If you’re an establishment Democrat, most of the time you can rape and pillage like a Roman senator of old with impunity. Sexual misconduct and corruption are impeachable crimes only for those who are a threat to the status quo.
The scandal pushback playbook has not changed since the early 1990s, when it comes to smearing and silencing accusers of powerful men. Democratic candidates have money and protection to pad the fall. They also have the ever-present pseudo-feminist MeToo celebrities to use as a shield and the fourth estate media outlets as the sword to destroy any possibility of truth coming to light. That is, most of the time.
The most recent Democratic nominee in a New York mayor race, Scott Stringer – labeled a progressive Democrat – may have his campaign destroyed due to the accusations leveled against him, however.
In fact, there seems to be a pattern, as pointed out by Krystal Ball on The Hill’s Rising, that progressives get the MeToo hit job that ends their political campaign, while elite establishment Democrats, such as Cuomo and Biden, walk away with a complete lack of any accountability.
I don’t comment on the veracity of anyone coming forward claiming a sexual assault, as I’m not a criminal investigator. I can offer that only 2 to 10% of accusations of sexual assault accusations are false, however, according to sexual violence prevention statistics, and there’s a great deal of incentive to protect the powerful with money and ignore the survivor. Due process is for the accused, but it’s something rare for victims of sexual violence, and usually justice is even more elusive.
In a recent memoir by Michelle Bowdler, ‘Is Rape A Crime?’, the author describes“how sexual violence has been addressed for decades in our society, asking whether rape is a crime, given that it is the least reported major felony, least successfully prosecuted, and fewer than 3% of reported rapes result in conviction. Cases are closed before they are investigated, and DNA evidence sits for years untested and disregarded.”
Sexual violence is often argued and dismissed as a he said/she said incident, if labeled a crime at all. To Democrats, it’s now been distilled down to a campaign strategy, as illustrated in a recent New York Times piece:
“‘I actually think Scott still has a path,’ said Jonathan Westin, director of New York Communities for Change, a progressive grassroots organizing group that rescinded its endorsement of Mr. Stringer last week. ‘One of the main things I’ve heard from my membership is, “They did this to Joe Biden. They went after him and he still prevailed.” – a reference to allegations by Tara Reade in 2020 that Mr. Biden had sexually assaulted her.’
They did this to him? He prevailed? So, he is the survivor now?
Apparently, my coming forward about sexual assault was something for Biden to “overcome,” rather than be held accountable or investigated for the crime that he had committed against me.
Also on rt.com TARA READE: I believe AOC when she says she is a survivor of sexual assault. Why could she not say the same about me?I would wager that for every powerful man’s life destroyed by false allegations, there are five times as many real survivors who are never heard from at all. I could not imagine a more despicable tactic to destroy a candidate than to level a false claim of sexual assault. That said, I would never underestimate a Democratic strategist’s capacity for evil.
So, are the progressives being hit with MeToo scandals to tank their campaigns while the elites in the party walk away unscathed?
While I agree with Glenn Greenwald on most of his points, as far as lives destroyed, it is mostly the accusers that get eviscerated. I am the poster girl for that fact.
Greenwald has no love for either the Democratic establishment or the Republicans. In fact, it’s not clear where his politics lie and that is refreshing. He is one of the last true investigative reporters and has never walled himself in a political echo chamber. This is a constant source of irritation to those who want to label him.
In 2019, I came forward in the gladiator ring of social media, where we exist in a thumbs-up or thumbs-down reality – there is no in-between. As Biden was placed into the position of power and people sighed that they had to vote for the lesser evil, I was left to pick up the pieces of my life, which had been destroyed by his campaign machine. MeToo hashtags were removed from prominent Democratic supporters’ social media, and tweets about Believe Women dutifully scrubbed, as my story was more and more corroborated. But in this upside-down world of corporate media, if it’s not discussed, it doesn’t exist.
Neither the Republicans nor Democrats should get a pass when it comes to bad behavior and corruption. Republicans are at least upfront with who and what they are. However, the Democrats continue to be the party of wolves in sheep’s clothing, claiming to be the protectors of women as they enable predators to reach ever more powerful heights. The most infuriating thing about all of this is that, while Democrats seem more concerned with deploying the proper “woke” vernacular to virtue-signal issues, they strip away virtue itself.
Political candidates should be subject to accountability and not cloaked with public relations protection, as Cuomo and Biden are. Otherwise, nothing will ever fundamentally change.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.