| For Immediate Release: September 20, 2018 Contact: [email protected] |
As the news about Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged attempted rape continue to occupy the national conversation, Alaskans are asking: We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, does Senator Murkowski? Today NARAL launched a digital ad campaign asking this same question.
Senator Murkowski should not side with Brett Kavanaugh over Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and should join the growing call for Kavanaugh to withdraw his nomination. We’ve seen him lie time and time again, even potentially perjuring himself during his Senate confirmation hearings last week. And even today, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor came out against Brett Kavanaugh. It begs the question, if he has already lied, multiple times, how can Senator Murkowski believe him now? The answer is simple, she can’t. Alaskans know Kavanaugh can’t be trusted to make decisions about our most fundamental freedoms.
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Secret emails that Republicans tried to hide from the American people revealed rock solid evidence that Brett Kavanaugh misled senators and the American people on his views about abortion and Roe v Wade. The emails revealed that, despite the show he put on in front of the Senate, Kavanaugh questions if Roe is “settled law” and thinks the Supreme Court “can always overrule its precedent.”
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The “committee confidential” emails released during the hearings showed that Kavanaugh made a series of false statements, under oath, during hearings for his current position on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and again at hearings for our highest Court. Then and now, his answers simply weren’t true.
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In 2004, 2006 and during his confirmation hearings, Kavanaugh lied about whether he used materials stolen from Democratic senators to advance President Bush’s judicial nominees.
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Kavanaugh made false and misleading statements on a number of issues, including his views on abortion, because he knows he would never be confirmed if the American public — and Republicans in the Senate — finds out his true beliefs, his true ideological agenda, and his dark past as a far-right wing political operative.
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Brett Kavanaugh used his Senate hearings to push lies and junk science often pedaled by the anti-choice movement. He referred to birth control as “abortion-inducing drugs”, a phrase that is not only widely disproven by scientific evidence but is also widely used by the extreme anti-choice movement.
In the past, Senator Murkowski has publicly condemned sexual assault and, in some cases, supported legislation to protects women and victims of sexual violence.
Past actions Murkowski has taken include:
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Proposing the government play a role in the #MeToo movement through the “EMPOWER Act,” which would prevent companies from using non-disclosure agreements to keep employees from speaking up about sexual harassment.
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Calling out the “culture of harassment & assault being exposed on a daily basis.” She went even further saying “Whether you are in the media, politics, or anywhere else abuse of power is unacceptable & shouldn’t be tolerated at any place at any level.”
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Writing an op-ed demanding that sexual assault survivors receive better care
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Introducing a bipartisan bill to increase access to forensic exams and care for sexual assault domestic violence survivors.
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Condemning University of Alaska Fairbanks’ negligence in sexual assault cases by saying, “Students should be assured of fairness, justice, and security on their campus”
Alaskans are rising up, standing in solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and against dishonest Brett Kavanaugh, and they’re paying attention to whether or not Senator Murkowski will do the same.
Alaskans rally on August 26, 2018 during Unite for Justice, the largest single-day protest of a Supreme Court nominee in history.