By Frank Rich
New York Magazine (12/9/17)

Though the Republican National Committee has restored funding for Alabama’s Roy Moore, Republican members of Congress — and even the committee’s own officials — are keeping their distance from party support. Is it better for the GOP if Moore wins or if he loses?

Even The Wall Street Journal editorial page, which sold its soul to Donald Trump after the election, said this morning that “you have to believe in magic to think this is going to end well for Republicans.” Anticipating the resignation of Al Franken, the editorial pleaded with its party, from Trump down, to disown Moore — if only because the departures of both Franken and John Conyers rendered moot the GOP’s main talking point to deflect any questions about the party’s embrace of Moore. But while the Democrats’ resignations have now ripped away that moral fig leaf, there’s zero chance the GOP will ditch Moore. Sure, some Republicans in Washington, including Mitch McConnell, have denounced

Tolerance for sexual predation may be well on its way to becoming a majority plank among the GOP rank and file.

Moore. But many of them have previously disowned Trump on multiple occasions — including, most pertinently, after the release of the Access Hollywood tape — only to fold soon after. The RNC’s renewed funding of Moore’s campaign tells you all you need to know about the Vichy Republicans. That’s an action that speaks louder than words. The GOP wants to add another vote to its slender Senate majority and will swallow anything required to get it.

The Party of Lincoln is now the Party of Predators. Maybe it always was: Do recall the histories of such GOP congressional leaders as Denny Hastert and Mark Foley. It should also be noted that a tolerance for sexual predation may be well on its way to becoming a majority plank among the GOP rank and file. While a new Quinnipiac poll finds that 77 percent of Democrats believe elected officials should resign in the face of multiple sexual harassment accusations, only 51 percent of Republicans do.

Moore has the wholehearted support of the Republican president, and if he is elected on Tuesday in Alabama (the likely outcome, I’d guess), the Senate will seat him no matter the posturing to the contrary. Among Republican elites, the only naysayers to Trump are either out of power (Mitt Romney) or not likely to face another election. In that latter category, even John McCain violated his professed principles about deficits and a “regular” legislative process to sign on to the tax bill that extravagantly rewards Republican donors. He and his colleagues will shed crocodile tears about the new sexual miscreant in the Senate chamber all the way to the bank. …

Read the Rest

(Commoner Call cartoon by Mark L. Taylor, 2017. Open source and free to use with link to www.thecommonercall.org )

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Sanders Says Trump Should Follow Franken’s Lead and Resign Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

By Julia Connely
Common Dreams (12/7/17)

Amid resignations and dismissals of men in government, news media, and entertainment who have been accused of sexual misconduct, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suggested on Thursday that President Donald Trump should consider stepping down in light of his own history of sexual harassment and assault.

“We have a president of the United States who acknowledged on a tape widely seen all over the country that he’s assaulted women, so I would hope maybe the president of the United States might pay attention of what’s going on and also think about resigning,” Sanders told Gayle King on CBS This Morning.

Sanders’s comments came hours before his colleague, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), announced that he would resign from his seat amid accusations that he sexually harassed women, and two days after Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said he would retire in the wake of allegations that he touched staffers inappropriately and demanded sexual favors.

The remarks also came as two separate petitions gained traction, both calling for inquiries into the president’s sexual misconduct.

The grassroots group CREDO had garnered more than 152,000 supporters as of Thursday afternoon in its call for a federal investigation into allegations of government officials’ abuses, starting with Trump’s.

Susan O’Connor, a MoveOn.org member from Wisconsin, also gathered about 157,000 signatures on her petition demanding that Congress and the Justice Department launch probes.

“You don’t get to be my age without lots of personal experience that you hear about with #MeToo,” said O’Connor. “These sexist attacks on women lead to shame and humiliation in personal and professional life, and I’m angry so I started this petition. I want young women to know they don’t have to put up with it. I want men to know they’re going to be held accountable.”

In a tape released a month before the 2016 presidential election, Trump was heard bragging about sexually assaulting women. He has also been publicly accused by 16 women of sexual misconduct, including molestation, harassment, and rape. He’s responded to the allegations by calling the women “liars” who were seeking “ten minutes of fame” and in at least one case attacked an accuser’s physical appearance.

Sign And Forward To Your Contacts & Post To Your Social Media These Two Petitions Calling For Trump To Be Held Accountable

• Susan O’Connor, a MoveOn.org member from Wisconsin, has already gathered about 157,000 signatures on her petition demanding that Congress and the Justice Department launch investigations of the charges against Donald Trump of sexual harassment and assault. Link to Petition

• Tell congressional leaders: Create an independent bipartisan commission to investigate sexual harassment and assault by federal officials, including Donald Trump. Link to Petition