You can place the blame for the current epidemic of sexual harassment right at the feet of Bill and Hillary Clinton. It could be argued that it began with Ted Kennedy, who let Mary Jo Kopechne drown while he chilled out at a hotel after saving himself, but it was the Clinton’s who raised the politics of sexual harassment and personal destruction to an art form.
As the accusers of Bill Clinton came forward, Bill Clinton’s top aide Betsy Wright coined them term “bimbo eruptions” and she and she colleagues then set about to destroy the women who dared speak of their treatment at the hands of Bill Clinton. Then Hillary took over. Her plan included such efforts as “I would crucify her”
“I think, by then [Bill’s presidential run], Hillary had a very good notion of Bill’s behavior,” said her longtime friend Nancy Pietrafesa. “Maybe she endured it, but I don’t think she condoned it.”
Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton dismissed an accusation made by Gennifer Flowers, the singer who sold her story to a supermarket tabloid after having previously denied an affair. In an ABC News interview, she called Flowers “some failed cabaret singer who doesn’t even have much of a résumé to fall back on.” She told Esquire magazine in 1992 that if she had the chance to cross-examine Flowers, “I mean, I would crucify her.”
and “We have to destroy her story.”
According to journalist Michael Isikoff, the Clinton campaign in 1992 spent $100,000 on private-detective work related to women. The approach, when rumors first popped up, was to get affidavits from women denying affairs — the reflex of most women is to avoid exposure — and, failing that, to use any discrediting tool at hand.
Hillary was fully on board. When a rock groupie told Penthouse in late 1991 that a state trooper approached her on Gov. Clinton’s behalf, Hillary said, “We have to destroy her story.”
And that is what her posse, led by George Stephanopoulos, then undertook to do. The Clinton gang began deriding the women victims of Bill Clinton, calling them “trailer park trash” and “sleazy woman with big hair” and “Drag $100 bills through trailer parks, there’s no telling what you’ll find.” The left wing media were willing participants in this sordid episode. And then there was Juanite Broaddrick. No one wanted to listen to her assertion that Bill Clinton raped her.
The allegation with which the Clintons have never truly had to grapple is Juanita Broaddrick’s charge of rape. The media roll their eyes whenever this comes up, but Broaddrick deserves better. Her story has been consistent over the years; she told people about the alleged assault at the time; and her account includes telling details that accord with what other women have said about encounters with Bill.
She never backed off. Far too late and grudgingly some in the left wing media began to accept her story as credible.
Bill Clinton’s victims are now amused by the sudden piety of left wing politicians all too willing to position themselves on the right side of history only for the sake of politics:
Paula Jones and Juanita Broaddrick, who accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct, said it “is a little bit too late” for Democratic women to come out against the former president.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and a number of others said Clinton should have resigned under the specter of sexual misconduct allegations in the 1990s.
“We were not believed,” Jones said. “[We] did not get any kind of help whatsoever from any of those liberal women.”
Broaddrick said it was “absolutely disgusting” to see the backlash come against Clinton after they exited electoral politics.
“This great epiphany should’ve occurred 20 years ago,” she said. “I should feel ecstatic about it but don’t.”
Jeffrey Lord summarized the Clinton tactics nicely:
Clinton Rule One: Dismiss the accusation as Old News.
Clinton Rule Two: Attack the messenger.
Clinton Rule Three: Call the accuser a liar and say they are doing it for money or publicity.
Clinton Rule Four: Cover up inconvenient truths
They were so good at what they did- so effective at destroying the victims that women (and men) became afraid to dare make public their experiences for fear of being ridiculed and personally destroyed as were the Clinton accusers. Harassment without consequence became possible. You could abuse women and still become President of the United States. It was quite an achievement for the Clinton’s.
Once this precedent had been established those who were inclined to sexually harass others were freed to engage in their recreational abuses. Hubris reigned until the crack appeared in the sexual harassment house of cards and then burst open.
Hillary Clinton was her husband’s enabler, but she became so much more than that. She made sexual harassment de rigueur. She is the mother of modern sexual harassment. She became the enabler for Weinstein, Spacey, Rose and the all of the others who now finally have to face their consequences of their actions. What we must not do is become enamored of the faux piety oozing from the left. That ship sailed long ago and they all missed the boat.
This is the Clinton legacy.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.