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In reply to the discussion: Eric Swalwell and the Death of Accountability [View all]
karynnj
(61,013 posts)96. Here is a possible explanation
What if what they KNEW was that he had consensual affairs and made suggestive comments that were inappropriate, but not illegal, but they did not think they reached the level of harassment. Even his statement speaks of actions he apologized for, while rejecting what he characterized as untrue allegations.
What was different here is that the charges are criminal if they are proven. Their knowledge of his known behavior and the fact that she was a former staffer and her claims show that, even if consensual, were wrong because he was her boss.
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Yes. "Open Secret?" I certainly had not heard the rumblings but perhaps within the beltway...
hlthe2b
22 hrs ago
#6
"So, yeah. It appears the pump was fully primed on Friday within the circles who fully "knew" but amazing to me, did not
WhiskeyGrinder
22 hrs ago
#8
I Believe The Term Refers To Those Working With Or For Swalwell, Not "Us".
ColoringFool
20 hrs ago
#78
My daughter is a CA Dem delegate and a caucus chair, and she had never heard those rumors.
deurbano
19 hrs ago
#93
Same here.... I guess 'open secret' meant within the House of Reps ONLY---
Jack Valentino
8 hrs ago
#145
Broken stair analogy, plus organizations like to hold on to high performers, even when they're terrible people.
WhiskeyGrinder
22 hrs ago
#10
And the biggest missing stair in our politics happens to be President! (n/t)
thesquanderer
19 hrs ago
#94
Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a son with the family's housekeeper, kept the child a secret while he was
sop
22 hrs ago
#11
Just to be clear, a lot of the "wait and see" was about not SEEING all the facts yet
RandomNumbers
21 hrs ago
#28
There was someone here yesterday asking what was expected if a drunk woman goes to a man's hotel room
EdmondDantes_
21 hrs ago
#45
More than one poster suggested that the bank accounts of the victims needed to be investigated
MichMan
20 hrs ago
#68
It is VERY sad that a Democrat who has been so effective against Trump,
Jack Valentino
8 hrs ago
#146
I still haven't heard a credible explanation from "The timing is suspicious!" crowd
Sympthsical
22 hrs ago
#19
The difference between virtue signalling and actual virtue on full display
Sympthsical
21 hrs ago
#21
There's another element here. She's running against a man people liked a lot who turned out to be a dog.
Scrivener7
21 hrs ago
#44
On the other hand - I suspect many Democratic voters will now see her as more of a sure bet
peppertree
21 hrs ago
#54
there's been nothing but accountability from the party and Dem supporters, including Swalwell's
bigtree
9 hrs ago
#143
nothing in that article backed up the claim that 'His sexual misconduct was an open secret'
bigtree
21 hrs ago
#22
That's sad. I wonder if this was known more than locally? Many will blow it off as "just gossip"
LeftInTX
21 hrs ago
#32
Unfortunately, it seems to be considered 'acceptable' for men to behave like that
RandomNumbers
21 hrs ago
#33
For years. Incredible, one would imagine he was the only politician they could back.
Passages
21 hrs ago
#36
"Everybody just turned a blind eye and went about their lives for years?"
Sympthsical
12 hrs ago
#137
Whatever else is true about how "known" Swalwell's behavior was, My Kevin is not a reliable reporter.
deurbano
19 hrs ago
#99
I noticed the word "misconduct" people knew of his "misconduct" and chose to ignore it. But "misconduct" has now
Ninga
20 hrs ago
#66
I figured as much. Unless Becerra finds rocket fuel and blows up out of his months-long 2 to 5 per cent level, it looks,
Celerity
19 hrs ago
#88
"...what did both of these men do other than this political chit-chat on social media?"
WhiskeyGrinder
21 hrs ago
#48
I believe the House introduced a resolution in 2018 prohibiting any sexual contact between a member and staff
MichMan
19 hrs ago
#103
If party leadership knew about this & didn't discourage him from running for gov, then they're complicit, too.
CrispyQ
21 hrs ago
#53
The open secret appears to have been that he was sleeping around while married.
LisaL
20 hrs ago
#64
If higher ups in the party knew, they shouldn't have encouraged him to run for governor.
LeftInTX
20 hrs ago
#76
I think a lot of people just liked that Swalwell that was an attack dog against Trump and didn't care about much else
MichMan
20 hrs ago
#71
Too many people repeat everything Trump says and seem to believe it as well
Just_Vote_Dem
20 hrs ago
#75
"The rumors that are being discussed as being generally known are of consensual relationships, not sexual assault or
WhiskeyGrinder
19 hrs ago
#101
I never understood the Avenatti stanning. He always seemed like a plonker to me. I certianly never got invested in the
Celerity
19 hrs ago
#91