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Brett Kavanaugh, a Supreme Court candidate who appeared to be seeking confirmation last week, suddenly found himself in the wake of the 1991 Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill hearings that shook Washington and highlighted the issue of sexual harassment.
The Judiciary Committee of the Senate should now hear the testimony of Kavanaugh and his accuser, just as senators, 27 years ago, heard additional testimony from Thomas and questioned Hill about his accusations against the candidate of the time .
President Trump
Donald John TrumpPlus of 100 lawmakers have consistently voted against chemical safeguards: CNN's Anderson Cooper study lands on Trump Jr. for spreading "silly" conspiracy theories on him Cohn: Jamie Dimon would be "phenomenal" presidentChristine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist at Palo Alto University in California, accused her sexual assault choice more than 30 years ago when she was a 17-year-old second-year student. junior years.
Longtime observers of Supreme Court upholding fights have seen strangely similar parallels between Kavanaugh's now beleaguered appointment and the maelstrom that engulfed Thomas in the fall of 1991, which left indelible marks in the Senate.
Thomas's accuser was also an accomplished and credible witness. She graduated from Yale Law School and worked under the auspices of the EEOC in 1982 and 1983 to teach at the Oral University. Roberts and the University of Oklahoma.
Hill's detailed accounts of the alleged harassment were at the heart of the argument the Republicans of the day made for his confirmation – that his personal character and his success in defeating an impoverished childhood were only sufficient for a short period of time. judge.
Similarly, Republicans in recent months have played the role of Kavanaugh as a community servant and father, and have quickly pointed out that he is a volunteer to serve food to the homeless within 48 hours.
Nan Aron, president of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal defense group that played a key role in fighting Thomas's confirmation and who was active in assessing Kavanaugh's record, said Republicans " had projected Brett Kavanaugh as the promoter of women's rights.
"Years ago, they portrayed Clarence Thomas as having grown up in Pin Point, Georgia, poor and at the head of a civil rights agency," she said. "In both cases, their representation of the candidate does not correspond to the facts."
The Conservatives also see parallels between Thomas and Kavanaugh, but only to the extent that they call the Democrats unfair tactics to dirty the candidate.
Carrie Severino, the chief advocate and policy director of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, criticized the senator. Dianne Feinstein
The representative of Dianne Emiel FeinsteinDem who met the accuser of Kavanaugh: "She wanted her truth to be revealed" Murkowski echoes calls to Kavanaugh, accuser of testifying to hypocrisy in the Kavanaugh case to trigger alarms in DC MORE (Calif.), The highest Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, for failing to respond to Ford's allegations earlier, despite their knowledge since July.
Severino argued that the Democrat Committee, led by Feinstein, had the opportunity to pursue allegations of sexual assault at Kavanaugh's public hearings earlier this month and at an in camera session where legislators were to pose sensitive questions to the candidate.
She said the Democrats "were trying to replicate" the controversy of Thomas Hill, but observed that Senate policy had become even more polarized over the past three decades.
Severino noted that Democrats controlled the Senate in 1991 and still had a vote on Thomas's nomination without using a filibuster to block him. At the time, 60 votes were needed to advance a candidate to the Supreme Court.
Thomas gained close confirmation but was shocked by this experience, which permanently tarnished his reputation and awakened the nation to the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace and lack of gender diversity in the male-dominated Senate.
His accuser, Hill, was also beaten by this experience. The members of the exclusively male judicial committee tore up his character and denounced his motives.
This time, the Democrats have four women on the committee, while the GOP is made up of men. Meaning. Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Representative of HatchDem who met Kavanaugh's accuser: "She wanted her truth to come out" Senate adopts bipartite bill to fight opioid crisis Kavanaugh, accuser to publicly testify Monday (R-Utah) and Patrick Leahy
Patrick Joseph LeahySenate sues the archives to try to force the publication of Kavanaugh's documents Dems engages in the last chance to block the Kavanaugh Democrats should end their hypocrisy regarding Kavanaugh and the judicial system (D-Vt.) And current president Chuck Grassley
Charles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyThe director's wife of "Glow" writes "Stop Kavanaugh" on the arm for the Emmy Awards Grassley accepts Kavanaugh's second audition after Murkowski, a GOP rebellion, echoes the calls of Kavanaugh, accuser (R-Iowa) are the only members of the committee who sat on the committee during the 1991 hearings.
Hill's account of Hill's testimony provoked such outrage that she set off a national political movement – "The Year of the Woman" – and helped Feinstein and other Democratic candidates the following year. the senator. Patty Murray
Patricia (Patty) Lynn MurrayThe time to act to improve the analysis of government data Overnight health care: opioid bill, drug price measures ObamaCare prepare for trial | A Koch Group Announcement at McCaskill on Health Care Measure to more easily prosecute police for lethal force during a Washington poll (D-Wash.), Win the elections.
"I can not tell you in the hollow of my belly that I think I have not felt it for almost exactly 27 years," said Judith Lichtman, former president of the National Partnership for Women and Families, which was in the center. of the Thomas-Hill fight.
Twenty-seven years ago, in mid-September, we learned that Hill, a woman with an impressive resume, privately alleged that Thomas had sexually harassed her ten years before, when he was his boss. at the EEOC.
Lichtman recalled that she had heard about it for the first time by a law professor at the Georgetown University Law School during a phone call on the night of Yom Kippur.
Thomas had completed his confirmation hearings earlier in September and seemed to be moving towards a successful confirmation before the allegations gained popularity.
Hill initially refused to testify publicly and wanted to discuss his experiences behind closed doors in executive session with Senators, according to Lichtman. Meanwhile, Republicans are strongly opposed to holding a second round of public hearings.
Ford was also reluctant to testify publicly against Kavanaugh and initially asked Feinstein to maintain his confidentiality, which Feinstein respected.
Finally, Hill testified at a marathon weekend in mid-October, a month after his allegations began to surface.
"There was tremendous resistance," said Lichtman. "There were many, many weeks when there was great resistance to hearing."
Grassley issued a statement on Monday saying:anyone who comes in as does Dr. Ford deserves to be heard.
He added that "to ensure sufficient transparency, we will hold a public hearing on Monday to give these recent allegations full dissemination".
That seems to have satisfied Sen. Susan Collins
Susan Margaret CollinsMurkowski echoes calls to Kavanaugh, accuser to testify to Kavanaugh, accuser of publicly testifying Monday White House says Kavanaugh is ready to testify about "false allegations" MORE (R-Maine), a moderate key vote, who said before the additional hearings were announced that "Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee."
But this testimony could represent a risk for Ford, as for Hill.
As Hill feared, the second round of hearings in 1991 became more of a trial for his motives than the alleged behavior of Thomas.
"The hearing itself was a mockery of fairness and this can not happen this time. "We can not allow this phone to tick the box and we will now do the business as usual," Lichtman said. "This very credible woman made very serious allegations and there was no time or process in place to investigate and corroborate her story.
"People believed Anita Hill and at every moment, there was no real process to justify or corroborate his very serious allegations and to examine Clarence Thomas and his behavior, not only towards Anita Hill and many of them." others eager to come forward, "she added. .
Years later, some Republicans acknowledge that Hill was treated too harshly and they said he hoped the party learned lessons.
If senators on the justice committee question Ford as hard as they did Hill a few years ago, there may be another reaction at a time when the #MeToo movement has become a major political force.
Former Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a long-time colleague of Collins, who served in the House at Thomas's hearings, said today's senators "could learn from the past for to set the tone and the behavior ".
She said Republicans at the time had taken "a very aggressive line on issues."
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