WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton says the time for civility is over.

After the bitter and partisan fight over the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the former secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate declared that President Donald Trump has undermined the integrity of the nation's highest court and that it's time for Democrats to be "tougher" with their opponents, in an interview with CNN published Tuesday

"You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about," Clinton told CNN's Christiane Amanpour. "That's why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that's when civility can start again."

Clinton said that Senate Republicans under Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., "demeaned the confirmation process" and "insulted and attacked" Christine Blasey Ford – who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about a sexual assault she alleges Kavanaugh committed in 1982 – along with other "women who were speaking out."

Clinton compared the handling of Kavanaugh's confirmation to "Republican operatives shutting down the voting in 2000," the "swift-boating of John Kerry," attacks on former Arizona Sen. John McCain in the 2000 Republican primary and "what they did to me for 25 years."

"When you're dealing with an ideological party that is driven by the lust for power, that is funded by corporate interests who want a government that does its bidding, you can be civil but you can't overcome what they intend to do unless you win elections," she told Amanpour.

Clinton compared Kavanaugh's swearing-in ceremony at the White House on Monday to a "political rally" that "further undermined the image and integrity of the court."

She told Amanpour the effect on the court "troubles" and "saddens" her "because our judicial system has been viewed as one of the main pillars of our constitutional government."

"But the President's been true to form," Clinton added. "He has insulted, attacked, demeaned women throughout the campaign – really for many years leading up to the campaign. And he's continued to do that inside the White House."

After the Kavanaugh confirmation, Clinton said her husband, former President Bill Clinton, told her that "Democrats have to be tougher."

"Bill had to be incredibly strong – first to get elected, then to get re-elected and to survive," she said. "And it was not easy by any means, obviously."

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