If you agree with the notion that the election of Donald J. Trump as president evoked a massive response from America's women, it's because they are rightly fed up with powerful entitled men ruining the country on all levels. Making the response two-fold, look what happened in the recent election in Virginia, and around the country for that matter, a number of women took office for the first time. In terms of sexual harassment, men in powerful positions, abusing that power, are being called out, and it's about time.
Maybe it has to start in high profile industries first like Hollywood, the media and in Washington to have the shock effect so that the culture does change. But it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of the problem... It never is. Katy Tur vented that the first two in the aforementioned list cleaned house quickly and decisively - Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey an Mark Halperin (from NBC) and Charlie Rose (from CBS) respectively. However, in politics, there's this 'hold on a moment' attitude, let me check to see if I like this person first (based on their politics). Anita Hill, an American hero, flatly and correctly stated that Washington can not lead on this issue. And we know it, from just what minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said during her interview today. Congress is going to institute mandatory anti-harassment and anti-discrimination classes. Welcome to the 21st century. Large and small companies alike and many school districts around the country have been giving such classes for years. Great that Congress can finally catch up.
Ms. Pelosi was correct in saying that Al Franken was a very different case than Roy Moore, but both need to be addressed, not ignored. And in both cases, there's no doubt that the women's complaints are credible. Ultimately, if charges aren't being brought up then with regard to these public officials voters will have their say. For Mr. Franken, he should be subject to an ethics investigation and see where that goes first, but at the end of his term, perhaps it should be the end of the run.
Roy Moore, on the other hand, is an alleged (probable) child molester who cloaks himself behind a wall of piety, but is a corrupted soul. President Trump's defense and de facto endorsement of Judge Moore comes from a place of self-preservation more than from anywhere else. Mr. Trump has no credibility on sexual harassment because of the infamous awful words that came from his own mouth and the many complaints against him. So when he defends Roy Moore by saying "He totally denied it," so it's not true, it's like he's saying that about himself. Mr. Trump's extended argument that it's better to have Roy Moore, Republican yet child molester, in office than a Democrat. Another one of the death by a thousand cuts Mr. Trump is inflicting on the American societal body. One has to think how sad it is that our children should be able to look up to the President of the United States as our moral center - a notion that has been completely vanquished.
Ms. Pelosi wasn't completely coherent on all this, stumbling and parsing her answers - what to do about Bill Clinton in retrospect and sitting Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), the minority leader on the judiciary committee. Of the latter she said that he deserved due process despite some very 'uncomfortable' circumstances in this particular situation. She talked a circle. With regard to President Clinton, saying that we should 'move forward' was an effective punt. With the prospect that taxpayer funds may have been used in the settlement, from a pool of money set up by Congress for just such a purpose, makes it even more imperative that this be looked into. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) to his credit, called for transparency on these settlements. Transparency should come, like tomorrow.
The Washington Post's Michael Gerson described the different circumstances as tribal morality - if you're in my party, I believe you. But maybe not even that... The governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, said that she believed the women but in the senatorial election she is going to vote Republican, meaning she's going to vote for Roy Moore. Really? Talk about assinine and cowardly. It's one thing to be lead, and another to be lead by the nose. If this is the official leadership and the mouthpiece for the people of Alabama, then how can one not be worried about the fact that Alabamians are going to determine where the moral bar for this country is set?
At this point, I should be admonished for not talking about taxes as rightly Ms. Pelosi did to Chuck Todd. There's no excuse for Mr. Todd to solely focus on the salacious, and not real policy that is going to determine the financial fates of so many on "Meet The Press." This column's excuse... Well, we're not "Meet The Press."
Panel: Heather McGhee, President, Demos; Katy Tur, NBC News; Hugh Hewlitt, Salem Radio Network and NBC; Michael Gerson, The Washington Post
One More Thing... Michael Flynn
Mr. Flynn's lawyers have stopped communicating with the White House lawyers. Hugh Hewitt said that he thinks it nothing more than Mr. Flynn's foreign agent registration violations (which is a big deal) that are the sole cause of his trouble. However, one can't help but think it's more than that. Breaking with Mr. Hewitt's opinion, it's definitely more than that and it's clear at this point that Mr. Flynn is cooperating with Robert Mueller's investigation. The intrigue continues to mount.
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