Healing the Divide: Partisanship cheapens debates on important social issues

Political parties often utilize social movements and the interest groups behind them to their advantage: A concrete movement entails a concrete audience, which parties can rely on to be included in their voter base. For example, the Republican Party has supported the National Rifle Association through policies and platform points, creating an inclination for NRA members to vote red.

It’s a no-brainer: 77 percent of NRA members are registered Republicans because the party often acts in the group’s best interests. And as long as GOP politicians continue to support legislation in favor of the NRA’s objective, this symbiotic relationship will persist.

This relationship between social movements and political parties is an ingrained component of the American political system. But it crosses the line when it involves the issue of sexual assault — an issue that should not be used as a political bargaining chip. Bargaining has occurred on both sides of the aisle, at the expense of sexual assault survivors.

Democrats employed this technique to halt the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by harnessing supporters of the #MeToo movement to discredit Kavanaugh.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein kept Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford’s story private for three months. Ford’s information about Kavanaugh became public knowledge six days into his confirmation process. This late revelation shows how Feinstein, along with other members of the Democratic Party, used the subject of sexual assault as a political strategy. It seemed they hoped to pressure senators to vote against Kavanaugh and demobilize Republicans until after the midterm elections.

Republicans lashed back against Democrats’ efforts, entirely ignoring the issue of Ford’s sexual assault. By racing to swear Kavanaugh in, the GOP blatantly ignored Ford’s testimony and the moral ineptitude that Kavanaugh could potentially represent as a Supreme Court justice. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham heard Ford’s heart-wrenching testimony and, hours later, proceeded to viciously attack her.

The diabolical fight between these politicians completely threw a wrench in the political process, preventing a timely, bipartisan hearing and vote from happening properly. The Kavanaugh hearings showed the dark effects of political polarization and completely demeaned the #MeToo movement.

The Democratic Party has also politicized the Black Lives Matter movement. The topic of police misconduct was raised nationally by Black Lives Matter leaders and activists, but has been adopted as part of the Democratic agenda. It’s positive that sexual assault and misconduct is receiving attention from the Democratic Party, but during such a time of political polarization, this could potentially hinder social change.

Though the Black Lives Matter movement received commendable national attention, it’s crucial to note that pressure from political polarizations distracted politicians from the movement’s cause. Almost immediately after the Democrats began discussing it in the 2016 primary debates and featured the mothers of police brutality victims in their national convention, Republicans quickly aligned themselves with the (falsely equivalent) Blue Lives Matter movement. Despite the awareness the Democrats helped these activists gain, the party was hindered from fully supporting the movement because it was derailed by political adversity. Now, police officers are still acting out of aggression and both reformative efforts face serious hostility and opposition — despite sharing the common goal of achieving improved relationships between citizens and police.

While the #MeToo movement is publicly associated with liberal values, but sexual assault must remain a bipartisan issue. Sexual assault cannot become partisan; it is an issue that affects everyone, regardless of age and gender. As a nation, we must unite and confront sexual violence, and not repeat the mistakes that political parties have made by aligning themselves with social movements.

Arianna Scavone is a junior majoring in communication and law, history and culture. Her column, “Healing the Divide,” runs every other Thursday.