Certainly in one regard.....
http://theweek.com/articles/737817/al-franken-just-beginning
The most stupefying question prompted by the disgusting Franken news, coming as it does amidst the steady drip of disgusting Moore news, and the ongoing deluge of disgusting news about similar (and worse) behavior on the part of a slew of movie producers, actors, comedians, journalists, professors, and other prominent men is: Where will it end?
How many senators and House members and elected and appointed officials at the federal, state, and local levels will be forced to resign? And how many men will remain in these positions when it is all over?
It's far too early to say, because the floodgates have only just been thrown open. But the possibilities are mindboggling.
Consider Joe Biden. A few short weeks ago, the former senator and vice president seemed like he would be a leading contender to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 and then the favorite to challenge President Trump's bid for re-election. But now? Biden's polling may look good, but he has a history of wandering hands that is simply incompatible with the new normal. He's a political dead man.
Now think of all the pages and interns and young staffers cycling through all of those offices on Capitol Hill, year after year, decade after decade. And the countless thousands of staffers who've passed through the White House and executive branch departments and agencies across Democratic and Republican administrations. And all the Supreme Court clerks and assistants. How long until one of these pages or interns or staffers or clerks or assistants, or dozens of them, or hundreds of them, begin to talk and make credible accusations against leading public figures of both parties?
How many unwanted advances, kisses, gropes, coerced sex acts, and other forms of harassment, abuse, and assault are we likely to learn about?
I suspect far more than any of us can imagine.
Already we know that the House has paid out $15 million over the last 10-15 years to settle sexual harassment allegations. And that is surely just the beginning.
The reckoning is coming. Washington is going to weather an absolute hurricane of sexual abuse allegations and revelations.
http://theweek.com/articles/737817/al-franken-just-beginning
The most stupefying question prompted by the disgusting Franken news, coming as it does amidst the steady drip of disgusting Moore news, and the ongoing deluge of disgusting news about similar (and worse) behavior on the part of a slew of movie producers, actors, comedians, journalists, professors, and other prominent men is: Where will it end?
How many senators and House members and elected and appointed officials at the federal, state, and local levels will be forced to resign? And how many men will remain in these positions when it is all over?
It's far too early to say, because the floodgates have only just been thrown open. But the possibilities are mindboggling.
Consider Joe Biden. A few short weeks ago, the former senator and vice president seemed like he would be a leading contender to win the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 and then the favorite to challenge President Trump's bid for re-election. But now? Biden's polling may look good, but he has a history of wandering hands that is simply incompatible with the new normal. He's a political dead man.
Now think of all the pages and interns and young staffers cycling through all of those offices on Capitol Hill, year after year, decade after decade. And the countless thousands of staffers who've passed through the White House and executive branch departments and agencies across Democratic and Republican administrations. And all the Supreme Court clerks and assistants. How long until one of these pages or interns or staffers or clerks or assistants, or dozens of them, or hundreds of them, begin to talk and make credible accusations against leading public figures of both parties?
How many unwanted advances, kisses, gropes, coerced sex acts, and other forms of harassment, abuse, and assault are we likely to learn about?
I suspect far more than any of us can imagine.
Already we know that the House has paid out $15 million over the last 10-15 years to settle sexual harassment allegations. And that is surely just the beginning.
The reckoning is coming. Washington is going to weather an absolute hurricane of sexual abuse allegations and revelations.
