Test your knowledge! Match the following statement to the person who said it, and the situation in which they decided to speak up!
STATEMENT
- “For a woman to come forward in the glaring light of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets the facts, whether or not it’s been made worse or better over time.”
- “I found her testimony to be sincere, painful, and compelling. I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life. Nevertheless…”
- “There are several very good reasons a woman might change her initial account…to something more serious–a strengthening conviction; a new courage. But…”
- “I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.”
- “We have to sort of societally change that mindset to believing women, but that does not mean at the expense of not giving men their due process and investigating situations.”
- “The [redacted] I know is somebody who really has fought for women and empowerment of women and for women’s equality and rights.”
- “These are false accusations in certain cases and in certain cases even the media agrees with that.”
- “I appreciate that [redacted] took a lot of questions, tough questions. And [redacted] answered them directly and respectfully…his answers were credible and convincing.”
- “All I can say is he has denied this and I feel bad that this is happening to him.”
- “This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap.”
- “‘Believe the woman’ didn’t mean believe all women, all the time. But this is an era of slogans and we’re paying the price for that.”
- “…there are several factors in this story that severely undermine her credibility as a witness.”
- “[Redacted] said it was ‘curious’ that no charges were brought forward for decades…”
- “This story changes more often than the weather.”
- “Y’all, I’m sorry, but I have little patience for a group of people willing to destroy an innocent man so they can keep killing kids. And that’s exactly what this is about.”
- “I have been falsely charged numerous times. And there is such a thing…I guess in a way, you could say I’m sticking up for him.”
- “I’m saying unequivocally, it never, never happened.”
- “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation.”
WHO SAID IT?*
- A. Stacey Abrams
- B. Joe Biden
- C. Lucia Brawley, opinion writer for CNN
- D. Erick Erickson, noisy blogger
- E. Alyssa Milano
- F. Susan Collins
- G. Anonymous and infinitely annoying liberal twitter account “The Hoarse Whisperer”
- H. Donald Trump
- I. Orrin Hatch
- J. Lindsey Graham
- K. Kamala Harris
- L. Elizabeth Warren
- M. Ben Cohen, writer for the Banter
- N. Brett Kavanaugh
- O. Off-the-record advisor to a potential Democratic vice presidential candidate
*Some people on this list may have made more than one of the above statements.
ABOUT WHICH SITUATION?
Red: When Christine Blasey Ford accused Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape.
Blue: When Tara Reade accused Joe Biden of digital penetration and sexual harassment.
ANSWER KEY:
- B, Red. “For a woman to come forward in the glaring light of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets the facts, whether or not it’s been made worse or better over time.” Joe Biden regarding Brett Kavanaugh
- F, Red. “I found her testimony to be sincere, painful, and compelling. I believe that she is a survivor of a sexual assault and that this trauma has upended her life. Nevertheless…”- Susan Collins regarding Christine Blasey Ford
- C, Blue. “There are several very good reasons a woman might change her initial account…to something more serious–a strengthening conviction; a new courage. But…” – Lucia Brawley for CNN regarding Tara Reade
- A, Blue. “I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.” – Stacy Abrams, Reade
- E, Blue. “We have to sort of societally change that mindset to believing women, but that does not mean at the expense of not giving men their due process and investigating situations.” – Alyssa Milano, Biden
- K, Blue. “The [redacted] I know is somebody who really has fought for women and empowerment of women and for women’s equality and rights.” – Kamala Harris, Biden
- H, Red. “These are false accusations in certain cases and in certain cases even the media agrees with that.” – Donald Trump, Kavanaugh
- L, Blue. “I appreciate that [redacted] took a lot of questions, tough questions. And [redacted] answered them directly and respectfully…his answers were credible and convincing.” – Elizabeth Warren, Biden
- I, Red. “All I can say is he has denied this and I feel bad that this is happening to him.” – Orrin Hatch, Kavanaugh
- J, Red. “This is going to destroy the ability of good people to come forward because of this crap.” – Lindsey Graham, Kavanaugh
- O, Blue. “‘Believe the woman’ didn’t mean believe all women, all the time. But this is an era of slogans and we’re paying the price for that.” – Off-the-record advisor to a potential Democratic vice presidential candidate, Tara Reade
- M, Blue. “…there are several factors in this story that severely undermine her credibility as a witness.” – Ben Cohen of the Banter, Tara Reade
- J, Red. “[Redacted] said it was ‘curious’ that no charges were brought forward for decades…” – Lindsey Graham again, Kavanaugh
- G, Blue. “This story changes more often than the weather.” – The Hoarse Whisperer, Tara Reade
- D, Red. “Y’all, I’m sorry, but I have little patience for a group of people willing to destroy an innocent man so they can keep killing kids. And that’s exactly what this is about.” – Erick Erickson, Kavanaugh
- H, Blue. “I have been falsely charged numerous times. And there is such a thing…I guess in a way, you could say I’m sticking up for him.” – Trump again, Biden
- B, Blue. “I’m saying unequivocally, it never, never happened.” – Biden again, Biden
- N, Red. “I categorically and unequivocally deny this allegation.” – Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh
