Thread: Harassment Scandal to Explode in California; Democrats Could Lose Power

The “#metoo” phenomenon is now threatening to upend political power in the nation’s largest state.

California – dominated by Democrats since the era of Ronald Reagan – is going through what Politico calls a “day of reckoning” as entrenched liberals in the state face a slew of sexual harassment charges.

Starting next year, the scandal-induced resignations will cost the state their “supermajority” in the state legislature next year. And the fallout is spreading to the elections in 2018 too.

“We’re in unchartered territory here,” Garry South, a veteran Democratic strategist who advised former California Gov. Gray Davis, told Politico. “This whole issue has hit a critical mass in a very short time. I’ve never seen anything like it before — and I don’t know where it ends.”

The sexual harassment conflagration started with Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has become a firestorm that has burned through politicians, Hollywood executives and bigwigs in Silicon Valley.

Especially hard hit are Democrats in Sacramento, California’s capital. The state Assembly is convening hours of public hearings dedicated to sexual harassment, while the state Senate leader, Kevin de León, recently announced the hiring of two law firms to investigate accusations of misconduct.

When more than 150 women penned a letter demanding more accountability and victim protection – in a social media movement they called “#WeSaidEnough,” de León tried to address those concerns. The Senate established a hotline to field calls from within the Capitol about sexual harassment and assault and hired a rape crisis organization to provide assistance and counseling to victims of sexual misconduct. But some women activists say he hasn’t done enough, especially when it comes to protecting whistleblowers.


This poses a growing problem for de León, who is trying to mount a bid for Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s seat next year.

Among those who have been outspoken in their demands for more action is Christine Pelosi, chairwoman of the California Democratic Party Women’s Caucus and Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, who told lawmakers at the start of an Assembly hearing last month, “We have rapists in this building. We have molesters among us.”

Last month, then-Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra, a Los Angeles Democrat, resigned after the Los Angeles Times published accusations of harassment from six women. Shortly after, Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, a former aide to Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman announced he will resign effective Jan. 1, after multiple women accused him of misconduct. A Sacramento lobbyist, Pamela Lopez, accused Dababneh of cornering her in a Las Vegas bathroom last year and masturbating while urging her to touch him.

And most recently, LA Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman has been caught in the Dababneh headlines. Eight former aides say the environment in his Washington, D.C. office was “toxic” and that Sherman was ignoring the problem. “’Congressman Sherman showed zero interest in the personal well-being of his staffers and there’s no reason to believe he would have cared or taken any action if a complaint was made,’ said one former staffer,’’ McClatchy reported. Sherman insisted his staff never complained about his former aide’s sexual behavior.

Robin Swanson, a Democratic political consultant in Sacramento, said she anticipates that public attention on sexual harassment will likely benefit politicians who surround themselves with powerful women – and, she hopes, encourage more women to run for public office themselves.

“Hopefully something like this is not only cleaning house, it’s a clarion call for more women to run for office, too,” she said. “To me, it feels like it’s a fever breaking, it’s always kind of been a sickness that has been there, and now the fever’s breaking because we’re airing it out.”

Harassment Scandal to Explode in California; Democrats Could Lose Power

Holy Crap! Looks like California is loaded with miscreants who have abused their power for YEARS! I PRAY some non-libs can step into these offices and start righting the ship.

2018...the year to take out the TRASH in our government offices and the TRASH at our border!



NO DACA, NO AMNESTY AND NO PATH TO STAY

NO BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

NO BENEFITS TO ILLEGALS OUR THEIR CHILDREN...THEY ARE NOT US CITIZENS!

BUILD THE WALL!!!

Moved from General Discussion to Other Topics since not immigration related