The list of men called out for bad sexual behavior, from creeping on underaged girls to rape, keeps growing. Comedian Louis C.K., who was trailed for years by rumors of his brand of no-touch (other than himself) sexual assault, is having all his HBO content erased from On Demand. Kevin Spacey’s part in an upcoming movie was 86’ed and reshot with Christopher Plummer. This is not going away, it’s growing.
Last week a conservative commenter said Hollywood would brush this under the rug, as they did with Roman Polanski. (For those unfamiliar with conservative “thought,” the existence of a single bad-behaving liberal negates all bad behavior by all conservatives, everywhere, for all time.) That commenter hasn’t been back since; conservatives hate admitting they were wrong. Nor will they want to acknowledge the double standard they have applied to distinguish between Harvey Weinstein and Republican politicians like Roy Moore and Donald Trump.
Harvey Weinstein hasn’t been tried on any charges yet, but they’ve jumped on him with both feet. Donald Trump, though, accused by 16 women of sexual assault? Nothing proven, and anyway, lies, all lies.
Now it’s Roy Moore’s turn. Four women were approached by reporters — they did not come forward, they were found — and all four, none of whom knew each other, say that as a 30-something, Moore made sexual overtures toward them. The most serious allegation came from a woman who was 14 at the time and says Moore plied her with liquor, stripped her to her underwear and fondled her. While saying it never happened, Moore also pointed out she didn’t say there was any intercourse, a rather strange defense if you think about it.
I predicted yesterday that someone would point out the Old Testament age of consent is 13, when a bar or bat mitzvah welcomed the child into adulthood. (In practice back then, ladies, it meant basically that your father could sell you to the highest bidder, which is apparently what conservatives would like to go back to. Hey, it’s what Trump did.)
The someone who fulfilled the prophecy was Alabama state auditor Jim Ziegler, who told the Washington Times, “Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.” Moore’s son has been arrested nine (9) times, eight times more than Jesus, so maybe that’s not the best comparison, but Moore’s brother doubled down on the ploy, straight-up claiming he’s “being persecuted just like Jesus was.” If that’s true, I’ll bring the nails.
Another conservative standby for the hopelessly guilty is to go on the offensive instead. Alabama state Rep. Ed Henry showed how it’s done, calling for the accusers to be arrested for not coming forward sooner. What a great idea — if a woman who’s been raped doesn’t come forward immediately, arrest her for failing to report a crime. I’ll bet the number of reported rapes would plummet, so problem solved, right?
There is, however, one honest Republican in Alabama, and Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale found him. “After a long pause,” Dale tweeted, “Alabama Bibb County Republican chairman Jerry Pow tells me he’d vote for Roy Moore even if Moore did commit a sex crime against a girl. ‘I would vote for Judge Moore because I wouldn’t want to vote for Doug. I’m not saying I support what he did.” Because priorities.