It’s pretty hard to believe that domestic violence is taken seriously, when Kelly knew about the allegations for some time, expressed his support for Porter in the most glowing terms and only moderated his statement somewhat when photos surfaced. And even then, he said he stood by his earlier statement.
What are the chances that this isn’t Kelly’s first experience trying to sweep the abusive actions of people under his “command:” under the rug? I wonder how many military spouses are wondering if they need to speak up?
Absent the photos, Kelly fights for Porter to stay.
This has not been a good week for Kelly, but it has been a window into this man’s true character. And it’s every bit as ugly as we thought.
My guess is that Kelly gets the Friday news dump treatment and is sent packing too late for the major networks to get film of him wheeling out his personal belongings.
It’s surprising some knucklehead in the WH hasn’t suggested the bruises were photoshopped. Maybe everyone is deferring to the Knucklehead-in-Chief to do that.
I’m talking about the firing + email he sent today, that’s the faux outrage, versus his sincere enabling that went on for months. The pretense of caring now, not the pretense of covering it up - in fact I think we can see pretty clearly from Kelly’s earlier praise how he really feels about the seriousness of the charges.
I think we’re on the same page even if I’m having a hard time expressing myself. My point is that it is critical to keep pushing back when people violate public norms of behavior. It’s a kind of fake it 'til you make it mentality.
Apparently this military guy really wants everyone to ignore that West Point sexual assaults have increased dramatically in the last year. You know, the CIC sets the tone and cadets follow his example. (ABC news and/or Washington Examiner.
Are there public norms of behavior that sufficient people agree on such that violating them is a stain on your reputation? Abusing women would seem a violation that should exact a penalty if you break it. Yet Trump did so to no penalty. Does it do any good to push back against people that the public exempts from observing norms?
Kelly" (and others’) enabling of Porter, an abuser is only one prong of this dangerous fork.
How many other staff are still without proper security clearances…
Cummings’ committee has had a timeline filled with blocks for responses to this question.
We’re talking domestic abuse, but it’s a HUGE part of Counter Intelligence Threats.
Trump will have to quietly convey to those working for him to find more women to abuse. Just to show the effete Left neither he nor those working for him will be cowed by a bunch of handwringing Femi-Nazis.
Yep, they could “He said/She said it” like they have done with the accusations against Donald Trump for sexual assault until that inconvenient picture of damage, allegedly caused by an inanimate object.
They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
In a Sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter’s morn, on a stormy day,
In a Sieve they went to sea!
"I want you to know that we all take matters of domestic violence seriously, (after we’re caught accepting and ignoring them)” he wrote, according to the email obtained by CNN. “Domestic violence is abhorrent and has no place in our society (except in the White House until forced to cut someone loose who I really enjoyed talking with about his married life).”
Why do I keep getting the feeling that this Kelly guy is setting himself up as the good soldier preparing to fall on his own sword so he can spend more time with his family?
Sometimes you’ve got to just do it where you can. We’ve always given passes to certain people and certain locations and certain industries, until we don’t. Cf. Harvey Weinstein.
The weird immunity given to Trump against all accusations and actual admittances is part of his persona. I can understand a certain segment of religious folk seeing him as God’s Imperfect Tool and I can see a large segment of the GOP seeing him as Their Imperfect Tool as well.
Sometimes the public exemptions from norms are actually how progressive ideas and polices are made mainstream. So it’s not always bad to see, e.g., Mary Tyler Moore as a single working gal just trying to make it after all, to pick a really tame example. Pushing the envelope is a big part of both the role and the appeal of artists and musicians and actors. I think Trump being in that entertainer/somewhat exempt category gave him a pass for a long time - a weakness in the system that he characteristically was able to exploit.
In the long term the #MeToo movement is a fundamental shift in the power dynamics that rich and powerful men have been making use of, men like Trump but also men like Porter. They may still seem immune but they’re standing on a sand pile and the tide is coming in.
Agreed, but Trump is immune to all norms. He could violate the “Don’t piss on a baby and then set it on fire” norm and keep the loyalty and fealty of his base.
