The catastrophic handling of this nomination and its contempt for Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is a defining moment for millions, for whom business as usual will no longer do.

We are in a political climate that is already transformed, after another year of relentless Trumpism, from the one in which Neil Gorsuch got his successful shot at the high court. Not only that, but the battle over Brett Kavanaugh has plumbed a deep well of anger and pain that was waiting to come to the surface.

Kavanaugh has helped us to see all too clearly what the stakes are for women, for workers, for racial equity, LGBTQ Americans, and the environment when the right captures our courts – and those stakes are far too high. We have arrived at this clarity through a painful process, but we have arrived, and with a midterm election right around the corner. And that’s just the beginning.