Sen. Dean Heller, one of the nation's most vulnerable incumbents, made light of attempted rape allegations.
Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) blithely dismissed credible claims of sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as "a little hiccup" on a recent VIP conference call.
Heller insisted, without ever hearing from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, that Kavanaugh will be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate.
Ford claims Kavanaugh held her down, groped her, and tried to rip off her bathing suit at a high school party.
"We got a little hiccup here with the Kavanaugh nomination," is how Heller described attempted rape, according to the Nevada Independent. Heller continued, "we'll get through this and we'll get off to the races."
Heller must have forgotten the Republican plan of at least pretending to want to hear from Ford before moving forward.
Heller's comments add to the evidence that Republicans were never interested in the truth of the allegations leveled against Kavanaugh.
The Judiciary Committee's planned Monday hearing was a sham designed to give political cover to senators like Heller, who clearly already made up his mind.
Heller's casual dismissal of sex crimes, and his confidence that Republicans will ram through Kavanaugh's nomination, paint a troubling picture of a senator fighting an uphill re-election battle.
Heller is usually listed as the most vulnerable Republican senator in the nation, and is facing a challenge from Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen.
Heller's spineless flip-flopping on the issue of health care has been a major point of contention in the race up to this point. But now, less than seven weeks before the midterm election, he decided to minimize and dismiss sexual assault in a state that backed Hillary Clinton over self-professed sexual predator Donald Trump.
"I hope Senator Heller knows that when he shamelessly dismisses allegations of this magnitude against a nominee seeking a lifetime appointment to the nation’s highest court, Nevada women are listening," said Rosen spokesperson Molly Forgey in a statement. "Make no mistake, we will hold Senator Heller accountable at the ballot box."
Trump, who endorsed Heller, is traveling to Nevada on Thursday to hold a rally for Heller and other Republicans in the Silver State. Ahead of Trump's visit, Heller said, "I'm really grateful for the White House, for the effort of President Trump and what he has done."
Dismissing the assault of a high school girl as a "hiccup" is in line with Heller's embrace of Trump, and a dismissal of sexual assault survivors everywhere.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
