Why do politicians get a pass when it comes to bad behavior?
Think about it…
Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is accused of sexual misconduct by 80 women. He is fired by the company he co-founded.
Kevin Spacey is accused of sexual misconduct by 8 individuals; one of whom was 14 at the time of the alleged incident. “House of Cards” production goes on hiatus as Netflix cuts all ties with Spacey.
Chris Savino, Roy Price, John Besh, Mark Halperin, Michael Oreskes, Lockhart Steele…all giants of industry…all shown the door after accusations of alleged sexual misconduct.
Yet politicians are given a pass.
Bill Clinton faced multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. His Oval Office affair with an intern brought shame to the office and the country. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives, not for his sexual misconduct, but for lying to congress about the affair. He was acquitted by the senate and allowed to serve out his term. Clinton left office as one of the most popular president’s in history.
Representative John Conyers was accused of sexual harassment and paid his accuser $27,000 to settle the complaint. The money taken from a taxpayer funded account specifically earmarked to quiet such inconveniences. Conyers has refused to resign but has voluntarily given up his position as Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee while the Ethics Committee conducts an investigation. Ethics Committee investigations can take months, even years to conclude their business. Nancy Pelosi, who referred to Conyers as an “icon in our country who has done a great deal for women,” said that the elderly legislator was entitled to due process. Interesting given that she didn’t seem at all interested in Roy Moore receiving “due process” as she demanded that he drop out of the Alabama senate race
Roy Moore is running for the vacant Alabama US Senate seat. He is accused of sexual misconduct by 9 women; one of whom was 14 at the time of the incident. Undeterred, Roy Moore denies the allegations and announces that he will not quit the race. His supporters rise up in his defense. The Republican Governor, a female, announces that while she finds Moore’s the accusers “credible” she will still vote for Roy Moore: “because we need a Republican in the senate to stop what the Democrats are doing to this country.”
Donald Trump stands accused of sexual misconduct by 17 women. Candidate Donald Trump was caught on an hot microphone bragging about stalking, groping and sexually harassing women. Within months of these developments Donald Trump was elected President of the United States.
Why have we set a double standard for politicians? Why have we become so tribal and set the bar so low that a pedophile can be elected to the US senate and an admitted sexual predator can attain the highest office in the land?
What in the hell is wrong with us?
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