It’s official: Democrats are the “pervert” party.
The latest evidence? Iowa’s Democratic candidate for governor, Nate Boulton, is being accused of groping women at bars and even placing his erect penis against one woman during a non-consensual encounter.
It happened some years ago, but in today’s highly charged #MeToo climate, no one gets a pass for boorish behavior – or abuse – even if it occurred well before the onset of their political career.
Boulton says he doesn’t remember the incidents. But the women say they do – and they’re plain disgusted and outraged that he thinks he’s qualified to represent them – and other decent down-home Iowans – in the state house.
The charges against Boulton are only the latest sign that the #MeToo movement may have boomeranged, politically.
It’s Democratic women for the most part who are leading the charge against sexual miscreants in politics. They seem to think that if they unmask offenders, it will somehow embarrass President Donald Trump — and lead to his downfall.
But most of those offenders turn out to be Democrats.
In the last several months, a true political legend, Rep. John Conyers of the Black Caucus, the House’s longest-serving member, resigned in disgrace. Before him was Sen. Al Franken, a champion of liberals — and women’s rights.
And it’s not just men. Last December, Andrea Ramsey, a Democratic congressional candidate in Kansas endorsed by Emily’s List pulled out of her race after allegations arose that she’d once harassed a male subordinate who’d refused her persistent advances. (Ramsey denies the allegations.)
There are even allegations of abuse against a Latina assemblywoman, Cristina Garcia, who was a poster girl for #MeToo. She allegedly repeatedly got drunk and tried to grope and bed down a number of male staffers. (Garcia also denies the allegations.)
In truth, this distinctly partisan pattern of sexual profligacy is a long-standing one. It’s so obvious that you’d think that Democrats would tone down their rhetoric — and perhaps run for cover.
Look at the record: Two Democratic presidents, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton were both flat-out predators.
And two Democratic presidential aspirants, Gary Hart in 1988 and John Edwards in 2008 – both them married, one to a wife dying of cancer, had the temerity to engage in shameless philandering all the while they were campaigning for the presidency.
Democrats are not only relentless, they continually prowl the gutter. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, another married man once considered presidential timber, chased after a tawdry 24-year old hooker online.
Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner — a former civil rights Freedom Rider of all things — allegedly hit on just about every woman who visited his office looking for a favor. Apparently, he saved his best for the wives of dead and dying military veterans, as well as past victims of sexual assault, among the most vulnerable women alive.
And let’s not forget Anthony Weiner, a friend of Bill and Hillary, a sex addict who repeatedly sent lewd pictures of himself to women and one underage girl who turned out to be disgusted by his behavior — and turned him in.
Weiner, who even tried to run for mayor of New York City to redeem himself, is currently doing time. With any luck, we’ll never hear from him again.
Republican candidates and officeholders are hardly immune to scandal. Missouri’s GOP governor Eric Greitens, a rising GOP star who allegedly bound and photographed a paramour in humiliating sexual positions, comes to mind.
But the sheer number and compulsive recklessness of Democratic sexual transgressions give the party a pronounced edge.
Two theories come to mind. First, many Democratic transgressors are heirs to the 1960s counter-culture with its libertine attitudes toward sexual experimentation and sexual fidelity.
Women in that era were often accused of being “uptight” if they refused to have sex with men who wanted them. “Hooking up” was supposed to be liberating, for women and men both. Many women say they enjoyed that era’s promiscuous freedom, but others simply succumbed to pressure and sometimes regretted it.
Hart, Clinton, Edwards, and Filner, among others, all grew to manhood — or perhaps didn’t — in that era. They were deeply socialized, perhaps more so than Republicans were.
Second, Democratic politicians more than their GOP counterparts may have a sense of entitlement because of their support for women who are still grossly underrepresented in politics. Women’s advocates are desperate for allies in their fight for things like reproductive rights, equal pay for equal work, and paid maternity leave.
And historically with so few friends in the GOP, they have proven far too willing to overlook rumors of sexual transgressions by Democratic politicians just to keep them supporting their cause. In turn, some of the men they approach appear to treat their sexual advances as a just “reward” for their efforts, as well as leverage against their prospective accusers.
But the jig’s up now. The rise of #MeToo has cast a glaring spotlight on gender abuse in high places, including Hollywood, another Democratic bastion that turns out to be filled with predators of every shade and hue.
Democrats, it seems, are in danger of losing their moral “mantle” with women.
Which means Republicans, who continue to score big with white female voters, could end up making lots of new friends in 2020 and beyond.
Stewart J. Lawrence is a consultant and policy analyst.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.
