When the New York Times reported that Hollywood super-producer Harvey Weinstein had been accused of sexually harassing actresses and female staffers for decades, speculation arose whether the revelations were career-killing. Hot Air suggests that this is not the case. Creeps such as Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, and Joss Whedon still find work. However, the effect may be felt in Democratic Party politics.
Weinstein supported liberal causes and candidates
Weinstein, besides being the creator of numerous hit films and TV shows, has been the quintessential Hollywood liberal, holding fundraisers for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. He has been a warm supporter of LGBT rights and abortion rights, a scourge of racism and anti-Semitism, at least when it comes from the right. At the same time, by all accounts, he was inviting attractive females up to his hotel room and acting toward them in an unseemly manner.
The effects on 2020
As the Washington Examiner reports, the beneficiaries of Weinstein’s campaign largess reads like a who’s who of Democratic possibilities for 2020.
They include Sen. Corey Booker, D-New Jersey, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Sen Kamala Harris, D-California has not gotten any money from Weinstein yet but has schmoozed with the Hollywood player.
Clearly, money from Weinstein has suddenly become toxic. Republicans, who have had fun for years pointing out Bill Clinton’s beastly behavior will undoubtedly try to taint any Democrat with an association with an accused sexual harasser. Democrats pretend to support the rights of girls and women while at the same time tolerating people like Weinstein and Clinton who use any female they wish in any way they can get away with. The tendency reveals why Trump supporters ignored the Access Hollywood tape.
Democrats were just in no position to point fingers. Hillary Clinton, the uber-feminist candidate for president, was revealed to be a rape enabler thanks to her attacks on her husband’s accusers and the Kathy Shelton affair.
Democrats have also been at the forefront of promoting the idea of “rape culture” on college campuses, redefining the horrific act to encounters that previous generations considered innocent and consensual. The drive to prosecute sex on campus in extralegal kangaroo courts smacks of a particular, odious hypocrisy considering the revelations of people like Harvey Weinstein.
What can Democrats do about their sex problem?
Democrats would have to exercise greater vetting of not only candidates but campaign contributors. Otherwise, they are not going to be able to play the gender card very effectively. In a way, that may be a good thing.