The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Advocates join Lamont in blasting Brett Kavanaugh
HARTFORD — Women’s rights advocates and members of the General Assembly on Friday joined Democratic candidate for governor Ned Lamont in supporting an FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
They said Kavanaugh’s combative appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee displayed a temperament unsuitable for a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court.
Calling the Kavanaugh candidacy a threat to women’s health in Connecticut, several of the advocates joined Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz, his running mate, in demanding a public statement from Republican Bob Stefanowski on the issue. On Wednesday, during a televised debate, Stefanowski declined to offer an
opinion on the controversy.
“The Affordable Care Act is going to be at risk if Kavanaugh’s on the Supreme Court,” Lamont said under a cold drizzle of rain on the steps of the state Supreme Court here. “I don’t know where Bob stands. He took a pass. You cannot take a pass. You want to know where people stand.”
He said Christine Blassey Ford’s accusations of an assault during high school deserve an investigation, which is also supported by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican.
Bysiewicz, a former state lawmaker and secretary of the state, said abortion rights are at stake with the potential conservative shift in the court.
“This is a state issue,” she said. “The president has said he wants to overturn Roe versus Wade. That issue is coming directly to Connecticut, to our State Capitol, to our state Supreme Court. Our next governor will be called upon to nominate men and women to our Supreme Court and other state courts.”
Kate Hamilton-Moser, vice president of the state chapter of the National Organization for Women, said that Stefanowski’s pronounced support for President Donald J. Trump is stunning and a threat to women who depend on Planned Parenthood, which conservatives want to cripple. “If Stefanowski’s plans are enacted, that means that nearly 74,000 women will lose access to contraceptives, pap (smears) and mammograms,” she said. “That health care is crucial to Connecticut.”
“Rights are going to be jeopardized if Kavanaugh is approved for the Supreme Court,” Lamont said shortly before the Republican majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in favor of the nomination.
Stefanowski, in reaction, said in a statement that he has already said that allegations of sexual assault “absolutely” must be taken seriously.
“Our United States senators should carefully examine the entirety of the testimony, witnesses statements and evidence before the vote,” Stefanowski said. “However, I am running for governor of Connecticut and not for United States Senate. The coming election is about Connecticut and the issues we face here. While I have no decisionmaking authority over nominations to the United States Supreme Court, as governor, I will ensure that any and all nominations I make to Connecticut's courts are individuals who are highly qualified and have demonstrated outstanding moral character.”