Collins criticized Democrats and far-left activists for their behavior during the confirmation, saying that the process was reduced to a \u201cgutter\u201d affair and hit\u2026<\/b>
\nCollins criticized Democrats and far-left activists for their behavior during the confirmation, saying that the process was reduced to a \u201cgutter\u201d affair and hit \u201crock bottom.\u201d
\u201cCertain fundamental principles about due process, the presumption of innocence, and fairness do bear on my thinking and I cannot abandon them,\u201d Collins said while addressing the central matter of the last several weeks: Christine Blasey Ford\u2019s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high school party in 1982.
While Collins called Ford\u2019s testimony \u201csincere\u201d and \u201ccompelling,\u201d she could not disregard the complete lack of corroboration \u2014 denials of any memory by every witness who Ford claimed was present at the party, plus Kavanaugh\u2019s own \u201cforceful denial.\u201d
Collins stressed that the confirmation process was not a trial and did not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt to disqualify Kavanaugh. Instea,d she only demanded Ford\u2019s accusations be \u201cmore likely than not\u201d true. Collins did not find Ford\u2019s allegations against Kavanaugh to meet even this standard.
Furthermore, she tore into allegations from Julie Swetnick \u2014 represented by Resistance TV lawyer Michael Avenatti \u2014 that Kavanaugh had drugged and facilitated the gang raping of several women. She called these claims \u201coutlandish\u201d and \u201ca stark reminder of why the presumption of innocence is so ingrained in the American consciousness.\u201d
Collins began her eagerly anticipated floor statement began shortly after 3 p.m. to the sounds of shouting and chants from anti-Kavanaugh protesters, like so many of the proceedings over the months-long confirmation process. She launched promptly into an attack on the forces arrayed against Kavanaugh, lamenting their hysterical behavior compared to the five other \u201csolemn\u201d Supreme Court confirmations in which she participated.
The moderate Maine senator expressed her outrage at organizations that forcefully opposed Kavanaugh before even copy-and-pasting his name into their material and Democrats who announced their intention to end Kavanaugh\u2019s nomination before hearing a word of testimony.
Collins then, in stark contrast to the weeks of controversy over uncorroborated accusations about Kavanaugh\u2019s behavior as a teenager, dug for over 20 minutes into Kavanaugh\u2019s 12-year record as a federal judge and his judicial philosophy as gleaned from extensive Senate Judiciary Committee testimony and her own meetings with the nominee.
On privacy, healthcare, executive power, and his ability to fairly judge the president who nominated him, Donald Trump, Collins one-by-one addressed Kavanaugh\u2019s opponents\u2019 concerns. On the centrally important issue of abortion, the pro-choice Collins gave a lengthy refutation of the notion Kavanaugh would overturn Roe v. Wade.
She pointed not only to Kavanaugh\u2019s record and explanations of his philosophy on the Roe precedent but abortion proponents\u2019 long history of exaggerating the threat to Roe from Republican nominees in general, pointing to signs from David Souter\u2019s 1990 confirmation process that read \u201cStop Souter or Women Will Die.\u201d<\/p>\n

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