, and little push from the left for him to step down. Most significantly, there is no rage, and he retains the support of the majority of Democratic voters.
The support for Democrats accused of abuse against women does not stop at the borders of Minnesota. Recently, Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton announced their “an evening with” speaking tour which will draw Democratic voters from around the country. For years, numerous claims of sexual abuse from credible women surrounded President Clinton. As of yet, there have been no protests over the Clintons’ speaking engagements or accusations of rape-culture. There has been no rage.
Either Democrats do not believe the survivors who have accused President Clinton, or they judge national figures along other lines. The serious issue of abuse against women remains real and the passion is true, but the selective outrage against Kavanaugh comes across as feigned.
The national media lead us to believe that Democrats are the moral compass of our nation and Republicans are on a mission to elect women-abusers. Kavanaugh’s case has proven just the opposite. More women have succeeded under his mentorship than under that of any other justice in Supreme Court history. We can only expect this to continue.
Ray J Wallin, a former writer for local political campaigns, is a political data researcher and has written several technical papers on gerrymandering.
