Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Milwaukee County Republicans this week tweeted an image of 85-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the caption "Abraham Lincoln grabbed my ass in 1862," drawing fire from Democrats and victim advocates who said the tweet trivialized sexual assault.

The tweet was posted Monday morning amid a firestorm of debate over accusations of sexual assault and misconduct facing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. It was deleted Tuesday after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Associated Press contacted the chairman of the county party.

"It’s clear that sexual harassment is a joke to them. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have to endure this public humiliation," Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa (D-Milwaukee) said in response.

Milwaukee County Republican Party chairman Sam Hagedorn, who is the father of Supreme Court candidate Brian Hagedorn, did not return a phone call.

The Republican Party of Jackson County also on Friday shared a story on Facebook about South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman making the same joke, with the comment "I think this is hilarious!"

After seeing the Milwaukee GOP tweet, Ian Henderson of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault said making light of accusations of assault can have a chilling effect.

"Trivializing sexual violence is never a good thing," Henderson said. "Unfortunately, it sends a message that minimizes the impact of sexual violence and can provide yet another reason why (a) survivor may choose not to report. The impact of sexual violence on survivors is not lessened simply because it happened a long time ago."

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Christine Blasey Ford, a research psychologist and professor at Palo Alto University in California, has accused Kavanaugh of taking her into a bedroom, holding her down and trying to remove her clothes at a party when they were both in high school in the 1980s, according to the Washington Post.

Ford also alleged Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand to prevent her from crying out and that his friend turned up music to muffle noise. Both Ford and Kavanaugh will testify before a Senate panel this week.

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying in an interview with Fox News Monday that he's "never sexually assaulted anyone, in high school or otherwise."

"I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone at some place, but what I know is I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone,” he said.

Other allegations of sexual misconduct have surfaced since Ford's claims were made public, which have drawn criticism from some Republicans who say the claims have not been reported responsibly and without adequate corroboration.

Trump calls claims 'con game'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed claims made by former Yale University classmate Deborah Ramirez, who has accused Kavanaugh in an interview with The New Yorker of exposing himself to her at a party in college.

According to the Washington Post, Trump told reporters following a speech at the United Nations that Democrats were playing "a con game" and dismissed Ramirez's claims because she was “totally inebriated and all messed up."

The Milwaukee County Republican Party tweet comes after Democrats last week criticized the chairman of the 3rd Congressional District Republican Party over his tweets regarding the Kavanaugh nomination and Ford's accusations.

Chairman Brian Westrate, who is critical of the process by which the accusations have been handled by Democratic leadership, said while Ford should be heard, her claims are not credible, in part, because Kavanaugh has been investigated by federal authorities multiple times, because the claim lacks witnesses, and because it occurred more than two decades ago.

"I’m willing to believe that she believes what she is saying is true but that doesn’t make it true," he said in an interview.

Westrate, in leveling his criticism, tweeted he wanted to run for office "so I can learn about all the liberal women I apparently had relations with that I have never met, and can't remember."

In another tweet, Westrate compared the accusations to a ploy by an 11-year-old character in the 1993 film "The Sandlot" who pretends to drown in order to kiss a lifeguard.

The tweets drew the ire of Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairwoman Martha Laning.

"As a mother of two daughters, I am disturbed that the Republican Party would exploit a woman’s trauma to sow political division," Laning said. "Women deserve to be believed and heard when they come forward with allegations like Dr. Ford’s. It isn’t an easy thing to do, certainly not when political leaders like Mr. Westrate question your motives.”

Westrate pushed back, saying, "Any Democrat in power saying that tweets responding to this eleventh hour accusation are attempting to making political hay of this woman’s accusations is the height of hypocrisy."

He said the tweets are "satire" and said he did not intend to make light of assault.

"This claim itself I do not find credible, and my complaint is not with Professor Ford," he said. "I have problems (with) how it has been handled by the Democrats."

Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Mark Morgan said Friday that Laning's "political attacks ring hollow" because Wisconsin Democrats have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years from Mark Bakken, co-founder of Nordic Consulting in Madison.

The Madison Equal Opportunities Commission found probable cause in 2014 that a female employee at Nordic Consulting in Madison was sexually harassed and then fired in retaliation for complaining about how she was treated.

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"We commend the leadership of our Republican elected officials who want to ensure that both Judge Kavanaugh and his accuser are heard," Morgan said.

A spokesman for the state Republican Party did not respond to questions about the Milwaukee County GOP's tweet.

Henderson, whose organization connects victims with services and advocates for their interests to policymakers, said, "We want survivors to know there are resources and support out there for them in Wisconsin no matter how long ago the assault happened."

Henderson said victims of sexual assault should visit https://byyoursidewi.org/, a website of resources put together by WCASA and the state Department of Justice.

Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.