Earlier this week, CNN interviewed five conservative women from Florida to get their thoughts on the sexual assault accusation made against Brett Kavanaugh. To viewers' horror, most of the women downplayed the allegation. They said that an incident that happened over 30 years ago cannot be used to indict Kavanaugh's character now.
“How can we believe the word of a woman of something that happened 36 years ago. This guy has an impeccable reputation. There is nobody that has spoken ill will about him,” Lourdes Castillo de la Peña, one of the focus group members, said
“But in the grand scheme of things, my goodness, there was no intercourse. There was maybe a touch. Really? Thirty-six years later she’s still stuck on that, had it happened?” Irina Villarino said.
“I mean, we’re talking about a 15-year-old girl, which I respect. I’m a woman. I respect. But we’re talking about a 17-year-old boy in high school with testosterone running high. Tell me, what boy hasn’t done this in high school?” Gina Sosa asked.
The segment, which aired on "Anderson Cooper 360," shocked many viewers due to the callousness of the women and their disregard for Christine Blasey Ford's claims.
This clip is not flattering to Kavanaugh supporters.
When an allegation of throwing a girl on the bed, pinning her down, trying to rip her clothes off & putting a hand over her mouth becomes "inappropriate touching at a party," you need to reevaluate your priorities. https://t.co/FMNejTt9jd— Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) September 22, 2018
A deeper look into the women interviewed show that they were not average Republican voters, as the chyrons suggested. Journalist James Surowiecki reported that three of the women involved were either a GOP political operative or a candidate who ran for office as a Republican.
1. CNN's framing of this segment was really irresponsible. This purported to be a focus group that would show what "Republican women" think of Kavanagh now. So each woman is identified as a "Republican voter." https://t.co/sV5eFUWTRL
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 23, 2018
2. But in fact the two women who dominated the discussion are not average voters - they're better described as GOP political operatives.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 23, 2018
3. The woman in the white sweater, Lourdes Castillo de la Pena, has served on the Republican National Senatorial Committee, and hosted a $1000-a-plate fundraiser for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign at her home.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 23, 2018
4. Gina Sosa, who made the now-infamous comment about how all 17-year-old boys have done something like this, was a congressional candidate in the GOP primary this year.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 23, 2018
5. Angela Vazquez is a Community Council member in Kendall, in Dade County. In other words, these were not GOP voters plucked off the street. They were, in large part, members of the GOP establishment in Miami-Dade.
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 23, 2018
CNN framed the focus group as a small, but credible sample of what Republican women were thinking about the Kavanaugh allegation. That CNN plucked three GOP operatives to use for the segment dramatically skews how that demographic actually feels about the situation. CNN has yet to comment on the criticism of the segment.
Watch the full interview below:
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