It was a good week for Republicans, let’s give them that. They managed to confirm a far-right political hit-man and accused sexual abuser to the Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment.
And they did it by using the language of domestic abusers — blaming the Democrats and taunting protesters by saying, “look what you made me do.” Clever boys.
When asked on Air Force One what his message is to women across the country who are feeling devastated by Kavanaugh’s confirmation, Trump replied, “I don’t think they are. If you look at the biggest fans and I can tell you that the people who spoke in the strongest of terms in his favor were women, women. Women were OUTRAGED at what happened to Brett Kavanaugh.”
In other words, you can believe me, or you can believe your lyin’ eyes.
The tens of millions of women who have been protesting this misogynist sausage fest, whether on January 21st 2017 or on the steps of the Supreme Court on Saturday have been disappeared and replaced with people like Susan Collins, the alleged “moderate” who cast the deciding vote after gaslighting the country with a speech that pretended Kavanaugh’s outrageous performance in his last hearing never happened.
It’s clear that after Trump’s victory in 2016 and the success of brute imposition of conservative white male dominance in this fight, they are convinced that the key to winning is to bring the hammer down on the feminists, male and female, who support progressive Democrats.
IT. WILL. NOT. WORK.
That wailing and whining you hear from these conservative white men (and the conservative white women who are desperately clinging to their sad status as daddy’s favorite female — as long as she doesn’t step out of line) is the sound of the death throes of a movement that’s on its way to extinction.
If Donald Trump isn’t an example of a species that’s run its course, I don’t know what is.
They won’t go without a fight. They have shown they are willing to win by any means necessary which is why it’s so important that progressive women be elected to government as soon as possible.
After the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings were held in 1992 the voters elected 47 women to the House of Representatives, 24 for the first time, out of 435. That year 4 new female Senators were elected to the Senate bringing the total to 6 out of 100. A generation later we have 84 women in the House, equalling 19 percent. The Senate has made a similar percentage gain, with 21 (16 of whom are Democrats) bringing the percentage up to a whopping 21%.
That is pathetic. Women make up 51% of the population.
This has to change now. But as we’ve seen with the so-called moderate Susan Collins, it doesn’t help to elect Republican women. They are happy to support a vile misogynist like Donald Trump and help install a right-wing supreme court majority for a generation. We need progressive women and men who represent the majority of this country, not appeasers and collaborators.
This election is a turning point. You can do your part by helping our Blue America slate of progressive female fighters who aren’t just willing to go to battle on behalf of the vulnerable and the powerless, they are chomping at the bit to stare down these phony macho bullies once and for all. They aren’t afraid because they know these right-wing whiners are nothing more than petty, schoolyard tyrants who need to be put in the corner for a long time out to think about what they’ve done.
The PROGRESSIVE women of Blue America 2018 are willing to take on the challenge and it isn’t easy. We need to have their backs.
Yesterday, one of our most dynamic candidates (of either gender), Katie Porter, told us that “electing women can improve our country’s leadership and Congress’ productivity. But not all women will be champions for equality or diversify the voices in Congress. I am proud to be a single, working middle-class mother of three school-age kids, and to be one of the first woman to bring this experience– shared by millions of other hardworking mothers to Congress. When I fight for federal investment in childcare or paid parental leave, my voice will carry the weight of personal experience. We cannot win change for women without having women who share the most common experiences of American women like being told they should stop working and care for kids, despite financial realities that prevent that. Or being asked in job interviews whether they planned to have more kids. Women and men in America know that working parents are driving economic growth. That’s why I will fight for affordable childcare, paid family leave, equal pay for women, quality public schools, and living wages.”
Thanks, for always doing what you can to make this a better world,
Heather “Digby” Parton, for the entire Blue America team
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