There is absolutely no reason—political, moral, strategic, you name it—for any Democrat to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. There are plenty of good reasons for Democrats to vote against Kavanaugh, starting with the very basic one that a far-right partisan who has been credibly accused of multiple incidents of sexual assault should not be let anywhere near the Supreme Court. It’s also pretty stupid, when your party is trying to harness the energy of a hyper-mobilized base fueled by women and people of color, to have members of your party stick their necks out for a man who has become the ultimate symbol of elite, white, patriarchal anger and entitlement.
But don’t tell that to Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez! In an onstage interview with Wall Street Journal reporter Reid Epstein at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Friday, Perez was asked whether he thought it was acceptable for a Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh. After some hemming and hawing, he finally gave his answer: sure!
From the exchange, which was first flagged by The Intercept’s Ryan Grim:
PEREZ: There were Democratic senators who voted for Justice Gorsuch....there were Democratic senators who did that, and that is a fact. And those are Democratic senators that I have worked very closely with, continue to work very closely with, and are working to help get reelected. And so that is a fact, that’s the reality of what we see now.
EPSTEIN: And you would continue to work to reelect Democratic senators if they vote [for Kavanaugh]?
PEREZ: Of course we’re going to continue!
Again! Let me stress! At this point, voting against Brett Kavanaugh should be the most basic thing possible for anyone calling themselves a Democrat! This was true before his Senate hearing, but voting to confirm him after that hellish frenzy of male disgust at the mere idea of female power should get you run out of town instantly! When you say that it’s fine for Democrats to back him, you are saying that the rage and anguish and fear that people—especially women—feel about his potential confirmation is meaningless to you! This is not complicated!!!
As long as Democrats like Tom Perez keep selling out their voters like this, they will keep sending the message that there is no reason to trust them with anything.