Posted on 11/22/2017 8:37:46 AM PST by Kaslin
The Democratic Party is trying to figure out how it feels about sexual misconduct when the accused party is an elected or prominent Democrat. After many years of reflexive excuse-making, victim-mocking and wagon-circling on Bill Clinton's behalf, a number of Democrats and liberals are belatedly coming around to the stance that perhaps he should have been run out of office in the late 1990's after all. Others are forcefully pushing back in his defense, while still others are contorting themselves in order to blame for their own moral confusion and inconsistency on Republican partisanship, or whatever. Presented with 'The Bill Question' on MSNBC, Democratic Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono wasn't too excited about dwelling on the past. Via the Free Beacon
Dem Senator on Bill Clinton Sexual Misconduct: Let's Move Forward
"Do you agree with your colleague, Senator [Kirsten] Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) that if this happened today with Bill Clinton, with his accusers, that he should have resigned back then?" Tur asked. "Well the whole question of resignation, once again, in my view, he went through an impeachment process as a result of his actions," Hirono replied. "I certainly do not defend his indefensible actions. But let's move forward," Hirono continued. "You know, talking about Bill Clinton should not be a shield to the rest of us talking about what we are going to do about this going forward." She went on to say that people should focus on how we are going to "change our culture" with regards to sexual harassment.
What really matters is how we deal with with sexual harrassment and misconduct today, you see. Forget about accountability; the past is the past. (By the way, it's interesting to hear a Democrat frame the impeachment process as something of just punishment for Clinton's actions, considering that the entire party screamed 'partisan witch hunt' at the time). But since Hirono has averred that the emphasis should be on the here and now, and determining how best to "change our culture" on these issues, should Sen. Al Franken resign? After all, he's been freshly accused of groping by two women, and he's currently a sitting Senator. Like, right now. Your thoughts, Ms. Hirono?
“I think that that is a distraction to be talking about resignation, because what’s really at the bottom of this whole issue of sexual harassment is that it is pervasive in our culture,” Hirono said...Most lawmakers have called for an ethics investigation into Franken. Hirono said Tuesday she believes it’s appropriate to let the investigation play out. “I’m glad that this is coming to the fore now because myself and every woman that I know has endured sexual harassment of one sort or another,” Hirono said. “I hope that we’re reaching some kind of tipping point in our country that this kind of behavior not only is acknowledged but comes to an end,” she added. She then attacked President Trump, who on Tuesday downplayed allegations of sexual misconduct against Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.
Ah. Serious allegations of sexual assault Bill Clinton is old news. We must "move forward." But talking about whether a Democratic politician newly accused of sexual misconduct ought to resign is a big distraction from the real issues (relatedly here's a New York Times columnist backing away from her initial call for Franken to step down). And the 'real issues' are outrageous Republican things like Donald Trump defending Roy Moore. For a lot of people, it feels as though this is just tribal politics, all the way down. Speaking of which, also courtesy of the Free Beacon, here's another Democratic Senator unwilling to say whether Franken or John Conyers (woman number two has come forward) should leave office. Liz Warren is hedging and dodging on Franken, too. As for the Conyers matter, it looks like he lied at first about being unaware of the sexual harassment settlement; Democratic reactions have been mixed thus far, with Nancy Pelosi backing an ethics investigation. By the way, how is it possible that payouts to victims of misconduct from elected members of Congress can be kept secret from the taxpayers who foot the bill? Josh Barro rightly calls that status quo intolerable:
Settlement documents obtained by BuzzFeed show that Conyers is alleged to have made repeated sexual advances on female employees, in one instance directing an employee to come to his hotel room and then instructing her to "touch it." BuzzFeed also reports that two staffers alleged that they were given the task of transporting, at taxpayer expense, women with whom they believed Conyers was having affairs. (Conyers on Tuesday denied settling any sexual-harassment complaints with staff members.) But there's one aspect of BuzzFeed's report that makes me concerned the tab for settlements in Congress is much larger than the $15.2 million in payments that have been reported from Congress' designated settlement fund over approximately two decades. (These settlements are not just for sexual harassment; they can be for employment discrimination and other matters.) ... I understand there are non-ridiculous arguments for confidential settlements. Confidentiality may be preferred by victims in addition to the accused. But in this instance, the public interest in disclosure is overriding. We as taxpayers deserve to know how our money is being used, and we as voters deserve to know which elected officials are misbehaving egregiously at work.
Amen. I'll leave you with this:
Republicans are split right down the middle on this question, even though Donald Trump -- accused of sexual harrassment by multiple women -- won nearly 90 percent of GOP voters last year. Democrats break heavily against the notion of a serial harasser (they likely interpreted this as a question about Roy Moore or you-know-who), even though they did precisely that twice in the 90's, then nominated the guy's wife and cheered him lustily throughout the 2016 cycle. As I said, tribal politics, all the way down.
It’s not about sex. It’s about power. Don’t you get it?
Yep. Franken knew he wasn’t going to get any sex from that lady. So he used his fame and power to humiliate her.
That is correct, but you can’t explained it to these lying demonrats.
Lets all just moveon.org
Spit.
5.56mm
Time to move on is when Bill and Hillary Hag Clinton are rightfully accused and prosecuted for ‘pay to play’ with the Clinton Foundation from countries all over the world;
Time to move on is when Hillary Hag Clinton is rightfully accused and prosecuted for killing our men in Benghazi;
Time to move on is when Bill and Hillary Hag Clinton is brought up on RICO charges for selling our Uranium to Russia...
When all this happens in a Court of Law with REAL LAWYERS, under oath with a jury of American Voters and tax payers and are sentenced either for Treason, sedition, death or behind bars until they die is when it is time TO MOVE ON!!!
When you engage illicit behavior and you are in a position of power, YOU SUSCEPTIBLE TO BLACKMAIL!
How insulting AND CRIMINAL does it have to get before people wake up to the truth - the man committed a crime. Theft is a crime.
Congressmen abuse women then pay them off with MONEY THEY STEAL FROM TAXPAYERS? And what? We're suppose to accept an ‘apology’ written by a professional speechwriter? It doesn't work that way in flyover... if we steal we're arrested. Congressmen have committed a crime. The system is: arrest and trial in front of fellow citizens. IT'S NOT TO CRAFT AN APOLOGY.
DEAL WITH THEFT AS A CRIME.
If CONGRESSIONAL ELITES HAVE committed CRIMES they should be arrested and tried by a jury. I don't care if a women ‘forgive’ a rapist (after receiving large sums of hush money) - if it's a CRIME it should be treated as a crime. Even include the ‘presumption of innocence ’ which is part of our system...innocent until proven guilty...
When Bill Clinton raped a woman it was NEVER UP TO HILLARY TO ‘FORGIVE’ HIM. It was never up to Bill Clinton to ‘forgive’ Hillary for making a hundred thousand in the markets in six months either. That was a crime too and should have been treated as a crime.
I don't care if his party pushes him out... I trust the people to elect their own Representative IF THEY ARE GIVEN ALL THE FACTS AND NOT THE WHITE WASHED LIES THE CORRUPT PRESS PUTS OUT THAT PROTECTS DEMOCRATS AND SQUASES REPUBLICANS.
PUT IT ALL OUT AND LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE.
OH, AND IF THE CREEP USED TAXPAYER MONEY TO PAY OFF WOMEN HE ABUSED ARREST HIM FOR THEFT. THE JERK IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW.
I don't even care if Conyers’s wife ‘forgives’ him for robbing a bank if he robbed a banks too... or if the ‘bigs’ in Congress ‘forgive’ him for stealing from citizens. They ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ‘FORGIVE’ CRIMES AGAINST CITIZENS.
APOLOGIES ARE NOT PART OF OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. I DON'T CARE IF A BANK ROBBER ‘APOLOGIZES’ OR NOT... I DON'T CARE IF HIS WIFE ‘FORGIVES’ HIM. WHAT KIND OF APOLOGY WOULD WE ACCEPT FROM A MAN WHO MURDERED HIS WIFE? EVEN IF HE HAD THE APOLOGY FOCUS GROUP TESTED AND WRITTEN BY A FIRST CLASS SPEECH WRITER?
He broke the law - arrest him and let a jury decide. That's how our system works. Congress does NOT have the Constitutional right to ‘forgive’ or offer pardons. Slap up the corrupt FBI and tell them ELITES ARE NOT ABOVE THE LAW.
I might have known that it would be one of my dumbass reps from here in the communist republic of Hawaii.
Only when Slick is punished for his crimes.
bttt!
STOP MOVIN' 
Vorwärts (forward)- slogan of the Nazis.
And not a single Democrat senator voted guilty.
I’m fine with that so long as it’s a prison cell in front of him.
Amen, amen, Liz.
Lots of justice needs to be dished out before we MOVE ON!
Won’t happen
But those of us going through it can challenge the status quo
For those of us working types there is 2 types of school
Pay school. Until kindergarten (known as preschool to others )
Free school. K-12
Now more power to parents who can spend 10-40k $ to protect their little snowflakes Or homeschool cause the wife doesn’t have to work
But for us regular types (contractor here ) Free school is it
Now you have to pick. A nice neighborhood. That’s the key
The liberal women at the free school can’t argue with me
Why ? Cause I’m all about math
Let’s MoveOn.Org all over again.
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