Democrats face what could be their biggest #MeToo test to date as sexual harassment allegations swirl around New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who agreed over the weekend to allow an independent investigation into the claims.
Party leaders previously cut ties with Democratic elected officials accused of various forms of sexual misconduct. But Cuomo is the governor of a major state, the son of a liberal icon who was himself a three-term governor of New York, an Emmy Award winner, and a political leader who has also controversially been celebrated for his pandemic response for over a year.
“The New York attorney general will oversee an independent investigation with subpoena power, and the governor’s office said he will fully cooperate,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday concerning the Cuomo allegations after a second former aide came forward over the weekend. “We certainly support that process, and we’ll wait to see that through.”
The Democratic Party has for decades been associated with feminism and owes some of its recent electoral victories to growth in support from college-educated suburban women. After Republicans stuck by former President Donald Trump for over four years and nominated candidates such as 2017 Alabama Senate contender Roy Moore despite allegations against both men, many Democrats maintain their party holds the moral high ground on this issue.
THIRD WOMAN ACCUSES GOV. ANDREW CUOMO OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
“Trump gets accused of sexual misconduct. Virtually all Republicans: ‘Those women were drunk sluts and fame-seeking scum. Trump’s denials should be believed,’” tweeted liberal attorney Bradley Moss. “Cuomo gets accused of sexual misconduct: ‘We need a thorough investigation to address this.’”
Conservatives counter a better comparison than Trump would be Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. They contend the allegations against Democrats like Cuomo were much more carefully vetted before they were widely reported than the claims made during Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings.
Some women have said President Biden’s touching has made them uncomfortable. The most serious accusation against him was made by Tara Reade, a former junior Senate staffer who has said that Biden sexually assaulted her. In the 1990s, Democrats largely closed ranks around President Bill Clinton as he faced accusations ranging from harassment to rape. Senate Democrats defended him from a Republican-led impeachment inquiry involving his affair with a White House intern, about which he testified in connection to Paul Jones’s sexual harassment lawsuit.
Since then, many of the Democratic officeholders who have been held to account for sexual misconduct were either up-and-coming or well past their prime. Longtime Michigan Rep. John Conyers resigned his House seat in December 2017 amid accusations he had sexually harassed female staffers. Freshman Rep. Katie Porter of California resigned less than a full year into her term after allegations of inappropriate relationships with Capitol Hill and campaign staffers.
The biggest example of a Democrat losing his seat over sexual harassment charges while at the height of his influence was Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota. A veteran of Saturday Night Live and a successful liberal commentator before his election, Franken was an effective communicator and fundraiser at a national level. After accusations came out against him, Democratic senators called for his resignation, as the party was seeking to beat Moore in a special election in Alabama at the time. Franken complied, though not without taking some shots at Trump and the GOP.
“I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party,” Franken said, in reference to Trump and Moore.
In 2019, Franken said he regretted resigning. The New Yorker published an article quoting several of Franken’s Democratic Senate colleagues who called for his ouster, saying they shared that assessment. “One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont. “We needed more facts,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. “A rush to judgment,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon. The role Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York played in securing Franken’s resignation — she was among the first to call for him to step down and helped start a flood of Democratic women requesting he do so — was widely believed to have hurt her presidential campaign that year.
Gillibrand was slower to weigh in on Cuomo, the governor of her state. But she has since called the allegations against him “serious and deeply concerning,” additionally endorsing the independent investigation against him. Cuomo conceded for the first time on Sunday that his behavior with women “may have been too insensitive or too personal.” But he also maintained that his intentions were being misconstrued, that he was “being playful,” and that his comments were “misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”
Former Cuomo staffer Lindsey Boylan said last week that Cuomo kissed her without her consent and asked her to play strip poker. Ex-aide Charlotte Bennett told the New York Times that Cuomo raised inappropriate questions about her sex life.
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There are some signs Democrats may be ready to part with their highest-stature leader to face allegations along these lines. “We’ll wait for the report, but I do believe something needs to be done ultimately,” said state Sen. Michael Ginaris, a deputy majority leader, in an interview with a local television station. “And whether or not the governor can continue is an open question.” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, also a Democrat, called Cuomo’s behavior “disgusting” and “creepy,” later adding that he supported an investigation into the governor’s housing of COVID-19 patients in nursing homes.
“This could get ugly,” said a Democratic operative. “But if it does, I’m confident we’ll do the right thing.”
