Collins’ Speech should be taught in Every Civics Class

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Friday, Oct. 5, 2018, released this statement applauding Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) for announcing her intention to vote in favor of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Graham was on the Senate floor and listened to Senator Collins’ address. “Senator Collins’ floor speech in a word, wow. It will go down in history as one of the most thoughtful, reasoned explanations of support of a Supreme Court nominee. Unlike most Kavanaugh critics, she actually took the time to do her job. She read his opinions, she had in-depth interviews, she listened to the accusers, and she applied a process of the rule of law versus the rule of the mob. She rose to the occasion. If we had legitimized the coordinated efforts at character assassination, it would have destroyed the Judiciary over time and eroded constitutional principles that protect every American. Senator Collins’ speech was one of the most consequential speeches in the history of the United States and did a lot to protect the independence of the judiciary. It should be required viewing in every civics class in America. The country needed what Susan Collins provided; reason, facts, and an understanding of who we are as a nation. She rejected winning at all costs and the politics of personal destruction. Finally, Senator Collins eloquently expressed the plight of abused women, sexual assault victims and the hell they go through. Senator Collins, in my view, also understood that the allegations have to be viewed through a logical, constitutionally-sound process, and that unfairly destroying Judge Kavanaugh’s life under these circumstances would not advance any just cause.”