Congressman Jim Renacci (R-OH-16), who is running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, issued a statement Saturday applauding the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.
I’m pleased the Senate has confirmed Brett Kavanaugh. He is a thoughtful jurist with a proven respect for the Constitution. I believe he will make an excellent Supreme Court Justice.”
Renacci, a Republican businessman, has been closing the gap on Brown in recent weeks, though he still trails in the polls.
Kavanaugh was confirmed by a vote of 50-48. The pivotal votes came from Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona along with Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Only one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against Kavanaugh.
Brown, meanwhile, put out a video statement on his Twitter account pandering for liberal votes at the #OhioWomensSummit. In this video he boasted of his vote against Kavanaugh and said he “believed” his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, who offered no evidence or corroborating witnesses to back up her claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago.
To Sherrod Brown, it was guilty until proven innocent as he offered kudos to Ford and other women who came forward with “stories” of abuse. Factual or not, it apparently doesn’t matter to Brown, as long as the accused is a Republican.
Brown’s cavalier acceptance of an unfounded accusation comes despite his own court-documented record of spousal abuse.
He said he decided to vote against Kavanaugh “before Dr. Ford came forward. But I’m grateful she did, even at great personal cost. I believe Dr. Ford. I’m grateful to her and all the brave women who were inspired by her to speak out and share their own stories, including those who have written my office. We see you and we hear you. Your story matters and you make a difference.”
Brown also thanked the liberal mainstream media that piled on Judge Kavanaugh, reporting vicious and baseless accusations as though they were fact. He called the journalists who report for these media outlets “vital to our democracy and right now they do not get the respect that they deserve.”
Listen to his monologue below:
The #OhioWomensSummit begins with a video from Sherrod: “The theme of the conference—‘together we rise’—is a rallying cry for all of us. It’s always been ordinary Americans organizing in schools & church basements & union halls who’ve sparked movements that changed this country.” pic.twitter.com/Pv9zU3tE0g
— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) October 6, 2018
Sherrod Brown has chosen partisanship over listening to Ohioans, voting against Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
“Predictably, Sherrod Brown stood silently as his fellow liberals in Washington turned the confirmation process into a circus and attempted to smear the good name of a well-qualified judge,” said Bob Salera, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in an email to The Ohio Star.
It was clear from the start, Salera said, that Brown’s only aim was to cozy up to the liberal base as he contemplates a presidential run in 2020, and that Brown would vote against any nominee put forward by President Trump.
“Ohioans deserve better than a Senator like Sherrod Brown, who puts his own political career ahead of his constituents,” Salera said. “Sherrod Brown has once again sided with the far-left base over families back home, and Ohioans won’t forget.”
Brown says “we hear you” to women with stories of abuse. But his eagerness to listen only applies to women who accuse Republican men, facts or no facts. When it comes to his own abusive background, or that of other Democrat men like former President Bill Clinton and Congressman Keith Ellison, the senior senator from Ohio has no time to listen.
Brown also talks in the video about making sure women “have a seat at the table” of power. But for Brown that only means liberal women. The millions of women who voted for Donald Trump or who will vote for his opponent, Renacci, don’t matter.
Brown cited Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as a “rising star” and one of his favorite members of the Senate. Harris is perhaps the most far-left of all senators and led a walkout of Democrats on the Judiciary Committee last week in what was clearly a partisan sideshow meant to rally the Democrat base in an election year.
Mandi Merritt, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said most women voters will see through Brown’s hypocrisy. He released the following statement:
Today, Sherrod Brown sided with the circus that is the Democrat Party by voting against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The disgraceful way in which democrats behaved over this confirmation process makes it clear that their party is only focused on obstruction and resistance, no matter how foolish it makes them look. Voters will remember how Sherrod Brown conducted himself when they go to the polls next month.”
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Anthony Accardi is a writer and reporter for The Ohio Star.
