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peggysue2

(12,547 posts)

117. This is another dispiriting revelation

Mon Apr 13, 2026, 12:53 PM

4 hrs ago

If this was "an open secret" why would Swalwell or any man (after MeToo) think this story would not come out in a hotly contested governor's race? Swalwell was already in the spotlight with his attacks on Agent Orange, something we all applauded. Amazingly, MAGA World did not burn Swalwell's ass before this. I suspect these details were in their opposition research and they waited for the strategic moment.

But that certainly doesn't let Swalwell off the hook.

To be honest, I didn't want to believe this. It was only after I read that Swalwell's staffers came out against their boss and defended the women that I realized this was not an overplayed Al Franken moment.

Dispiriting, yes, but perhaps we should all be relieved this revelation didn't happen during the General.

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LeftInTX

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Eric Swalwell and the Death of Accountability [View all] Celerity 9 hrs ago OP

KNR niyad 8 hrs ago #1

Tribes protect valuable members. OC375 8 hrs ago #2

It's California Bettie 8 hrs ago #4

Agreed. OC375 8 hrs ago #5

Which makes the question posed in the article even more compelling. yardwork 8 hrs ago #12

If this was known Bettie 8 hrs ago #3

Yes. "Open Secret?" I certainly had not heard the rumblings but perhaps within the beltway... hlthe2b 8 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 8 hrs ago #8

I Believe The Term Refers To Those Working With Or For Swalwell, Not "Us". ColoringFool 6 hrs ago #78

My daughter is a CA Dem delegate and a caucus chair, and she had never heard those rumors. deurbano 5 hrs ago #93

I concur. In this world there are "upstanders" snd Ninga 5 hrs ago #104

I have never come across any decent humans who are cheaters jfz9580m 3 hrs ago #124

Exactly WSHazel 8 hrs ago #7

One of the reasons I didn't quite believe it at first Bettie 8 hrs ago #9

Madoff is the epitome of this behavior WSHazel 7 hrs ago #59

Broken stair analogy, plus organizations like to hold on to high performers, even when they're terrible people. WhiskeyGrinder 8 hrs ago #10

And the biggest missing stair in our politics happens to be President! (n/t) thesquanderer 5 hrs ago #94

Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a son with the family's housekeeper, kept the child a secret while he was sop 8 hrs ago #11

The sad fact is that a lot of men get away with it. yardwork 8 hrs ago #16

Thank you jfz9580m 7 hrs ago #27

Just to be clear, a lot of the "wait and see" was about not SEEING all the facts yet RandomNumbers 7 hrs ago #28

Wait and see is one thing. yardwork 7 hrs ago #31

Yes, I agree with you on that point. RandomNumbers 7 hrs ago #35

It has helped me make a final decision jfz9580m 6 hrs ago #77

"Immediately blaming every woman in sight is something else." MorbidButterflyTat 3 hrs ago #123

Nope. I'm not calling out any DUer. yardwork 1 hr ago #128

There was someone here yesterday asking what was expected if a drunk woman goes to a man's hotel room EdmondDantes_ 7 hrs ago #45

Should be asking, why would a responsible man RandomNumbers 6 hrs ago #67

More than one poster suggested that the bank accounts of the victims needed to be investigated MichMan 6 hrs ago #68

The question was MorbidButterflyTat 3 hrs ago #125

That's not the post I was referring to EdmondDantes_ 1 hr ago #129

I have seen post, that in my opinion suggest voting for him Lifeafter70 7 hrs ago #60

That's what stood out to me jfz9580m 6 hrs ago #82

Based on Arnold, obviously he had a good reason to think so. LisaL 7 hrs ago #62

I had no idea this was an open secret. Disgusting. Passages 8 hrs ago #13

People thought the party was taking crazy pills Sympthsical 8 hrs ago #14

I imagine the Republicans were hoping he'd be the nominee. yardwork 8 hrs ago #17

I still haven't heard a credible explanation from "The timing is suspicious!" crowd Sympthsical 8 hrs ago #19

There was a spontaneous eruption of that phrase on DU. yardwork 8 hrs ago #20

Hasn't hurt many of the GOP members samplegirl 8 hrs ago #15

The death of accountability is a good headline. yardwork 8 hrs ago #18

The difference between virtue signalling and actual virtue on full display Sympthsical 8 hrs ago #21

And every other woman in sight was blamed, too. yardwork 7 hrs ago #23

I think Katie Porter will actually be hurt by this Scrivener7 7 hrs ago #25

Absolutely. She's getting the Hillary Clinton Kamala Harris treatment. yardwork 7 hrs ago #37

There's another element here. She's running against a man people liked a lot who turned out to be a dog. Scrivener7 7 hrs ago #44

On the other hand - I suspect many Democratic voters will now see her as more of a sure bet peppertree 7 hrs ago #54

As a former CA member of the House, she was in karynnj 5 hrs ago #92

Probably true. Scrivener7 5 hrs ago #102

She clearly is being hit on this karynnj 5 hrs ago #90

Tribal reaction. Dems are not immune from it. paleotn 7 hrs ago #49

Exactly! This is not a game, folks. paleotn 7 hrs ago #43

nothing in that article backed up the claim that 'His sexual misconduct was an open secret' bigtree 7 hrs ago #22

It was very much an open secret Sympthsical 7 hrs ago #24

That's sad. I wonder if this was known more than locally? Many will blow it off as "just gossip" LeftInTX 7 hrs ago #32

Unfortunately, it seems to be considered 'acceptable' for men to behave like that RandomNumbers 7 hrs ago #33

For years. Incredible, one would imagine he was the only politician they could back. Passages 7 hrs ago #36

Why encourage him to run for governor? MorbidButterflyTat 32 min ago #132

Kevin MCarthy on CNN question everything 7 hrs ago #52

not one of the sources I'd trust for anything bigtree 6 hrs ago #85

Whatever else is true about how "known" Swalwell's behavior was, My Kevin is not a reliable reporter. deurbano 5 hrs ago #99

Kevin MCarthy??? MorbidButterflyTat 41 min ago #131

I noticed the word "misconduct" people knew of his "misconduct" and chose to ignore it. But "misconduct" has now Ninga 6 hrs ago #66

Stop blaming Nancy Pelosi. yardwork 6 hrs ago #79

Excuse me. There are "upstanders" and "bystanders" Ninga 5 hrs ago #107

Exactly. No matter their last name or gender. N/T AloeVera 3 hrs ago #120

"Inappropriate" behaviour by a person in power is grooming. AloeVera 3 hrs ago #119

Here is a possible explanation karynnj 5 hrs ago #96

it's not clear anyone knew except the people claiming it was well known bigtree 3 hrs ago #121

Just because you didn't know... Random Boomer 5 hrs ago #100

internet gossip bigtree 3 hrs ago #122

There is this tweet from Dec 2025 LeftInTX 7 hrs ago #26

great reply Celerity 7 hrs ago #29

what did he do with that information bigtree 7 hrs ago #41

The answer is right in the article. Nanjeanne 7 hrs ago #47

more background as well Celerity 7 hrs ago #57

He's an interesting read. Did you see this one? Sympthsical 6 hrs ago #69

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 5 hrs ago #88

I see the problem with Becerra Sympthsical 5 hrs ago #97

"...what did both of these men do other than this political chit-chat on social media?" WhiskeyGrinder 7 hrs ago #48

that's still just conjecture bigtree 6 hrs ago #86

Because the victims had to come forward Sympthsical 7 hrs ago #51

That's how it was with Tony Gonzales. LeftInTX 6 hrs ago #70

Yep. Just like Weinstein and Ronan Farrow Sympthsical 6 hrs ago #81

The comments made by some poster here Lifeafter70 6 hrs ago #72

Humans gonna human Sympthsical 6 hrs ago #84

Threat of lawsuit? RoseTrellis 6 hrs ago #65

Wow. Passages 7 hrs ago #42

The Democratic Party doesn't allow this kind of behavor. Escape 7 hrs ago #30

True. Shades of Gary Hart. peppertree 7 hrs ago #46

Wait-a-sec mr715 4 hrs ago #111

Sure. peppertree 4 hrs ago #113

I'll have to check out Ms. Kelley's book. mr715 4 hrs ago #114

That could have something to do with it peppertree 4 hrs ago #116

Thanks for the insight mr715 22 min ago #133

Well, The Democratic Party Apparently Does So "Allow," Until...., ColoringFool 6 hrs ago #80

True - but at least they have limits peppertree 5 hrs ago #105

Nobody wants to be the messenger. milestogo 7 hrs ago #34

That's true... LeftInTX 7 hrs ago #38

The Gary Hart of our times peppertree 7 hrs ago #39

My exact thought this morning. paleotn 7 hrs ago #50

Gary Hart may have been a reckless philanderer, but Jose Garcia 7 hrs ago #56

There's still issues of consent going after a parade of young women EdmondDantes_ 5 hrs ago #95

I believe the House introduced a resolution in 2018 prohibiting any sexual contact between a member and staff MichMan 5 hrs ago #103

Luckily for Lady G, it didn't apply to the Senate peppertree 5 hrs ago #106

"Accountability" only applies to Democrats. valleyrogue 7 hrs ago #40

Sad - but true. And you see that in many other democracies. peppertree 5 hrs ago #108

Gandhi??? LeftInTX 3 hrs ago #126

If party leadership knew about this & didn't discourage him from running for gov, then they're complicit, too. CrispyQ 7 hrs ago #53

That's the part that got me Tree Lady 6 hrs ago #74

The weird thing is jfz9580m 7 hrs ago #55

He is resigning. Accountability is taking place. Martin68 7 hrs ago #58

Philandering is one thing but Billsdaughter 7 hrs ago #61

"Was an open secret for a long time" sunnybrook 7 hrs ago #63

The open secret appears to have been that he was sleeping around while married. LisaL 6 hrs ago #64

If higher ups in the party knew, they shouldn't have encouraged him to run for governor. LeftInTX 6 hrs ago #76

I agree. LisaL 6 hrs ago #83

I'd like to see those sources too MorbidButterflyTat 1 hr ago #130

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 6 hrs ago #71

Too many people repeat everything Trump says and seem to believe it as well Just_Vote_Dem 6 hrs ago #75

that's not evident in anything bigtree 5 hrs ago #87

This message was self-deleted by its author MichMan 5 hrs ago #98

"The rumors that are being discussed as being generally known are of consensual relationships, not sexual assault or WhiskeyGrinder 5 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 5 hrs ago #91

DURec leftstreet 6 hrs ago #73

I'm not a fan of situational ethics. democrank 5 hrs ago #89

Yes. And a horror I have heard applauded jfz9580m 4 hrs ago #112

How soon we forget Edwards and other Dem 'womanizers' JCMach1 4 hrs ago #109

How soon we forget Edwards and other Dem 'womanizers' JCMach1 4 hrs ago #110

I mean like, what 50 year old man sends dick pics to his girlfriends? Jersey Devil 4 hrs ago #115

This is another dispiriting revelation peggysue2 4 hrs ago #117

I have counter evidence for the last sentence. My daughter endorsed Swalwell before hearing any rumors, then "quickly deurbano 4 hrs ago #118

Obviously most of us (in general public) LisaL 2 hrs ago #127

I certainly did not, even thoI fancy myself to be rather well informed. 3catwoman3 12 min ago #134