Anita Hill Has Some Good Advice For Senate Committee

(Photo of Anita Hill being sworn in before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 is by Arnie Sachs via Associated Press.)

The conduct of the Senate Judiciary Committee (especially the Republicans on the committee) was atrocious back in 1991. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had been accused of sexual harassment by Law Professor Anita Hill. Ms. Hill was allowed to testify, but was viciously attacked by those senators.

Now we face a similar situation as the Senate Judiciary Committee considers the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to sit on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh has been accused of a sexual attack on a 15 year old girl while in high school. And that accuser (a college professor now) seems very credible. She has come forward even though she knew she would be attacked (and she has received death threats and had her computer hacked already). She also took (and passed) a lie detector test. And there is evidence that she told a marriage counselor (and her husband) about the attack back in 2012. Kavanaugh has denied the attack happened.

How is the Senate Judiciary Committee going to handle the controversy this time? Are they going to repeat the mistakes made in 1991? It certainly looks like they might repeat those mistakes. Republican senators have called her accusation a "drive-by hit", called her a "confused woman", and even questioned who paid for the lie detector test.

This is a mistake. And with an election coming up fast, those senators need to realize that the women of America will be watching -- and women vote in larger numbers than men do. If the GOP senators are perceived as being unfair and disrespectful when the accuser testifies, they could well be punished on election day. Control of the Senate is in play, and the Republicans are already down among women by double-digits in nearly every poll. They could make that even worse.

What should they do? Anita Hill has some advice for them in an op-ed in The New York Times. Here is what she thinks they should do:

Here are some basic ground rules the committee should follow:

Refrain from pitting the public interest in confronting sexual harassment against the need for a fair confirmation hearing. Our interest in the integrity of the Supreme Court and in eliminating sexual misconduct, especially in our public institutions, are entirely compatible. Both are aimed at making sure that our judicial system operates with legitimacy.

Select a neutral investigative body with experience in sexual misconduct cases that will investigate the incident in question and present its findings to the committee. Outcomes in such investigations are more reliable and less likely to be perceived as tainted by partisanship. Senators must then rely on the investigators’ conclusions, along with advice from experts, to frame the questions they ask Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey. Again, the senators’ fact-finding roles must guide their behavior. The investigators’ report should frame the hearing, not politics or myths about sexual assault.

Do not rush these hearings. Doing so would not only signal that sexual assault accusations are not important — hastily appraising this situation would very likely lead to facts being overlooked that are necessary for the Senate and the public to evaluate. That the committee plans to hold a hearing this coming Monday is discouraging. Simply put, a week’s preparation is not enough time for meaningful inquiry into very serious charges.

Finally, refer to Christine Blasey Ford by her name. She was once anonymous, but no longer is. Dr. Blasey is not simply “Judge Kavanaugh’s accuser.” Dr. Blasey is a human being with a life of her own. She deserves the respect of being addressed and treated as a whole person.

Process is important, but it cannot erase the difficulty of testifying on national television about the sexual assault that Dr. Blasey says occurred when she was 15 years old. Nor will it negate the fact that as she sits before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dr. Blasey will be outresourced. Encouraging letters from friends and strangers may help, but she cannot match the organized support that Judge Kavanaugh has. Since Dr. Blasey and Judge Kavanaugh have the same obligation to present the truth, this imbalance may not seem fair.

But, as Judge Kavanaugh stands to gain the lifetime privilege of serving on the country’s highest court, he has the burden of persuasion. And that is only fair.

In 1991, the phrase “they just don’t get it” became a popular way of describing senators’ reaction to sexual violence. With years of hindsight, mounds of evidence of the prevalence and harm that sexual violence causes individuals and our institutions, as well as a Senate with more women than ever, “not getting it” isn’t an option for our elected representatives. In 2018, our senators must get it right.

(Anita Hill is university professor of social policy, law, and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Brandeis University.)

Public Is Not Happy With Trump's Handling Of Sex Scandal

Donald Trump offered sort of an apology for his lewd tape describing how he sexually assaults women (and can get away with it because of his celebrity) in the last debate. But mainly, he just tried to minimize his behavior by calling it "locker room" banter -- suggesting that this is common behavior by most men. Then he brought up Bill Clinton's past to try and smear Hillary Clinton.

He may have thought he had successfully defused the scandal, but the American public has a different view. Most thought his apology was inadequate (51% to 31%), and they also didn't like his attack on Bill Clinton to cover his own misbehavior (55% to 37%). And those same opinions crossed all gender, age, and racial groups.

Trump still has a lot of work to do, and he's running out of time to do it.

The charts above are from a recent YouGov Poll -- done between October 10th and 12th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a margin of error of 4.6 points.

Is Anyone REALLY Surprised At The Latest Trump Scandal?

Unless you're living in a cave somewhere, you have heard about the latest Donald Trump scandal -- where he tried to attack a married woman, and bragged about grabbing the genitals of women, feeling it is his right since he's a celebrity. The media is full of outraged people, even many Republicans.

I have no problem with the outrage being expressed. It is appropriate. But I feel I have to ask a question -- How can anyone be surprised at this newest revelation?

This is nothing new. Donald Trump has a long and sordid history of misogyny -- it is public record that he called women derogatory names (pigs, dogs, etc.), has numerous extra-marital affairs, publicly humiliated women(Alicia Machado), demanded women be fired who don't meet his standard of "pretty" (from his businesses), fondles and grabs women w/o permission (i.e., sexual assault), and has sex with underage girls (i.e., rape).

If there is anything new about this latest scandal, it is that many Republicans are finally embarrassed about their presidential nominee (although they should have been embarrassed months ago, and made sure he was not the nominee).

Perhaps some good will come out of this. Perhaps it will wake voters up, and make sure he never gets close to the White House. Politico questioned the political insiders in their caucus -- a group of activists, strategists, and operatives from both political parties in 11 battleground states. The charts below show what the Republican and Democratic insiders think about this latest scandal.

It seems that 46% of Republicans think this latest scandal is a "knock-out blow", and 69% of Democrats agree -- while 54% of the Republicans think Trump can recover, along with 31% of Democrats.

What do you think? Is this latest scandal a knock-out blow?

Cain Ready To Humiliate His Wife

Herman Cain has based his campaign on being different from the rest of the candidates. he likes to say that he's not a professional politician. The inference is that he would do things differently than a politician would. The problem with that is that it's just not true. He might not have held political office before, but he is no different from the other rich pricks that have.

Herman Cain is currently in the midst of a sex scandal -- one that has the potential of destroying his small hope of becoming the Republican presidential nominee. He has been accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment and at least one sexual assault (stuffing his hand up a women's dress). He made it clear to these women that he would give jobs and other favors in exchange for sexual favors.

Now we know how a politician would handle a sex scandal. We've seen it far too many times in the past. First they would try to ignore the charges. Then they would deny them. Then they would refuse to answer any more questions and try to stonewall the whole thing. After all of those things fail, they then pull out the ultimate weapon -- their wives. The politician will parade his wife before the television cameras and tell everyone what a wonderful husband and father he is and how he could never do what he's been accused of. This seldom works, and usually just humiliates the innocent wife, but after everything else has failed it's all they have left.

Does all that sound familiar? It should, because it's the exact pattern that Herman Cain has followed. And today, he's playing the "wife" card. Although she's not been a public part of his campaign, she's all of a sudden scheduled to appear on Fox News today. Even though she was not with Cain when he committed the sexual harassments (and at least one assault) and cannot possibly know how he acts when he's not with her, she will try to save his political butt by telling America how wonderful he is.

Cain may not be a career politician, but he's sure acting like one. Maybe he's just a fast learner. I just think it's sad that he's willing to go all the way and humiliate his wife (who obviously hates the spotlight) on nationwide TV. I'm sure that Fox News will only ask her easy questions, but it'll still be a public humiliation for her. This tells us a lot about what kind of man Herman Cain is -- or isn't. He's willing to embarrass his wife because he can't be loyal to her. What a scumbag.

Gingrich Rebounding As Cain's Problems Grow

As much as I hate to admit it, I may have been wrong about Newt Gingrich. Several months ago, I declared his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination to be dead. His campaign staff had deserted him and he was polling in the very low single digits, In addition, he was having a hard time raising money. I just wondered why he didn't accept the obvious and quit. However, now it looks like his troubled presidential campaign may be rebounding.

It is tempting to say he is benefitting from Herman Cain's recent sex scandal allegations. That's a story that seems to have some legs, even though Cain is doing his best to minimize it and is now refusing to discuss it at all. But the story won't go away. A couple of days ago we learned about a third woman who was accusing Cain of sexual harassment, and yesterday a fourth woman came forward.

The fourth woman, Sharon Bialek, has not signed a confidentiality agreement and was not afraid to reveal her name or appear in public -- and her story may be the most compelling of all. Here is how the BBC describes her story:

Poll Shows Cain Approval Drops Over Allegations

Unless you are living under a rock and have no connection to the rest of America, you probably know about the allegations of sexual impropriety that have been made against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain (Pictured above). It was first reported that two women had accused him of sexual harassment while they worked for the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in the late 1990's and Cain was their boss.

Now a third woman has come forward with similar accusations. It has also been revealed that this behavior by Cain was not a one-time deal, but happened on a continuing basis. At least two of the women received pay-offs from the NRA -- one for around $35,000 and the other for $45,000 (which was a year's pay for the women at that time).

Cain at first denied the allegations, calling them "false accusations", and said he knew nothing of any pay-offs being made (which was hard to believe since the pay-offs were the result of accusations against him and he was the head of the NRA at the time). Since that initial denial, Cain has changed his story several times -- and now refuses to answer further questions about the sex scandal. One thing is for sure -- Cain has certainly acted as though he is guilty. Now there is a new poll that shows a majority of Americans believe the charges are true.

Cain Badly Mishandled The Charges Against Him

When will the politicians ever learn. The United States is a forgiving country, but its people absolutely hates liars. Herman Cain was accused of sexually harassing a couple of female employees when he headed the National Restaurant Association (NRA) back in the late 1990's. And there is mounting evidence that the charges are true, including a $35,000 payoff to one woman and a $45,000 payoff to another. And these are not charges filed long after the incident. At least one of the women reported the improper behavior on the same night it occurred. Here is how Politico reports it:

The woman in question, roughly 30 years old at the time and working in the National Restaurant Association’s government affairs division, told two people directly at the time that Cain made a sexual overture to her at one of the group’s events, according to the sources familiar with the incident. She was livid and lodged a verbal complaint with an NRA board member that same night, these sources said.

The woman told one of the sources Cain made a suggestion that she felt was overtly sexual in nature and that “she perceived that her job was at risk if she didn’t do it.”

“She is a pretty confident individual, and she was pretty upset,” the source, an acquaintance of the woman, said of her demeanor after the encounter with Cain. “Not crying, but angry.”

She described it as an “unwanted sexual advance” to the other source. The woman took the matter immediately and directly to the board member because “she wanted this fixed,” the source said.

POLITICO has learned the accusation was also later brought to the attention of another board member as well as the restaurant association’s general counsel Peter Kilgore, both of whom are said to have looked into the matter. The woman, who now works in New Jersey, left the NRA in May 1998, shortly after the incident — under an agreement that paid her one-year’s salary, in the mid-$30,000s, sources said.

In addition, the second woman's lawyer is discussing the incident with the NRA and asking for their permission for the woman to speak with the media (since she had to sign a confidentiality agreement at the time of the payoff). And she may get that permission from the NRA, since Cain has not been involved in NRA leadership since 1999 and they have nothing to lose by cooperating.

The sad part is that Cain could have settled this matter days ago. All he had to do was say the made a stupid mistake about 12 years ago, he's sorry, and he would never do such a thing again. But he didn't do that. Instead he has denied everything, and then keeps changing his story as more facts emerge. He tried to stonewall it, and that just never works these days.All that did was give the story some legs and make sure it won't die for a while.

But Cain couldn't tell the truth -- his ego wouldn't let him. He's convinced that as a member of the richest 1% of Americans, he doesn't have to play by the same rules that apply to other Americans. And he's not alone in that. Frankly, most of the rich feel that way -- regardless of their age, race, or sex. But that kind of attitude doesn't sell on Main Street, and Cain is probably destroying any slim chance he had of being elected president.

It might not hurt him in the Republican race -- since right-wingers tend to make excuses when their heroes screw up (they're convinced it must be a liberal conspiracy since a right-winger couldn't possibly do wrong). But it's going to cost him with the general public in a general election. And it won't be because of his race, but because of his dishonesty. Americans can forgive a screw up, but that hate dishonesty.

Cain Leads Perry In Texas, But He Has Other Problems

Pizza magnate and presidential candidate Herman Cain has been riding high recently. As the teabagger "flavor-of-the-month", he has been beating most other candidates in the polls -- and even beats, ties, or comes a close second to establishment favorite Mitt Romney in all recent national and state polls. Now a new in-state Texas poll, done by the University of Texas and the Texas Tribune, shows that Cain leads in the state, edging home-state boy Rick Perry and trouncing Mitt Romney by 18 points.

The UT/TT Poll surveyed 800 registered voters between October 19th and 26th, and had a margin of error of 3.46 points (a 4.93 point margin of error for Republicans only). Here is what the poll showed:

Weiner's Out - Now How About Vitter ?

Well, it's over. Rep. Weiner has resigned his post. I think this was the right thing for him to do. He had lied to his constituents and the public in general, and he was becoming a distraction from the important problems this country needs to deal with.

But this now throws the ball back into the Republican's court. They were very quick to condemn the actions of Rep. Weiner, even though they have ignored the much worse perversions of a member of their own party (who still serves in Congress) -- Senator David Vitter (R-Louisiana).

While Weiner was guilty of texting some inappropriate pictures of himself to several women, Vitter actually engaged in depraved sexual activity with prostitutes (dressing in diapers and having them treat him as a baby). There is no doubt that this happened -- more than once. But not a single Republican has asked Vitter to resign (not even the ones that were quick to condemn Rep. Weiner). Evidently for Republicans, sex scandals are bad only if they happen to Democrats. They can easily forgive any perversion perpetrated by a fellow Republican.

Isn't it time for the Republicans to abandon their hypocrisy and demand that their own pervert resign his seat?

More Thoughts On "Weinergate"

As all of America knows by now, Rep. Anthony Weiner pulled a real boner the other day (bad pun intended). He had inappropriate sexual conversations with several women (at least six), both before and after his marriage last July, and even "tweeted" photos of his penis to some of the women.

This was stupid behavior that was compounded by the congressman repeatedly lying about it, claiming that his twitter account had been hacked. He continued these lies for several days. I posted a few days ago that I thought Weiner should resign and I listed several reasons why I thought his resignation would be appropriate. Since that time a couple of things have happened -- Republicans have demanded his resignation and some Democrats are saying he should stay in office. I feel compelled to answer both.

First, the Republicans. Karl Rove, Reince Priebus (head of the RNC), and several other high-ranking Republicans are now demanding the resignation of Rep. Weiner. This is the height of hypocrisy, since none of them demanded the resignation of Republicans like Senator Vitter (who was exposed as visiting prostitutes and having sex with them while dressed in diapers). As long as they allow Vitter to serve in Congress, they have no moral authority to say anything about Weiner. They need to just shut up.

But while I don't think Republicans should have any say in this matter, I believe Democrats should be demanding Weiner's resignation. I know he is a good progressive who voted for and stood up for progressive causes. I also admired that side of him. But he has stepped over the line. There are others who can carry on the progressive cause, and Weiner should step aside and let them do it.

Some would point out that in a recent poll a slight majority in Weiner's district don't want him to resign. That really doesn't matter. The people of Louisiana re-elected Senator Vitter also. Neither man should be serving in Congress.

Others would point to Vitter and say if the Republicans didn't make him resign why should Democrats make Weiner resign? I would answer that we are not Republicans. Democrats are supposed to ascribe to a higher ethical standard than Republicans. Lying may be a Republican value, but it should not be a Democratic value. We should expect our Democratic officials to be honest with the American people -- even when they have screwed up. Any Democrat who supports Weiner staying in Congress gives up the right to discuss the ethical failings of Republicans.

I would also like to point out that the Democratic Party is traditionally the party dedicated to achieving and protecting equal rights for women. I am proud of this and have no desire to change it. But to protect Weiner after he has dishonored his pregnant wife and sexually harassed other women trashes the history of Democrats toward women.

Rep. Weiner should resign. That's all there is to it.

It's Time For Weiner To Resign

I have avoided commenting on the little sex scandal involving Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-New York) because I really had no idea of whether it was true or not. He was a representative that I had respected for his progressive views and votes, and I had hoped he would turn out to be innocent -- truly a victim of some devious hacker. That hope is now gone.

Yesterday Weiner admitted he was the one who had sent suggestive pictures of his own little "weiner" to the woman in question. Even worse, he now admits it was more than one woman (at least six), and it was an ongoing thing that took place both before his marriage (last July) and afterword. He performed his public mea culpa and cried, but it all comes too late.

Weiner is now saying he will not resign his post. I think he is wrong again. He should resign for several reasons -- the least of which is sending the stupid pictorial tweets.

1. He lied -- repeatedly. He had the chance to admit his mistake, but chose to lie about it instead. If he would lie about something like this, how can his constituents (and all Americans) trust him on the important problems facing America?

2. He betrayed his wife. After promising to love and honor her less than a year ago, he intentionally violated that sacred promise. If he cannot be trusted to honor his vows to his wife, why should Americans believe he would honor any other promises?

3. Did these women, who he never met in person, ask for this kind of treatment? If they did, then his behavior was just stupid (because it was sure to be discovered in this electronic age). If they didn't, then he has engaged in sexual harassment.

4. His incredibly stupid and disingenuous actions have given scumbag Andrew Breitbart at least a modicum of credibility (and sets up possibly innocent politicians to be attacked in the future).

5. He has embarrassed his party and progressives everywhere.

It is time for Rep. Weiner to resign. When Rep. Chris Lee committed similar acts of stupidity in the recent past, he did the right thing and retired. Weiner should do the same.

Another Republican Scandal

The new Congress has only been sworn in for about a month and they already have two sex scandals among Republicans. It makes me wonder if they're going to go for some kind of record. If so, they are well on their way.

A few days ago we learned that the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has trouble keeping his zipper closed. It is reported that although married, he has had at least two girlfriends -- one of them a paid lobbyist (calling into questions any decisions he makes as Speaker). But before that little Republican sex scandal can even get going good, another Republican House member gets caught in his own little scandal.

The second congressman is Rep. Christopher Lee (R-New York). Although married, he is responding to a CraigsList ad with his own picture with his shirt off (see above). He responded to a woman who wrote on the website "Will someone prove to me not all CL men look like toads?" Lee sent her his picture and several other e-mails, which she promptly made public.

At least Boehner tried to keep his little peccadillos secret -- he didn't respond to someone advertising on a popular nationwide website. I have to wonder about the intelligence (and moral) level of Rep. Lee. In his defense, at least he didn't try to lie about the incident like many congressmen in the past. And he promptly resigned from his post in a public apology in the House.

Lee said, "It has been a tremendous honor to serve the people of Western New York. I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents. I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness. The challenges we face in Western New York and across the country are too serious for me to allow this distraction to continue, and so I am announcing that I have resigned my seat in Congress effective immediately."

Lee made a very stupid mistake, but at least he admitted his mistake, resigned his seat, and didn't make his poor wife suffer the indignity of standing with him publicly. All congressmen who screw up (of both parties) should do the same.

Another Republican Sex Scandal

For all their pious holier-than-thou family values preaching, Republicans sure seem to like indulging in adulterous sexcapades. It's only been about a week since a Republican congressman admitted to an affair with one of his aides and resigned his seat. Now there are rumors of another adulterous affair, and the accusations don't come from the left, but from a Republican consultant and blogger named Will Folks.

Making matters even worse, the scandal is breaking in South Carolina and involves the leading Republican candidate to replace Gov. Mark Sanford (who had his own sex scandal when it was learned he had an Argentinian mistress). South Carolina voters were hoping to put this kind of problem behind them by electing a new governor. They certainly didn't need a new scandal to break out regarding the leading candidate to be the new governor.

This new scandal involves Rep. Nikki Haley (pictured above with her family). She had recently catapulted into the lead for the Republican nomination, with the support of Sarah Palin and Gov. Sanford's ex-wife Jenny. Haley is the teabagger candidate in the race, and has campaigned on fundamentalist values and ultra right-wing political beliefs.

Folks, who used to work for Haley, said he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with her a few years ago. He said he's revealing the relationship because it has been leaked to the news media.

He went on to say, "It is what it is, and aside from the Haley family -- Michael, Nikki, Rena and Nalin -- I feel no need to apologize or explain myself to anyone. People are human. We make mistakes. And as I have learned from experience, the key to life isn't the mistakes we make, it's how we choose to handle them."

For her part, Haley denies the improper relationship. She said, "I have been 100% faithful to my husband throughout our 13 years of marriage. This claim against me is categorically and totally false." Denial is probably her best approach right now (unless Folks has some kind of proof of the relationship), because South Carolina is pretty tired of scandal in the governor's office. The problem she has is that the accusation comes from a fellow Republican who supports her candidacy.

Now I don't mean to imply that sexual improprieties are strictly a Republican thing. As you may remember, Democratic governors in both New York and New Jersey have resigned over adulterous affairs in the last few years. What makes the Republicans different is their sanctiminious and hypocritical campaigning on a "family values" platform. They can have their sexual adventures if they must, but they should then avoid the hypocrisy of posing as a "family values" candidate.

Will this sexual accusation hurt Haley's chances of becoming governor? We don't know that yet, but it certainly won't help.

Even A Small City Can Have A Sex Scandal

Mention the words "sex scandal" recently, and most probably would think of the numerous high-profile Republicans who have made the news. However, even a small city can have a sex scandal. The city I'm talking about is Ennis, Texas.

Ennis is a city of slightly more than 19,000 located just south of Dallas. At first glance, it doesn't look like a city with a juicy sex scandal. But that's just what it has.

Eight employees filed a lawsuit Tuesday against local dentist and city commissioner, Dr. Stephen Craig Durbin. It seems that Dr. Durbin had his employees change into their scrubs after arriving at work, and back into street clothes before leaving each evening. The eight women walked out on the dentist after finding a camera in their dressing room.

The women took the camera to a Radio Shack, where they were told it was a type that sent a signal to a viewing or recording device. They confronted the dentist, and he admitted that he had a problem with voyeurism and pornography.

The dentist was arrested on August 17th and charged with "Improper Photography or Video Recording", a state jail felony. He is currently free on $1,000 bond. His attorney says the women are just trying to get some money from his client, and called the allegations "garbage".

But that doesn't seem likely. One of the women had worked for the dentist for 26 years, and the newest employee in the group had worked for him for three years. It seems to me that these were loyal employees who thought they had found a career post. Additionally, the women have an audio tape of the dentist admitting his problem with "voyeurism".

Perhaps most disturbing of all, with all these witnesses and an incriminating tape that will probably convict him of a sex crime, this guy is still sitting on the city commission. How can that be? If he won't do the decent thing and resign, and the city commission won't take action, maybe it is time for citizens to start a recall petition.

The women (and men) of Ennis deserve better than to be represented by this misogynist.