Even as he continues to denounce Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as an enormous threat to women and declare that the judge’s sham confirmation process is a “vivid illustration” of why it’s crucial for Democrats to retake the Senate in November, Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Tom Perez outraged progressives on Friday by suggesting that the DNC would continue to stand behind any Democrat who decides to vote yes on Kavanaugh.
Asked by Wall Street Journal reporter Reid Epstein if the DNC would “continue to work to reelect Democratic senators if they vote” for Kavanaugh, Perez briefly ducked and dodged before finally answering, “Of course we’re going to continue.”
While several red-state Democrats who were previously viewed as possible yes votes for Kavanaugh—such as Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Jon Tester (Mont.), and Joe Donnelly (Ind.)—vowed to vote against his confirmation after hearing the compelling testimony of his accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) are still undecided.
Watch Perez’s comment, which came during an on-stage interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas on Friday:
Perez’s remarks were quickly denounced by progressives as both an egregious political mistake and a betrayal of the millions of women and allies who have been working tirelessly to defeat Kavanaugh, who has been credibly accused of sexual assault.
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