Justice for All?

Leadership means having a clear vision for the future. It means making tough calls in difficult times in order to advance the agenda you were hired/elected to move forward. In the case of the U.S. Congress that means advancing the agenda of "we the people", not "we the establishment." The outcome of the Alabama election has made two things readily apparent to me:  1) The American people are finally starting to awaken to the behind-the-scenes power-wielding machinations employed by the elites on the left, in the Democratic Party, and they are tired of being played, tired of being used --witness the Roy Moore's comeback, losing by a mere 0.7% (the last count I saw, with over 91% of precincts reporting);  and 2) The leadership of the Republican Party --chiefly Mitch McConnell--have failed their party, their candidate in the critical Alabama Senate race, and failed their Commander in Chief, by throwing their candidate immediately under the bus at the first hint of trouble, in the absence of any due process, for an allegation of misconduct not only suspiciously timed but dating back well over thirty years.

I have to say, given the outcome of this crucial Senate race, coupled with Senator McConnell's poor legislative track record to date, that the time has come for the Majority Leader to resign from his duties so that he may be replaced with a more effective leader capable of advancing the President's agenda.  Perhaps the upside of this election outcome is two-fold.  First off, Roy Moore wasn't forced to withdraw from the campaign in the face unproven allegations, which he adamantly denied.  His supporters rallied in the absence of solid and timely evidence, and in the end the easily-spooked Republican Party came back around to support Moore's election bid.  So in the end, the nation dodged a bullet by not setting the dangerous precedent for future political elections that well-timed moral hit-jobs involving allegations of sexual misconduct can force targeted politicians out of key races after being tried solely in the court of public opinion. Then secondly, another upside is the fact this election only serves to fill the remainder of the former Senator's (Jeff Sessions) term, that remaining term being only two years of a standard six year term --Sessions having already served four of the six years in a given term.  So in two years, the Alabama Senate seat will be up for election once again.  All of the above being said, #1) above gives me enormous hope for both political parties moving forward.  The ability to think critically, logically towards the discernment of truth is crucial to the survival of our representative democracy.  In the absence of this independent reasoning and thought on the part of the electorate an elite 'ruling' power structure settles itself into place, being near impossible to remove once it is established, and this elite power structure is not focused on the needs of "we the people"; it is focused on selling influence and maintaining power in order to advance an elitist agenda.  Sadly, today in Washington D.C. there are elites participating in a well-established power structure on both sides of the political aisle.  Perhaps this is why we need to begin a discussion about the benefits of term-limits where seats in the U.S. Congress are concerned?

On a different note, I also think that the time has now come for we, as a nation, to begin having the discussion that would allow us to prioritize claims of sexual misconduct and the appropriate repercussions thereof, for not all offenses are created equal.  Not all offenses should result in the immediate destruction of a man or woman's entire career in the absence of any due process.  Don't get me wrong, I think the #MeToo movement is truly empowering.  It has allowed .. is allowing women and men to step out of their silence and suffering in order for their voices to be heard.  This movement has begun a long overdue conversation in our nation, a conversation with the potential to move us further toward a truly egalitarian society, which is rather remarkable in and of itself. That being said, we really need to get a handle the ramifications of sexual misconduct allegations in the absence of  any prioritization.  Prioritization of sexual misconduct allegations --even though there will likely be many grey areas-- would allow us to begin building the frame-work for prosecution in order to ensure justice for all.  For in the absence of prioritization, the positive progress this #MeToo conversation has made thus far can just as quickly run right off the rails, with countless opportunities for abuse in the face of false or unproven allegations.  Having this important conversation will also allow us to put past allegations (e.g., Senator Ted Kennedy, President Bill Clinton, Senator Tod Akin) --and the response of individuals from each political party-- into perspective when discussing current allegations (e.g., Judge Roy Moore, Senator Al Franken,  Senator Trent Franks and Representative John Conyers).  It may also help to shed some light on the motivations behind a radical change in behavior where some groups are concerned (i.e., rank-and-file Democrats). "Hypocrisy is the homage vice plays to virtue"?

12/14/2017  I heard that Roy Moore has requested a recount of the election results, as allowed by Alabama State Constitution for closely contested races.  

We, As a Nation, Are at a Crossroads ....

I have been following all of the #MeToo posts and stories, well the highlights at least. It's been too hard for me to bear witness to explicit details having been a victim myself. Nonetheless, I sincerely admire the courage of others have shown by coming forward in order to share their deeply personal stories, followed by the aftermath of trying to find 'normal' once again --some of us never truly find normal again, maybe we must invent a new normal for ourselves. Anyway, the sharing of these courageous women --and men-- gives me a profound sense of hope ... Hope because the sharing of these stories reveals a long-hidden, ugly truth in our western society, namely the false-narrative that power can be used to prey upon others for the purposes of a misguided need for sexual gratification at the expense of an unwilling participant. By sharing these stories we remove the mask of stigma from the victims and refocus the blame where it should rightly reside, namely upon the perpetrators and their enablers. We've begun to shrink the cover that 'polite society' used to provide for these monsters and started a conversation that stands to fundamentally change how we deal with sexual harassment and assault in our modern-day society. Those who prey upon the innocent, our children, are perhaps the worst among the predators. For these innocent we must remain ever-vigilant, being the eyes and ears who will watch for any and all signs of abuse and then move swiftly to protect the innocent.

All of the above being said, however, I find myself deeply troubled by the allegations being brought against the Republican Alabama Senate Candidate, Judge Roy Moore, in the aftermath of the Alabama primary election and just weeks before the main election is to be held. While the allegations, if proved to be truthful, are horrible and wholly inexcusable, I find myself EXTREMELY uncomfortable with the timing of these allegations, especially in light of the fact that these allegations date back thirty, or more, years making the allegations all the more difficult to conclusively prove, by legal standards, within the limited time-frame leading up to the election.

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As much as it pains me to say, given my own experiences of sexual abuse, I firmly believe Roy Moore deserves his day in court.  I do  not think this because of Roy Moore's character or his policies, or the fact that he happens to be Republican.  I would be making this very same argument if Roy Moore were a Democrat as well.  Due process is the right of all citizens and it is a fundamental part of who we are as a nation.  Due process is what separates us from countries like North Korea and Iran.  To my way of thinking we, as a nation, are at a crossroads. We stand to set an incredibly dangerous precedent for trying post/primary political candidates in the “court of public opinion”, without the due-process of law, where information --both true and false-- in this 'courtroom' spreads like wildfire in this day and age of global social media and the 24-hour cable news-cycle.  The repercussions of such a precedent will be long-lasting and detrimental to the fundamental underpinnings of our representative democracy, because now moving forward any candidate can be unfairly targeted with non-legally binding charges, in any political campaign, without due-process.  The game-changer of course in the "court of public opinion", now verses decades past, is the velocity--both speed, as well as multi-direction-- at which damage can be inflicted upon an intended target in our present-day technological web.  So which candidates are likely prevail in such scenarios, without the benefit of due process? Probably those candidates who are well-connected, both in terms of finances as well as media backing, with the financiers having their own hidden agendas. And who will want to even run for political office, given the risk of being unfairly targeted and smeared? Probably not the best qualified candidates, with the best interest of “we the people” at heart.

The Democrats are quite the hypocrites, given their unwavering support for President Bill Clinton in the aftermath of his sexual misconduct with a young White House intern, in the Oval Office no less, even in the aftermath of Congressional impeachment.  Let us not overlook the fact that the Democrats stand to win a much needed Senate seat in the aftermath of scandal, a seat which could potentially shift the Congressional balance-of-power, thereby derailing President Trump's agenda for “Making America Great Again.” And shame on establishment Republicans for rushing to throw their fellow Republican immediately under the bus? Timing IS everything. Even if these allegations of sexual misconduct prove to be true, we are all being played. Are we really okay with this?  If Roy Moore is forced to withdraw from the race, then the puppet-masters win again and they win BIG, not just today, but tomorrow and in every future political race that has yet to play.  I say, Judge Roy Moore deserves his day in court. Let the election play out, with the legal proceeding moving forth simultaneously. Then, if Roy Moore winds up winning the election and IF he is found guilty, by legal standards, then have him removed from office, where-after a replacement can appointed by the Governor of Alabama, as the established electoral guidelines in the state of Alabama dictate. To do otherwise risks damaging our democracy in so very many ways, ways which will go on to have lasting repercussions on our nation for decades upon decades to come.