by Henry Oliner
The stream of sexual predatory behavior since Weinstein has the usual media suspects struggling for an explanation. While several players from the right are scarred- Roy Moore, Bill O’Reilly, and Donald Trump- the surprise is the deluge of accusations for this behavior from the left. Why now, after turning a blind eye to the behavior for so long, is the left so willing to hold their own accountable?
We all have our hypocritical moments, but there are apparently limits. It is hard to hold Donald Trump accountable for behavior when you have tolerated far worse. It is just too much to hear Hillary blame misogyny for her loss, not only because of the behavior of her husband, but because of the way she other party leaders treated Bill’s accusers and the famous blaming of the Vast Right-Wing conspiracy. Her assistant’s marriage to sexual miscreant Anthony Weiner is more than a coincidental footnote. It was an investigation of Weiner that caused Comey to go public with a ‘possible’ problem that could have reopened the Clinton investigation a mere week before the election.
Conspiracy theories are taking form. This is a deliberate effort to purge the Democratic Party of the Clintons and is consistent with Donna Brazile’s new book. It is a necessary step to charging Donald Trump and the road to impeachment. It is an attempt to purge moderate forces in the party so that the extreme progressives can double down on their agenda.
At Legal Insurrection William Jacobson wrote Emetic of the liberal Elites:
Major media, which has a vested interest in the success of the Democratic Party and the eventual defeat of Trump, knows that defeat of Trump cannot take place until there is a changing of the Democrat guard. The Clintons and vestiges of the Clintons must be purged, and what better way than to portray the party and liberalism as a coming to grips with the past abuses of Bill Clinton as covered up by Hillary. The major media now is acting as something of a truth and reconciliation commission, in which exposure of others in addition to the Clintons is necessary.
Additionally, that purging of the Clintons is necessary for the progressive wing to take over. The Clintons, and all that the Democratic establishment represents, is entrenched even in defeat. The airing of grievances against the Democrat harasser/abuser in chief, and his henchwoman, is necessary for the party to move on to it next, more radical, phase. That more radical phase will have people like Keith Ellison, who is being promoted as a replacement for Al Franken, in leadership.
These theories may have some substance as a retrospective view but were useless as any predictive tool and will remain so. I do not think any of this was centrally engineered with any desired outcome. History hinges on small events that are usually soon forgotten and occasionally open floodgates. Once these restrictions are removed the outcome is unpredictable and uncontrollable .
There will be players who take credit for random events and who seek to turn it to their advantage. They have little choice. The impact of these allegations may tip the political balance of power.
Just because these revelations were not predictable does not mean that there are no lessons to be learned. In the age of new media, it becomes very difficult to control information. Sometimes the time is just ripe for information that would be otherwise neglected.
Maybe we learn that character is important in a leader. Rationalizing acceptance of lurid and immoral behavior in the name of political power may seem cheap at the moment, but it only elevates future political risks.
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