GOP can’t sweep Kavanaugh bombshell under the rug

This past weekend, yet another bombshell exploded that this White House has to deal with. President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, has been accused of sexual assault over an incident that allegedly occurred while he was in high school.

Republicans have up until now tried to ram this nomination down the throats of the American public, almost as if they were afraid something like this would come out. But the outcry to have Kavanaugh’s accuser be heard overwhelmed the GOP, and they were forced to delay the vote and plan to hear both sides next week.

{mosads}Before this past weekend, everyone seemed to feel this allegation would not derail the GOP’s plans. Then, the allegation became a name and a face and not just an anonymous accusation that could be easily dismissed.

Republicans must now ensure Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh’s accuser, is heard publicly and thoroughly and for Kavanaugh to respond. The effort must be genuine, not hurried or unserious. Then, the vote must be delayed and a full FBI investigation must occur.

Anything less would be a slap in the face of justice, the search for truth and the rights of sexual assault victims.

If the vote is not delayed for robust investigation, it would not only be a bold statement that denigrates women, it would put Republicans in a state of even greater political peril with women voters on the eve of the midterm elections.

Republicans cannot afford to continue being painted as the party that is anti-women, especially when the current gender gap is at all-time high and when the president is so unpopular among female voters — the last CNN poll shows women disapproving of Trump at a whopping 65 percent.

These allegations are very serious and disturbing. This does not mean that we should take it as gospel that Blasey Ford, currently a college professor in California, was assaulted by Kavanaugh. But it does mean that the details are so vivid and descriptive and have been corroborated at least in some fashion that they deserve a full airing and an investigation.

This is not a last-minute Democratic ploy to derail Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) received the private allegation in the summer but at that point the accuser did not want to go public — for good reason.

She was afraid of exactly what is happening to her now. She is being threatened with violence, her family is in the spotlight, and she will never be the same again. 

Feinstein honored the wishes of the alleged victim. Her lawyer has said as much. She kept the information private as long as she could. She turned it over to the FBI with the name redacted. But the leaks then started coming as journalists kept digging. That is when the the alleged victim decided to come out on her own.

In this case, the alleged perpetrator pinned her to a bed, put his hand over her mouth and tried to take her clothes off. Had he not been stumbling drunk, Professor Blasey Ford believes Kavanaugh would have raped her.

Kavanaugh is now on the verge of joining the highest court in the land and would be passing judgement on life and death issues — and very possibly on issues of sexual assault, harassment or the rights of women and girls.

Any person who is even remotely capable of committing an act like what Professor Blasey Ford describes is not fit to be a Supreme Court justice.

It is also worth remembering that Professor Blasey Ford even took a polygraph test administered by a former FBI agent. That agent said it showed she was credible and truthful. Will Kavanaugh be willing to take a polygraph test?

At least President Trump has said that a delay in the vote would be OK. But will he be willing to call for the FBI to investigate? Will he pull the nomination if it is clear that the professor’s allegations are more credible than Kavanaugh’s denials?

Will Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pull the nomination if he does not have the votes? Will Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) be the ones to believe Professor Blasey Ford and vote against Kavanaugh?

Can the party that is already seen as anti-women afford to be the party that supported the nominations and the confirmations of what would be two Supreme Court justices that have sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations against them?

That would not be a politically savvy long-term road for Republicans to take. But we know that Republicans have had blinders on since Trump was elected. We also know that Trump has a lot of heavy baggage when it comes to allegations of sexual harassment and assault, baggage that continues to hurt the Republican Party.

It would be smart for Republicans to stop retaining political baggage that continues to hurt them with female voters. They need to hear out Professor Blasey Ford fully and completely, and they need to allow for an FBI investigation to take place if they really want to get to the truth.

A position on the highest court in the land deserves nothing less.

Maria Cardona is a principal at the Dewey Square Group, a Democratic strategist and a CNN/CNN Español political commentator. Follow her on Twitter @MariaTCardona.