September 27, 2018

Read These Powerful Reactions to Christine Blasey Ford’s Testimony

“I am crying. Are you crying?”

James West/Mother Jones

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Christine Blasey Ford’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday sparked a range of supportive reactions from all corners of the internet. Survivors of sexual abuse and allies expressed solidarity with Ford, and even critics eager to see another conservative jurist elevated to the Supreme Court acknowledged the power of her testimony and the political danger it may pose for Republicans.  

Many observers on social media and cable TV simply acknowledged the emotional devastation of watching Ford tearfully recall details of her alleged assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

https://twitter.com/stellabugbee/status/1045327839724273668

Some journalists drew attention to the way Ford interacted with Republican senators, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and noted how it reflects the way women are socialized to be “collegial.”

https://twitter.com/lpolgreen/status/1045328277710286848

Other commentators fixated on the clinical terms Ford used to describe her assault and the trauma and anxiety she has experienced in the years since. 

https://twitter.com/ezraklein/status/1045332841557610497

Ford’s testimony even struck a chord with Fox News hosts like Chris Wallace, who called the hearing a “disaster” for Republicans. “Nobody could listen to her deliver those words and talk about the assault and the impact it has had on her life and not have your heart go out to her,” he said. He added, “She obviously was traumatized by an event.” 

Steve Schmidt, who managed John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, called the entire event a “political disaster” for Republicans and criticized the strategy of having Arizona sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell question Ford in lieu of the all-male Republican committee membership doing it themselves. 

Ford’s account of the assault was disputed by some right-wing commentators. On NRATV, the channel run by the National Rifle Association, host Grant Stinchfield said Ford was being used as a “pawn” by “people who hate the Constitution and Judge Kavanaugh.” 

 

Ford has described receiving death threats and hate mail since her name became public weeks ago. “I am here today not because I want to be,” she said during her opening statement. “I am terrified.” 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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