Today I thought I’d take a little different tack. There is obviously no shortage of news involving Trump and his minions but something happened a couple of days ago that I think is worth talking about.
Two days ago Congressional Representative Ted Yoho (R – FL) accosted fellow Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on the steps of the Capitol. “ The two exchanged some words this week as they were passing one another on the steps of Capitol Hill. Yoho told AOC that it was “disgusting” for her to suggest that poverty and unemployment was to blame for the rise in crime in New York City during the coronavirus outbreak, and AOC responded by calling him “rude.” Then, as alleged by a reporter from The Hill, Yoho also mumbled that AOC was a, “f***ing b**ch.” 1
Representative Yoho subsequently offered an apology of sorts by stating that he was sorry for the ‘abrupt manner’ of his conversation with Ocasio-Cortez but would not apologize for his passion. And, of course, he denied using the words that were attributed to him. He even cited that he has a wife and daughters and would never use such language. The reporter said that he clearly heard the Congressman so you can decide to believe him or not.
Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez took to the floor of the House or Representatives to call out Congressman Yoho and his unacceptable behavior. Good for her. I’m sure there are those that vehemently disagree with some of Ocasio-Cortez’s policies. That’s fine. That is what democracy is all about – people having different points of view. But just because you disagree with someone, does not give you the right to accost them and treat them with disrespect.
Unfortunately, that is the culture that we find ourselves in these days. The President has a long history of treating women with disrespect. If you look at his cabinet and the majority of people he surrounds himself with, they are by and large, middle-aged and older white men. Trump will always attack those that disagree with him but if it happens to be a woman, the attacks become even more virulent.
Even now, Liz Cheney, a conservative Congresswoman from Wyoming, has dared to criticize Trump and Trump and his minions are attacking her. He harassed and belittled his previous Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristin Nielsen. He had the Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, fired when she was viewed as an obstacle to his and Rudy Giuliani’s corrupt schemes.
Given the President’s long history of misogynistic and bullying behavior towards women coupled with the ongoing and increasing polarization in this country, it is no small wonder that the environment on Capitol Hill has degenerated to a place where Congressmen feel like they have a license to verbally abuse duly elected female members of Congress – particularly if they are young. Do you really think Congressman Yoho would have made a similar assault on Nancy Pelosi? Not a chance in hell, but yet he felt like he had a license to accost Representative Ocasio-Cortez because she was a young female. I don’t give a shit if you don’t agree with AOC’s policies. As the father of a young woman, I find the behavior appalling and inexcusable. I frankly think the Congressman should be censured by the House to send a very strong message that such behavior will not be tolerated.
I am half-way through a book on the history of the Senate and how it devolved from a truly deliberative body into the partisan gridlock spectacle we have today which is almost totally unable to legislate or accomplish much of anything. In the past, Americans would see news reports of various legislative bodies from countries around the world where members would get into actual physical confrontations with fists flying – and we laughed. We are on the verge of descending into that kind of swamp.
I truly believe that the future of this country lies in the courage, strength and vision of the women of this country. We old white guys have had our chance and we have pretty well fucked it up. From the decades-old Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to the ‘yellow mom’s’ who are confronting the Federal officers in Portland, it should be clear that the women of this country are the strength that we need to draw upon during these difficult times.
I applaud Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for taking to the floor of the House of Representatives to call out the aberrant and unacceptable behavior of Representative Yoho. As my daughter finishes college and goes out into the world, I can only hope that this type of behavior will be met with appropriate condemnation as opposed to just being accepted as ‘the norm.’