Isn’t it interesting how here in Minnesota, abuse allegations against state attorney general candidate Keith Ellison and Brett Kavanaugh, appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court last week, have become a litmus test for many voters as to which party they support?
Many Democrats are willing to ignore Mr. Ellison’s domestic abuse accusers while at the same time claiming Mr. Kavanaugh is unfit for the U.S. Supreme Court because of accusations of sexual abuse against him. Vice versa, Republicans who were calling out Mr. Ellison’s alleged sins just a few weeks ago were willing to turn a blind eye to Mr. Kavanaugh’s in hopes of filling a vacant seat on the highest court in the country before midterm elections.
It seems people are only willing to listen to women’s accusations when it is politically expedient for them to do so.
This was made abundantly clear recently in a tweet from District 18 representative, Sen. Scott Newman of Hutchinson.
In response to a Pioneer Press story about the allegations against Mr. Kavanaugh, Sen. Newman tweeted, “Even if true, teenagers! Frankly, I don’t believe her. Almost 40yrs and now she self righteously comes forward to save us from a dangerous sex offender. This type of allegation seriously jeopardizes women with a legitimate claim, for who will believe them.”
Putting aside the first line of his tweet, which seems to excuse attempted rape as youthful indiscretion, the rest of Sen. Newman’s remarks attack Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation on the premise that it’s too old to be true or she would have come forward sooner. This, of course, ignores the fact that sexual abuse is one of the most unreported crimes in the world.
Sen. Newman’s tweet also seems to ignore what is happening in Catholic churches around the world with victims of abuse coming forward decades later. Does he believe they are also lying? What about Bill Cosby, who was sentenced Sept. 25 for sexual assault. Are his accusers less credible for coming forward years after the alleged incidents?
We don’t know what Sen. Newman believes about these other cases because he has not responded to inquiries, but we do know one thing: If a woman wants Sen. Newman to believe her abuse allegations, she need only accuse members of his opposing party.
In an Aug. 31 tweet, Sen. Newman weighed in on allegations against Ellison that were highlighted in a New York Times article. He tweeted, “Read this and then decide if Keith Ellison should be your next Mn Attorney General. Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, two state legislators. What’s the difference between them and Ellison?”
We agree with Sen. Newman that the allegations against Mr. Ellison are troubling. But we would also ask Sen. Newman: What’s the difference between them and Mr. Kavanaugh?
Many of the women who have accused the men listed in Sen. Newman’s tweet came forward years later. Why are they more credible than the women accusing Mr. Kavanaugh?
Perhaps we should give Sen. Newman partial credit for a tweet he retweeted last week from U.S. Senate candidate Karin Housley, which read in part, “Regarding the Judge Kavanaugh allegations — Every accuser deserves to be heard.” But he should be able to make his own comments on Twitter — or better yet, on the record with a newspaper.
While Sen. Newman’s tweet last week was unfortunate, we should thank him for bringing to the spotlight the political hypocrisy these two abuse allegation cases have shown on both sides.
As for Sen. Newman’s point at the end of his tweet, claiming that allegations such as the one against Mr. Kavanaugh will jeopardize women with legitimate claims, we believe he’s off base.
The length of time victims took before coming forward with allegations has not damaged other abuse cases such as those in the Catholic church, nor should it. What does jeopardize women with allegations is when people are only willing to listen when it suits their political leanings.
Sen. Newman and anyone else wading into these controversies would do right by themselves and the victims if they avoid this mistake in the future.
