Beyond touchy-feely: Cuomo, Trump and the politics of sexual abuse
Andrew Cuomo is out as governor of New York. Reeling from allegations in a 165-page report by New York Attorney General Leticia James that he sexually harassed 11 women and assaulted at least one, most of whom worked under him in state government, and facing impeachment proceedings, Cuomo announced last Monday that he will resign on Aug. 24.
Cuomo faces charges that he groped and engaged in unwanted touching of several women, made inappropriate and suggestive comments and created a hostile work environment for women who worked for him. One of the women, Brittany Commisso, his former executive assistant, filed a criminal complaint accusing Cuomo of groping and rubbing her butt and slipping his hand inside her blouse and bra and grabbing her breast. The charge filed by Commisso is the most serious allegation against Cuomo. Four district attorneys from jurisdictions in Manhattan, Albany, Westchester, and Nassau counties have announced that they are reviewing the evidence presented in the attorney general’s report.
Andrew Cuomo is a Democrat. Both houses of the New York state legislature are controlled by Democrats. Had Cuomo not announced he would resign, he would clearly have been impeached and convicted and removed from office by the state legislature.
Cuomo’s rapid fall after allegations of sexual harassment and assault is reminiscent of Al Franken’s resignation from the U.S. Senate. Franken faced allegations that he had forcibly kissed and groped several women. He was never accused of sexual assault, but less than a month after the first sexual harassment allegation was made against him in November of 2017, Franken announced he would resign from the Senate.
It has been said that Democrats eat their own, but it’s more accurate to say that Democratic men, when they are caught acting being disgusting, at least have the sense to apologize and resign their positions. Democrat Eliot Spitzer was forced to resign as New York governor in 2008 following allegations that he had been a frequent customer of a high-priced prostitution ring. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, another incredibly disgusting New York political figure, resigned from office in 2018 after the New Yorker reported that four women had accused him of physical abuse during sex. The women said that Schneiderman had choked, hit or slapped them without their consent.
Republicans, on the other hand, are not known for having a problem with men in their party when they are charged with sexual harassment and assault. Take the man who has been the leader of the Republican Party since he won the presidency in 2016: Donald Trump. In addition to various affairs Trump has had during three of his marriages, and the payoffs he has made to keep the women quiet, Trump has faced many accusations of harassment and abuse over several decades.
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When are men who witness or learn in the good ole boy network about abuse of women in the work place going to speak up in defense of the women? Why aren't more men offering their testimony in support of women? Just as Trump proclaimed that he can "grab them...." and "they let me do it because I am a star," there is an element of men letting powerful men do it because they believe men will be men. This is a battle that women should not have to fight by themselves. I just do not believe that no other man knew what Cuomo was doing. By their silence, they condone the abuse.
Republican men (and women) just adore the men who are accused of sexual harassment. They think these men are ‘sexy’ and doing what real men do. Their adoration is based on the hope that they’ll get away with it, too (men) or that someone will ‘harass them’ (women). Hence, they never apologize.