On Monday, Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) put on a show for reporters, ranting about the “men in this country” and telling them to “just shut up” with regard to the flimsy decades-old allegations of sexual assault launched at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at the eleventh hour.
“Guess who’s perpetuating all of these kinds of actions? It’s the men in this country. I just want to say to the men in this country, just shut up! And step up. Do the right thing for a change,” Hirono ranted, when asked about being one of four women on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Hirono said Kavanaugh’s accuser, a clinical psychology professor at Palo Alto University named Christine Blasey Ford, must be heard and believed.
“Not only do women like Dr. Ford, who bravely comes forward, need to be heard, but they need to be believed. They need to be believed,” she told reporters. “We cannot continue the victimization and the smearing of someone like Dr. Ford.”
“We have to create an environment where women can come forward and be heard and be listened to. I want to thank Dr. Ford. I commend her courage. I believe her,” she added.
Ford, however, will not be “heard” because she has refused an invitation to appear before the Judiciary Committee on Monday.
“She’s not prepared to talk with them at a hearing on Monday,” said Lisa J. Banks, a lawyer representing Ford. “No legitimate investigation is going to happen between now and Monday.”
The senator then told the press that she expects them to report on the how unfairly Ford is being treated, not Mr. Kavanaugh, who has completely denied the nonspecific and thin allegations held onto by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) since July.
“If the Republicans go forward with their plan to railroad this fast-track as they have so many other nominations, I expect the members of the press to talk about how unfair that is,” she implored. “I don’t think that is editorializing, that is laying out the facts. I expect that from you guys.”
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