This follows the "retirement" of Representative John Conyers, D-Michigan, the longest tenured member of Congress. He had been accused of sexual impropriety by several of his staffers. Moreover, his name was discovered on the recently revealed list of Members of Congress who have had private settlements made to complainants. These "hush payments" were designed to gag accusers by having them sign off on agreements to not blab about transgressors. It is a shameful practice that has been in place for over 20 years:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/17/over-the-past-20-years-congress-has-paid-17-2-million-in-settlements/?utm_term=.db2189eaf0b8
Yuck. Especially when one considers that such payments are supplied by ... YOU. Yes, taxpayer money is the source for these payments. Franken never made the list - most of his accusers go back to his pre-Senate days. Conyers was responsible for a $27,000 payment.
But wait, there seems to be something wrong with this picture. These Democrats remove themselves from the scene (willingly or not), but no Republicans? Does "The Party of No" mean No Shenanigans? Is the GOP truly God's Own Party?
Say "hello" to Representative Blake Farenthold, R-Texas. This sugar bear was on the list, too. He's worth over $5 Million dollars. But $84,000 of your taxpayer money went out to shut up his sexual misconduct accuser. But Farenthold has not resigned, is not planning and is under no real pressure to do so. It's Tribe over Morals in the GOP.
Speaking of Tribal, consider the case of probable incoming Senator Roy Moore, R-Alabama. He has been accused of sexual assault by at least 9 women. But they weren't women when these incidents occurred. They were early-to-mid-teens. And he was in his early 30's, and a District Attorney who apparently enjoyed prowling a nearby mall to pick up young 'uns. He developed enough of a sketchy local reputation to be banned at the mall.
But when this info was revealed, he denied it all, despite the 30 sources corroborating the story. Instead, he accuses his accusers of being godless sluts who are out to get him. And he brings up the usual rage points in Alabama of Gays, Socialists and Liberals as being behind these false allegations.
And how his opponent, Doug Jones, a former US prosecuting attorney, wants to free murderers and allow abortions for full term babies, and prolly wants to eat them, too.
Moore will probably win this special election. Because the GOP backs him. And Doug Jones was responsible for this terrible stain on Alabama justice:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/11/09/an-alabama-senate-race-conjures-the-awful-1963-church-bombing-that-killed-4-black-girls/?utm_term=.016915d1bfca
Yep, Doug Jones, "soft on crime", is the prosecutor who fought the KKK and put away the flower of Alabama's White Supremacists into prison for killing those four girls. That's not something that White Alabamians forget. They can claim to not believe Moore's many accusers, and that Moore is a strong Christian man... but deep down, it's about how Doug Jones embarrassed Alabama by finally catching the culprits. Oh, the Deep South really is like a crazed William Faulkner novel.
And then there is our President, who strongly backs Moore and has ridiculed Jones (of course). President "I Moved On Her Like A Bitch" Trump. Leading up to Franken's announcement, Trump had tweeted a series of thoughts about the Minnesota senator, reveling in his opponent's situation.
The upside-down in all this is a President who has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by 19 women, giving political cover to a guy who is a pedophile! Really, Al Franken should just turn around and declare himself as a Republican, because they don't care about such things; they only care about their Tribe. The Tribe and The Power. Nothing else matters.
Time Magazine disappointed our President this week by not naming him Person Of The Year. He really wanted it again. Instead, it went to the women who are standing up to testify against the creeps who have been preying on them. The #metoo movement has been a long time coming. We at the Daily Kibitz hope that this swell turns into a permanent sea change.
One thing that needs to be addressed for this to happen is the role of White Conservative Women. Never let it be forgotten that 53% of White Women voted for Trump. 62% of non-college-educated White Women voted for him. There are plenty of reasons for this, like abortion and, well, tribal allegiances. And misogyny towards their own kind. There's also the role of White Evangelism, which offers up an upside-down version of Christianity. There's a very large overlap with Republicans and White Evangelicals. And what they think is kinda shocking:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/opinion/trump-republicans.html
Wowzers: "White evangelicals went from being the least likely to the most likely group to agree that a candidate's personal immorality has no bearing on his performance in public office." And why was there such a sudden and drastic change -- the cult candidacy of Donald Trump. He could have them line up to drink the kool-aid and they would guzzle away.
Until conservative white women break from their way of thinking - and voting - it will be harder to change that which needs changing. At present, they appear as opportunists who benefit from the actions and achievements made over the decades by feminists. The GOP as a party is hostile towards the rights of women. It represents Patriarchy. They can continue to prop up this misogynist, sexist model... or change.
And that goes double for the men, too!!
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