My Point of View, By Jennifer Vogt-Erickson

“Every time we turn around, another shoe drops from this centipede.” I think about John McCain’s metaphor for the Russia investigation every time a new allegation of sexual harassment against a prominent figure is revealed.

When the story about Harvey Weinstein broke two months ago, it was as if a rock lifted off a dark place. Many powerful men have had their crude and sometimes criminal deeds exposed to sunlight like never before. It has even directly impacted Minnesota, with state Rep. Tony Cornish and state Sen. Dan Schoen announcing their resignations, MPR severing ties with Garrison Keillor and U.S. Sen. Al Franken being unmasked as a serial groper.

I had previously defended Franken for some of his writing that crossed lines of good judgement. One particular example was a skit about Leslie Stahl that was never performed and should never have been written in the first place. But I absolved him by saying it was just words, it was a long time ago and he had apologized.

Even with those indiscretions on Franken’s record, I was caught off guard by recent allegations against him. Outwardly, he has been a dependable ally of women as a senator. By the time of this writing, though, six women have accused Senator Franken of inappropriately touching them. The alleged incidents happened between 2003 and 2010, the last one while he was already in office.

But what really gave me whiplash was the venom with which some of my fellow liberals attacked the women who came forward, calling their stories into question: Didn’t she know what she was getting into? Why didn’t she stop him? Why didn’t anybody else see it? Why didn’t she say anything for so long? Did you see how she was behaving with other men? What are her motives?

We’ve heard this worn out record hundreds of times before. They’re the tried-and-tested lines that drive most women into shame and silence. I had thought we were in a new groove until Franken was caught up in the scandals. Then it was a fork in the road, and liberals split.

If liberals tend to believe the accusers of people like Roy Moore and Donald Trump, but some tend to dismiss the accusers of Al Franken and Bill Clinton, then it’s not really about standing up for women’s rights. It’s just partisanship, and women are pawns.

If the Democratic Party defends sacred bulls (powerful players, fundraising stars, gifted politicians, civil rights icons) who corner unconsenting women to get their kicks, then it’s only giving lip service to women’s rights. And the message to girls and women who are harmed by these men is as clear as it’s ever been: Shut up.

This is not a “sex panic” as some have worried. If it’s effective, this moment of sunlight will go far beyond the spaces where famous men troll for and trap their victims. It will extend down to the offices and factory floors in towns like Albert Lea. It will make regular work environments safer for women to do their jobs, climb the career ladder and handle their business without fearing unwanted advances and calculating the costs/benefits of standing up to that kind of abuse versus staying silent.

It’s unfortunate that the “Giant of the Senate” turned out to be a giant hypocrite. I recently criticized Franken in a column for invoking Paul Wellstone’s legacy without doing the work of bringing ordinary Minnesotans to the table here in Albert Lea’s fight with Mayo over our hospital. While his pet project of protecting net neutrality is important, its loss wouldn’t gouge people in Freeborn County as much as Mayo’s monopoly of our health care system already does.

So, once again, Al Franken has talked the talk but not walked the walk, in the most puerile way. Maybe he thought he was entitled to that behavior, or that it wasn’t a big deal. Whatever the case, it’s a pattern of behavior unbefitting a U.S. senator, and he should resign.

At the same time, we must stay focused on complex things like the tax “reform” bill that Republicans are pushing through the senate. It’s a servile donor appreciation bill, and senators who once got vapors from the thought of adding a penny to the debt have suddenly developed a strong constitution for it when it involves handing out a treasure trove of tax breaks to their wealthy campaign contributors. Hardly any of it will trickle down to Freeborn County, but future cuts to government programs as a result will hit us hard.

Put all those centipedes out in the sunlight — collusion, campaign cash and crass behavior. It’s for the benefit of women, average people and democracy.

Jennifer Vogt-Erickson is a member of the Freeborn County DFL Party.