On Sunday, Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser ditched her anonymity, putting a name behind the allegations whispered around Washington, D.C. Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, came forward as the author of the letter detailing an alleged encounter with Kavanaugh in the early 1980s. Ford told The Washington Post that Kavanaugh attempted to rape her at a high school party.

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This article was originally published at Salon

Prominent conservatives and right-wing pundits have been up in arms over the revelation. They’ve mostly been enraged that this might impede his nomination to the Supreme Court.

One right-winger, Stephen Miller, a columnist for Fox News’ website, tried insisting that Ford did not even allege sexual assault or rape.

This was not a sexual assault. It was not a rape. There are discrepancies in the story. It never came up in hearings. We’ve seen this before. Hold the vote. Confirm him. Be done with this charade. — Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) September 16, 2018

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This was a bizarre claim on the part of Miller considering Ford’s description of events was quintessential sexual assault. Ford told The Post that Kavanaugh pinned her on her back, groped her, grinding his body against hers as he tried to rip off her clothes. Ford said that when she attempted to scream, Kavanaugh put his hands over her mouth to silence her.

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Other conservatives have tried to argue that this was a blatant hit job on Kavanaugh orchestrated by desperate “leftists” and Democrats who hope to stop Kavanaugh’s nomination.

https://twitter.com/JesseKellyDC/status/1041416994501873664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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Regardless of the veracity of the Kavanaugh claim, Democrats handled this matter, allegations of a disqualifying & criminal nature, with the most politically motivated disregard for the credibility of the accuser. A true masterclass in undermining all future survivors. Well done. — Tiana Lowe (@TianaTheFirst) September 16, 2018

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Conservatives have pointed to Ford’s previous political donations to suggest that she had an ideological axe to grind when she came forward with the allegation. Ford donated $72 dollars to Democratic groups in a four-year period.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, has donated money to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Friends Of Bernie Sanders. pic.twitter.com/VDvolMqQrj — Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) September 16, 2018

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Other right-wing commentators have compared Ford to Anita Hill, the lawyer who accused Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.

Here we go. Anita Hill redux. https://t.co/y4KH0ARrRP — Brit Hume (@brithume) September 16, 2018

That Fox News media critic Brit Hume would rush to make the comparison was odd considering many people believe Hill’s accusations were credible and, to this day, think Thomas should be impeached.

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One Republican politico, Conn Caroll, the communications director of Sen. Mike Lee, has suggested that Ford’s allegation was not credible because she did not name Brett Kavanaugh when she first revealed what happened to her back in 2012.

https://twitter.com/conncarroll/status/1041385237622730753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Senators, who now control the fate of Kavanaugh with a vote next week, have clearly been informed about the allegation and some have even spoken out about the matter. Sen. Lindsey Graham has called on Ford to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee as soon as possible so that senators can hear what she has to say without delaying the vote.

Wow–Sen. Graham calls for the Senate Judiciary Committee to immediately schedule a meeting with Christine Blasey Ford to hear her allegations of sexual assault by Judge Kavanaugh (should she so choose), so they can proceed with the nomination process as scheduled https://t.co/f8O6tcHn4C — Sara Cook (@saraecook) September 16, 2018

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Sen. Susan Collins said she was “very surprised” about the allegation and indicated she would have to talk with her colleagues about the matter.

Susan Collins tells @gregclarycnn she‘s “very surprised”re Kavanaugh allegation and “it’s an issue that I brought up with him last Friday and he denied” it. Asked if committee should vote this week, she said: “I’m going to be talking with my colleagues,” declining further comment — Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 16, 2018

Democratic Sen. Dick Durban said that the vote “must be postponed” until the FBI investigated the claims.

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