Is the Democratic Party bungling the post-Weinstein moment? | The New Republic

Is the Democratic Party bungling the post-Weinstein moment?

Courtesy of NBC News

Appearing on Meet The Press on Sunday, Nancy Pelosi hemmed and hawed when Chuck Todd pressed her on the fate of Representative John Conyers, who had settled a wrongful termination case involving sexual harassment. She claimed that her caucus had a “zero tolerance” policy when it comes to sexual harassment, but refused to say that Conyers should step down. She questioned the trustworthiness of Conyers’s accusers: “I do not know who they are. Do you?” she asked the host. “They have not really come forward.” She said Conyers was entitled to “due process,” even though he had already settled the claim. She praised him as an “icon” and vigorously defended his record. Although Conyers later announced that he was stepping down as the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, that was beyond what Pelosi was willing to call for.

Pelosi was behaving like a typical party leader, defending a powerful, experienced member of her caucus. In normal circumstances, it’s exactly what you’d expect her to do. But these are not normal circumstances—which Pelosi herself acknowledged at the start of her interview. “I think that something wonderful is happening now, very credible,” Pelosi said. “It’s 100 years, almost 100 years, since women got the right to vote. Here we are, almost 100 years later, and something very transformative is happening. That is, women are saying, ‘Zero tolerance, no more, and we’re going to speak out on it.’ It’s so wholesome, so refreshing, so different.” If only she had stuck to that sentiment for the entirety of her interview.

Logo

Independent journalism matters

×

Ads help fund our journalism. Please disable your ad blocker so that we can continue striving to be the most influential magazine in Washington, D.C., with our breaking news coverage, in-depth political features, and much more.

Continue without disabling

Choose your Ad Blocker

  • Adblock Plus
  • Adblock
  • Adguard
  • Ad Remover
  • Brave
  • Ghostery
  • uBlock Origin
  • uBlock
  • UltraBlock
  • Other
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
  2. Click the large blue toggle for this website
  3. Click refresh
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
  2. Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
  2. Click on the large green toggle for this website
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
  2. Click "Disable on This Website"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
  2. Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
  2. Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
  3. Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
  4. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
  2. Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
  1. Please disable your Ad Blocker
  2. Disable any DNS blocking tools such as AdGuardDNS or NextDNS

If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers).