funny, that. good evening. i m mehdi hasan. it s estimated that 80,000 children could be the victims of sexual abuse in the united states every year. it is indisputably one of the worst crimes that you can think of. and child predator is just about the worst thing that you could call anyone. and yet, republicans have managed to weaponize child sexual abuse in recent weeks and turn it into a cheap political attack line. i want to begin tonight with how exactly we got here, why we find ourselves at this absurd juncture, and what could possibly come of it. think of how judge ketanji brown jackson was treated by top republicans on the judiciary committee at her supreme court hearings, with the republicans even now still claiming that the democrats are putting a child abuse enabler on the nation s
worst crimes that you can think of. and child predator is just about the worst thing that you could call anyone. and yet, republicans have managed to weaponize child sexual abuse in recent weeks and turn it into a cheap political attack line. i want to begin tonight with how exactly we got here, why we find ourselves at this absurd juncture, and what could possibly come of it. think of how judge ketanji brown jackson was treated by top republicans on the judiciary committee at her supreme court hearings, with the republicans even now still claiming that the democrats are putting a child abuse enabler on the nation s highest court. and anyone who says otherwise, well, they hate children. have been told things like, child pornography is actually all a conspiracy. it s not real, it s just a conspiracy. it s made up. let me just say for the record, sex crimes against children are not fiction. do you believe child predators are misunderstood?