The Daily Signal - Ep. 283: Time's Up Wades Into Supreme Court Battle

Episode Date: August 27, 2018

As Judge Kavanaugh gears up for his confirmation hearings beginning Sept. 4, the atmosphere has grown increasingly tense. Time's Up, originally a legal fund designed to help those impacted by sexual assault and harassment, has now weaponized its power to influence the Supreme Court fight. Our colleague Kelsey Harkness joins us to explain the danger of this and why their messaging is inaccurate, Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, August 27th. I'm Jenny Maltabano, contributor to the Daily Signal. And I'm Daniel Davis, commentary editor for The Daily Signal. On today's show, we'll discuss the latest on Capitol Hill and how being labeled as a hate group is impacting one conservative think tank. We also spoke with our colleague Kelsey Harkness about the Me Too movement, Times Up, and Judge Brat Kavanaugh's upcoming confirmation hearings. We'll also share your letters to the editor and an inspiring story about my hometown of Houston. one year after Hurricane Harvey. Molly Tippett's suspected killer's lawyer appeared on Fox News's The Story with Martha McCallum where they had a tense exchange

about his client's immigration status, highlighting the contentious debate ongoing in the US about this topic and this case specifically. From Mexico and has lived in Iowa for four to seven years. So I failed to see how that's irrelevant or how bringing that in is not part of the facts that surround this case. How is it, how is it not?

That's rhetoric. The United States Constitution provides, if you're not a citizen, you still are entitled to the jurisdictions of the courts and entitled to equal protection under the law. I don't think anyone said he wasn't. What people are saying is that he arrived here illegally from Mexico four to seven years ago. That's your rhetoric on it. It's not rhetoric. I'm part of an aggrowing society. That's what the immigration officials are saying their reports indicate. Our colleague Rachel Del Judas went down to Iowa to talk to folks about how they're feeling as Morfax come out about this tragic case and we'll certainly continue to follow this story at the Daily Signal. Well, in the wake of horrific school shootings, the Department of Education is weighing the possibility of letting states and localities arm their public schools with the help of federal funds. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is looking at one grant program in particular called the Student Support and Academic Enrichment.

program. Unlike some grant programs, this one does not explicitly prohibit the use of funds for purchasing firearms. So under the program, she could potentially give approval to state and district plans to use grant funding for firearms and for training. A number of school districts already armed their teachers using their own funds. Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky needed 60 votes to add a key provision to a massive spending bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood. The vote came down 45. to 48. Paul gave a fiery statement afterwards saying, quote, I will never apologize for standing up for life. If it took exposing the preference of so many of my own party to continue reckless spending over protecting the innocent, it was a fight worth having. Well, David Delighton came

into the national spotlight three years ago when he dropped 14 undercover videos exposing the work of Planned Parenthood. It was nothing short of a political earthquake that ultimately forced the CEO of Planned Parenthood to defend her organization before members of Congress. But it turns out Delidon has a dozen more videos, but they're being blocked by a judge in San Francisco. The gag order stems from a lawsuit filed by the National Abortion Federation. Last week, Delidon went on Fox News to discuss the matter with Tucker Carlson. How does a single judge have the right to end your First Amendment right, your constitutional right, to freedom of expression? He doesn't, Tucker, and that's what's so blatantly unconstitutional

about the gag order that Judge William Oreck at the behest of his friends at Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation has issued against me in the Center for Medical Progress against releasing the further extensive undercover videotapes that we have of top-level Planned Parenthood abortion doctors and executives networking at the National Abortion Federation's annual meetings. These are some of the biggest abortion trade shows in America that happen every single year. And Judge Oreck, for his part, is the founder of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Northern California in San Francisco. He helped open and run and fund this Planned Parenthood clinic for many years before he was a judge. And now he's somehow the judge who is sitting in

judgment over these lawsuits brought by Planned Parenthood and their proxies of the National Abortion Federation trying to shut down my freedom of speech, the freedom of speech of all pro-life Americans and really of any citizen journalists. These are some of the most damning and incriminating videotapes that we ever recorded undercover, and they're being held back right now by this biased federal judge in San Francisco. The conservative think tank, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, cannot accept donations made via credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard because those credit card companies are blocking the transactions. Why? Well, the Southern Poverty Law Center referred to by the Daily

Wire as a, quote, militantly left-leaning watchdog organization labeled the conservative a think tank as a hate group. In an email to its supporters, the think tank said, quote, this blow could be the end of the Freedom Center. Decades of work down the drain because the hateful left wants to squash free speech and silence an organization that dares to question them. Well, you can read more stories at thedailysignal.com and even better, subscribe to our morning bell email newsletter. We created the morning bell to be your one-stop source for credible news reporting and insightful commentary on the issues that are shaping the agenda. You can subscribe today and get it.

delivered to your inbox each weekday morning. Sign up now at daily signal.com. Just click on the connect button at the top of the page and subscribe today. We'll be right back with this week's interview with our colleague Kelsey Harkness. Brett Kavanaugh being appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now, this is a rally that was organized by almost 20 different groups. It's called a working women will hashtag stop Kavanaugh. When we tried to talk to, though, people part of this hashtag stop Kavanaugh, Morgan, our producer, went up to about 11 different folks, and nobody would talk to us. So that was our colleague Genevieve Wood outside the Supreme Court, where, as you heard, there was a rally against President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh.

Daniel and I are joined by our other colleague, Kelsey Harkness of the Daily Signal, who was also down there at the rally. Kelsey, thanks for joining us. It's great to be here. Can you describe the purpose of this rally and what you witnessed while you were down there? Yes, well, earlier in the week, last week, I received a press release that I found quite interesting and I might even say alarming. It was from the Times Up campaign. Times Up is a legal defense fund that was started by a bunch of celebrities in response to the Me Too movement. They took this Me Too movement and asked how can we do something helpful in response to it? And what they did was organize this legal defense fund to provide services, legal services, and legal advice for free to working women who otherwise might not be able to afford those services in order to fight back against sexual harassment, assault, anything like that that they are facing in the workplace.

So this movement, Me Too, and the Times Up campaign were two things that I decided to get behind. I don't see these as partisan issues. Sexual harassment and assault happens to women, no matter their political perspectives. We actually saw this movement begin, in part, I would argue, thanks to some of the women at Fox News, who started speaking out like Gretchen Carlson. I don't think they're often given the credit they deserve for being willing to take on this fight. So what that press release said in my inbox that I received was that the Times Up campaign was co-hosting this rally that our colleague Genevieve and myself were at last week. and the rally was to fight against the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

On one hand, to those listening, you probably are like, I'm not surprised. Of course, any organization like this is going to get involved in the latest political fight. But the problem is, Me Too and Times Up should not be political organizations. We have plenty of groups, organizations and nonprofits that are waging these fights. You know, look at the women's march, for example. They're involved with fighting the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. You have all these pro-choice organizations, pro-abortion organizations. There's no shortage of quote-unquote women's groups doing this work.

So my question is, why does an organization, like Times Up, need to put themselves in the middle of this highly political fight, probably the most important political fight of the year, if not, the decade? at really the expense of ostracizing half of the women. And that's my big question that I attempted to pose to them when I walked over to that rally. I did speak to one of the organizers of Times Up, and I could tell they were not going to grant me an interview. They were quote-unquote trying, but magically that interview just never happened. and so I kind of just said to them, hey, let's be real with me. It's pretty obvious you don't want to do an interview with me,

but can I just ask you why you decided to put Times Up out there as a political organization when there are so many women who actually do support the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh that you're now going to ostracize and leave out and really fuel some anger, I guess, towards the Times Up campaign because I know a lot of because, I know a lot of conservative women who now, because of this, will want nothing to do with the Times Up campaign, which is really a shame because sexual harassment and assault is something that all women, from all political persuasion, should be able to get behind. Yeah, I mean, it doesn't really make sense.

I mean, that's the original reason that they were created is something that we should all be able to get behind. I think is very nonpartisan, and to see it weaponized like this for a specific political purpose. So tell me, were they the main. the main group that was there represented or were there other groups that you wouldn't also necessarily expect? Times Up was one of the main organizations there. There were some other quote-unquote women's groups, and I say quote-unquote, because over 40% of women voted for President Trump in the last election. and, you know, we can, we can, I think it's safe to assume that because of that, close to half the women in our country actually support the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. So I don't think it's fair for these organizations to get up on a stage and speak for all women when they know, according to polls, according to statistics, they're actually only representing half of women in the United States.

And what bothers me even more about this is that it's not. not only women who are getting up there on stage and speaking and telling us what victims we will become if Judge Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court, it's also men. I'm from Connecticut and my senator, Senator Richard Blumenthal was up there at this rally speaking. and his message was that women will be victimized if Judge Brett Kavanaugh gets confirmed. And I personally find that deeply insulting. It almost sounds like he's talking down to me, like I need a man to tell me what a victim I am. I'm really sick of it. I think most conservative women are sick of it because most of us know we will always continue to face

injustices in our lives. There'll be times we need to stand up. There'll be times when we need to use groups like Times Up. We need to use their services, but that doesn't mean we're victims. We have a legal system. We have rights in the United States. We have every opportunity to stand up for ourselves. Kelsey, something that we heard at the rally that we've been hearing consistently from these left-leaning groups is that Judge Brett Kavanaugh is dangerous for women. They'll say women, everything is at stake. You don't understand. You don't understand. Why is that kind of narrative? Well, firstly, it's dangerous, but also untrue. There's so much fear and bongering going on regarding Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and they're constantly pulling the women's card. And I actually

look back at the little, I guess, feud, if you want to call it, between Trump and Sessions. When Sessions put out a very strong statement saying he puts the law before any sort of politics or personal relationships. And if you think back to his confirmation process, there was so much fearmongering going on then about he can't possibly put the rule of law first. And this is the same thing we're hearing when it comes to Judge Brett Kavanaugh,

that he won't be able to put politics aside and he'll make rulings that are unfair for women. And I think that statement from Attorney General Jeff Sessions was a perfect example that the men and women that are being nominated for these very important positions in the United States, they really do value the law and they're going to put that above anything politics are personal. I see that in Judge Brett Kavanaugh. He actually has a lot of women advocates out there talking, you know, trying to break down this false narrative that he is somehow dangerous for women. it's just really not the case.

Especially when you look at how many clerks he's had that were women and they've vouched for him openly saying that he's fantastic. Yes, so I don't want to give anything away, but we have a really awesome video coming up on the Daily Signal that I'm very excited to publish where myself and a couple of other, my Daily Signal colleagues, interviewed some of these female clerks who clerked forward. Judge Brett Kavanaugh about why they think he'll be an advocate really for women once he's in

the Supreme Court. And their experience in clerking for Judge Brett Kavanaugh is very different from what you're hearing at these rallies. It's very ironic that this was sort of a working women's rally. And you didn't hear from any working women who actually worked for the very person. They're protesting. And then on top of that, the organizers wouldn't agree to do interviews with anybody on our Daily Signal team who are all also working women who decided to attend this rally. So there's just so much hypocrisy going around. We're trying to fight it. We have an awesome video coming up on the Daily Signal. And I hope you all stay tuned for that. Well, Kelsey, we can't wait to see it and we'll continue to follow it here at the Daily Signal.

Thanks for joining us. We'll be back with your letters in just a moment. Do conversations about the Supreme Court leave you scratching your head? Then subscribe to SCOTUS 101. a podcast breaking down the cases, personalities, and gossip at the Supreme Court. One of our favorite parts of the show is reading your letters. Jenny, what's up first? Well, first up, Audrey Thieler writes, quote, Judge Brett Kavanaugh's opponents don't want someone on the Supreme Court who will go by the law and the Constitution.

They want someone who will decide the question based on social justice, then convoluted the law to fit that decision. We already have enough of those judges. And Anthony Alifero writes, quote, On the Money article by David Harsani. Democrats do not want real Supreme Court justices who actually follow the Constitution and U.S. law. The Constitution has always been a roadblock to every hard left scheme like socialism. All forms of stateism, which is what the Democrats strive for, require a government that has powerful control over the people.

The more control government has, the less freedom the people have, and the Constitution is the defender of freedom. It's that simple, end quote. Well, your letter could be featured on next week's show. Send an email to letters at dailysignal.com or you can leave a voicemail message at 202-608-6205. We'll be right back with some good news to start your week. A year ago, Hurricane Harvey hit my hometown of Houston, Texas, and the surrounding areas. It left unimaginable damage and destruction, but it also united Houstonians and Texans bringing out the best in our city. One hero stands out. Mattress Mack, owner and founder of Gallery Furniture, opened his stores to people displaced

and donated an incredible amount of furniture, food, and money to the people of Houston. His service to the city was so impactful that the Houston Astros even gave him a World Series ring to commemorate his actions. And one year later, Mattress Mac still isn't done. He appeared on the Today Show to announce he's donating $10,000 in furniture and $3,600 in accessories to 32 Houston families, take a little. Listen. Well, Daniel, what a great man. He's certainly a hero. I know you have some Texas fruits as well. It's incredible to see the progress that the city has made a year later.

It really is. And, you know, those emergency funds from the federal government and the state at the state level, too, those were critical. But really, seeing individuals band together and do their part is what I found very inspiring. And actually, one of those, I remember your brother who was actually down there helping people. I mean, ordinary folks like that, banding together, it was very inspiring. It was. All right, we're going to leave it there for today. Thank you all so much for listening. The Daily Signal podcast is broadcast from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio and is available on Rurcay, along with the problematic women and the right side of history. All of our shows can be found at daily signal.com slash podcasts. You can also subscribe on iTunes SoundCloud Stitcher or your favorite

podcast app. And if you like what you hear, please leave us a review or rating. Be sure to follow us on Twitter at DailySignal and Facebook.com slash the Daily Signal News. The Daily Signal podcast will be back tomorrow with Kate and Daniel. Have a great week. You've been listening to the Daily Signal podcast, executive produced by Kate Trinko and Daniel Davis, sound design by Michael Gooden, Lauren Evans, and Thalia Rampersad. For more information, visit DailySignal.com.