Bill Lee: “it is an understatement to say that the last few weeks have been unusual in Senate history. I have never seen anything…”

“it is an understatement to say that the last few weeks have been unusual in Senate history. I have never seen anything like it in the 8 years that I have been serving in this body. Every day when we show up to work, as we walk to our offices, we have to walk through a sea, a mob, of angry protestors, people screaming, shouting, yelling things at us--not pleasant things. In many instances, Members have to be accompanied as they walk to and from their offices, to and from the Senate floor where they cast their votes, to and from their committee hearings, in and out of rooms where they have to conduct their business. This is unusual. It is unpleasant. It is relatively unprecedented, certainly, in the time that I have been here. It is unfortunate and unnecessary. You see, this is not how the process is supposed to work. This is not what the Constitution contemplates or requires in connection with the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee. It doesn't need to work this way, but in this case, it did. It did because a lot of people, starting with a small handful of people, made a deliberate choice to depart from the norm, to depart from rules, practices, and operating procedures that are designed to protect the innocent and the guilty, designed to protect accusers and the accused, designed to protect the privacy of people who come forward with allegations as well as those who have been nominated to serve in high positions. The allegations brought forward by Dr.…”