Posted on 10/11/2016 4:42:13 PM PDT by Kaslin
Let’s cut to the chase—this has become the worst presidential election this country has ever seen.
My brief reprieve from the election spending time with family in the Rocky Mountains this past weekend was short lived. Upon my return Sunday, I found out the political world had exploded.
I read about the leaked audio of Donald Trump and Billy Bush coupled with the condemnation and calls to drop out of the presidential race, but I waited to actually watch the video. And when I finally did, I was appalled—disgusted, yet sadly not surprised.
You see, I’m used to this kind of rhetoric—from bartending amidst drunken patrons in college, to a former relationship with a morally bankrupt individual, this isn’t worth my time crying over. And my guess is that sadly, most other women are used to this kind of talk too. We grow up learning to deflect unwanted sexual advances and are constantly bombarded with projections of worth based solely on our looks instead of our minds. This is not news to us, it’s just normal.
So when I say I was not shocked by Donald Trump’s use of the “P” word, I mean it. I had actually come to expect that kind of language. What sickened me was the word “grab.” He isn’t talking about “sex” on that recording. He is talking about power—his power. The hallmark of assault is an exercise by the perpetrator of power and control, and that is what he was describing.
It was the final tipping point for me. Faced with that kind of evidence, my failing to speak up would just condone this type of magniloquence, and that is not advocating for victims—my personal mission since day one.
The presidential nominee’s comments and vulgar dialogue were truly deplorable. No man—or human being, should ever think grabbing anyone, ANYWHERE without consent is acceptable. Period. And if you cannot understand that concept, we seriously need to have a talk. I don’t care how much money, talent, fame, or power you think you have, unless you have consent, you have nothing.
Furthermore, this was not “locker-room talk,” it is a gleaming example of rape culture. “Locker-room talk” is about bodily functions and bowel movements, not assault. Objectification of women, though not respectable, is still “locker-room talk.” Unchecked admissions of sexual assault are not. Need I continue?
Chalking his braggadocios conversation up to “locker room talk” and simply saying he regrets his words is NOT an apology, it’s an excuse. And quite frankly, an apology is nothing more than words if you continue the same exploitative behavior.
But let’s talk about exploitative behavior a little more. Don’t think that this is an isolated event because it has proliferated our country and found its way to the top of our presidential tickets. Hillary Clinton, in ways fit only for a “House-of-Cards” portrayal of a criminal’s rise to political power, is just as evil in her own unique way. We have seen her excuse her own husband’s assaults not by remaining a loyal partner, but by degrading and intimidating his victims. You can’t run for public office claiming to champion women if you don’t practice what you preach and start by believing (a pillar now absent from her campaign website).
If not for money, power, and political fame, both of these people would be held to a far different standard, likely in a court of law.
I have been struggling the same way many of you out there have been with who to support. Neither candidate represents the type of person or party I want carrying my banner.
With the Supreme Court at stake, I do not want a president like Hillary Clinton looking to fill those vacant seats with justices more concerned with their own judicial activism and popular opinion than they are with doing their jobs and interpreting the constitution as it was written. These are the types of decisions that will impact all of our lives on a day-to-day basis in this country.
My personal principles are not guided by my politics, but rather my politics are guided by my personal principles. I have always remained unabashed in advocating for victims of crime and everyone’s human right to defend themselves. But right now, those two convictions are in the national spotlight, seemingly pitted against one another.
If you truly want to make a change with less than a month until election day, do whatever you wish with the top of the ticket. But you can also join me in focusing on races that will help ensure the next President of the United States remains in check. The House and Senate have never been more crucial to protecting our constitutional rights than they are now. And if you want to make a change after the election, hold others in your life to the same standards as you currently hold these candidates.
Is it rape culture when people say they have someone “by the balls”, meaning they have the upper hand? Same difference.
How many women have come out saying Trump assaulted them? How many women have come out saying Bill Clinton assaulted them? Al Gore?
If you compare Trump to Jesus, he comes up wanting. If you compare him to Hillary, it isn’t even a close decision.
Its an entrepreneur with a big mouth against open criminality. Its a billionaire real estate tycoon against a billionaire embezzler and shake-down artist.
While Trump was building buildings the Clintons were selling AIDS-infected blood to Canada, covering up cocaine smuggling, selling secrets to China, missile guidance systems, crypto, anyone remember the episode at Los Alamos? selling uranium to Russia, absconding with Haitian reconstruction money, actually they have a history of shenanigans in Haiti going back a long time... losing billions out of the State Department budget...
They have industrialized bribery and skullduggery. They have carried it to levels we haven’t seen in our lifetimes. Donald talks dirty in private. The Clintons abandoned men to their deaths in Mogadishu and Benghazi, and Donald Trump talks dirty in private.
If the 3am phone call comes, Trump won’t hide while his underlings make up cover stories. He’ll say what he thinks and right or wrong we’ll always know he is saying what he really thinks. He won’t jail some hapless dweeb while the terrorist who killed our boys walks free.
Does anyone remember after Mogadishu, Clinton ordered our air force guys to chauffeur Aideed all over the world. The guy who killed our men in the Black Hawk Down episode never paid a price. The guy who led the attack in Benghazi likewise never paid a price; he said, “they know where I am if they want me” to reporters who interviewed him. Can you imagine Donald letting the guy who killed our ambassador go free?
But Donald talks dirty in private. Have you read what Hillary says in private? It will make your hair stand up.
No, its a rape culture when a swiss woman in a wheelchair asks to use the restroom in a refugee center.
Townhall really is scraping to bottom of the barrel.
You’re sick for that comment, but I’m sicker for LOL’ing.
Oh, I don't know.
All depends of what your definition of "worst" is...
It has been far and away the most exciting and entertaining in a couple of decades.
Sanctimonious or not, I did not think there was a homo sapiens in the United Sates that was unaware of the images and behavior that were reported out of Woodstock...
Of course, anyone younger than 58 literally can't have a clue.
Of course this virginal twinkletoes snowflake is in her personal thirty-something universe.
It's all about her.
Just wait 'til she learns about the babies in blenders thing...
laughable article
Furthermore, this was not “locker-room talk,” it is a gleaming example of rape culture.
Another example of how a LOT of Republicans, especially in leadership, have completely bought in to and embraced Political Correctness.
Hench the moniker "Cuckservative."
Wrong. This is the best election ever. This is exactly the election that this country needs right now. Even if they plan to vote for him, too many people tell me that Trump is the worst candidate ever, except for Hillary. Au contraire -- Trump is the only candidate that could possibly have made it to this point with an anti-establishment agenda. Few of the 16 other candidates would have been measurably different from Hillary, and the the few that were weren't up to the job.
Go Trump!
"Kimberly, obviously your story is horrific, and the strength you've shown in telling your story and being here tonight is remarkable." -United States President Barack H. Obama
Butthurt Bushie author?
Anyone who would use the phrase “rape culture” is a far-left activist.
Regardless if they oppose gun control or not.
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