Video: Click HERE to download the MP4.
Audio: Click HERE To download the MP3.
Washington, D.C. – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet tonight argued against the nomination of D.C. Circuit Court Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bennet addressed what Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation would mean for Coloradans, including for those with preexisting conditions, children with asthma, same-sex couples, women making their own health care decisions, and survivors of sexual assault coming forward.
“Judge Kavanaugh would threaten hard-won progress for all these Coloradans—taking us from the independent majority under Justice Kennedy to an ideological majority deeply out of step with the values of people in my state,” Bennet said.
Bennet also addressed how Judge Kavanaugh’s views stand in opposition to reforms needed to fix our broken politics and provide a check on the executive branch.
“If confirmed, it is likely Judge Kavanaugh would provide a fifth vote against reforms to end partisan gerrymandering, to help workers organize, to help people vote, and to curb the corrupting power of money in our politics,” Bennet said. “And, in the age of President Trump, I had particular concerns about the nominee’s expansive views on presidential power and oversight, views that made me question the extent to which he would fulfill the court’s role as a check on the executive.”
Bennet commended Dr. Ford for coming forward to share her story and for inspiring others—including Colorado’s Debbie Ramirez—to do the same.
“She had no reason to make anything up, and she had every reason to stay quiet,” Bennet said. “But she came forward anyway, because she believed it was her civic duty.”
Bennet closed by describing the degradation of the Senate’s responsibility to advice and consent and its implication for the courts and the rule of law.
“Instead of insulating the courts from partisanship, we have infected the courts with partisanship,” Bennet said. “Our dysfunction need not be a permanent state of things…The survivors standing around our Capitol tonight testify to the resilience of the human spirit. And they gives us all hope that, however difficult this moment, in the United States, progress is always in our hands.”
