The Trump administration and the Republicans succeeded in getting Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court last week, and our side — the people who stand with the sexual assault survivors who stood up to Kavanaugh — is coming to grips with the reality of a conservative-packed Court and the threat it poses to women’s rights.
Thanks to the bravery of Christine Blasey Ford and others who came forward with their allegations, and the tens of thousands who are part of a growing movement around sexual harassment and violence, it was not like the hearings Anita Hill had to endure decades ago.
These charges are finally being taken seriously, and women are being believed.
Even though we didn’t win, the right wing had a fight on their hands — with the power of #MeToo showing itself in protests on the steps of the Capitol, walkouts at schools, occupations of senators’ offices and protests in front of the elite Yale Club.
We showed our potential power to mobilize people in the streets against the right wing, and to also pressure the Democrats to do the right thing, even while they dragged their feet during the nomination process and one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, showed in the end what side he was really on.
Now with the Court stacked with right-wingers, Trump’s campaign promise to go after women’s right to choose is further along than ever, as several cases concerning abortion rights are scheduled to come before the Court.
For many people, the next most important step in pushing back the right will be electing Democrats in midterm elections — and the fact that Kavanaugh was voted onto the Court is one more urgent reason for them to focus on this.
But there is a bigger lesson that came out of the Kavanaugh confirmation — that our side needs to be bigger and stronger, and if we want to be stronger, we can’t compromise on what we believe in. And we can’t let Democrats make us compromise either.