Hello my name is Sarah Lane and I work for Senator Merkley's campaign.
Today is the one year anniversary of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court. I'll never forget how I felt in the days leading up to the vote. Senators on both sides of the aisle knew that Christine Blasey Ford's allegations of sexual assault were credible, yet Republicans voted to confirm Kavanaugh anyway.
This was an affront to sexual assault survivors and to women everywhere. Senate Republicans were sending a message that sexual assault doesn't matter. Everyone who has survived a sexual assault, or knows someone who has, understands that the trauma inflicted often lasts a lifetime.
It was hard to stomach watching Republican Senators defend Kavanaugh, some of them even turning red in the face when coming to his defense, as if he were the victim in all of this.
But not Jeff Merkley. He fought for us with everything he had.
Jeff filed a court injunction to try and halt the confirmation, and he pressured other Senators to do the right thing. The night before the Senate voted to confirm Kavanaugh, Jeff even went to the Senate floor at 4 in the morning to read letters from sexual assault survivors.
For hours, Jeff spoke to an empty Senate chamber reading letters he received from survivors. Jeff made sure that their stories would be included in the official congressional record. Jeff wanted their voices to be heard, even if other senators didn't think it was important.
When I woke up the next morning and saw what Jeff had done in the wee hours of the night, it gave me a sliver of hope, that even in the darkest times in our country, we can find support in each other.
I'm proud to be able to work for Jeff Merkley. He's one of those people who really does empathize with others. We could sure use more Jeff Merkleys in the Senate.
Sarah
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Paid for by Jeff Merkley for Oregon.
