Discussion: One Current, Two Former Female House Members Allege Colleague Harassment

“Largely untold before now is that some female lawmakers themselves say they have been harassed by male colleagues. While rare, the accounts raise troubling questions about the boys’ club environment in Congress where male lawmakers can feel empowered to target not only staffers but even their own peers.”

You saw what they did there, right? “…where male lawmakers can feel empowered to target not only staffers, but their own peers”.

Because, you know, staffers, they’re just serfs. Minions. Grubby little servants. Commoners. They’ll do what they’re told and they’ll be happy that someone of the exalted class chose to provide them with a few moments’ attention.

But oh my God, male lawmakers were even targeting THEIR PEERS?

Oh my God!

Listen, folks – we are all their peers. They aren’t better than anyone, in fact, many of them aren’t as good as many of us. Let’s cut this medieval ‘peers’ bullshit right out of our vocabulary, okay? The strong preying on the vulnerable is not acceptable regardless of job description. Those who do it are assholes, bullies, predators, and criminals, and need to be dealt with as such.

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So screwing over millions of strangers with a phony tax reform bill doesn’t even give them pause.

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Per Barbara Boxer: … and yet, she persisted.

I miss Senator Boxer and am glad to have once been able to vote for her for the senate.

I believe that it was she, as a Senate Committee Chair after the 2006 wave election had to use the gavel to cut off a male republican who was talking over her, to call the committee back to order and coined the phrase (or at least used it): Elections, have consequences (when reasserting her chair-authority.)

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…But none of these women will identify these men BECAUSE THEY ARE STILL IN OFFICE? Or THEY ARE NO LONGER IN OFFICE! Oh, yeah. Thanks, Ladies! Real profiles in courage.

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I don’t get why they can’t identify the members who did this. I mean, I get that it is hard. But with the current courage shown by people, many who do have to fear retaliation, coming forward to identify harassers, I think someone in a position of leadership should respond to their example and do likewise, especially as they have far less to fear in terms of retaliation.

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'Largely untold before now '…BS. The CORRECT sentence is ‘Largely UNHEARD before now…’. It has gone on and on and on and has been ignored. IF a complaint was actually entertained, the men moved quickly to neutralize it with ‘btch, not a lady, agressive’…Give me a break. Since women have entered the workplace in large numbers there have been more and more instances. Generally, women laugh it off or walk away because to respond gives the harasser even MORE power. Good for Mary Bono for confronting the old fool but don’t think less of those who couldn’t.

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“(Rep. Linda Sanchez )…added that she would warn other new female members about the lawmaker in question, but she declined to identify him, while saying he remains in Congress.”

There’s real bravery right there.

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Former Rep. Ellen Tauscher of California flatly argued that harassment can’t take place between members of Congress.

Is that so, Little Ellie? You’re such a big girl, standing up like that. Hey, could you get me a refill on this coffee?

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California Sen. Kamala Harris aggressively questioned a witness at a high-profile hearing Wednesday, prompting Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr to silence the Democrat. But Harris refused to remain quiet.

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Late Tuesday night, a female United States Senator — Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts — was told to shut the hell up by the all-male Republican Senate leadership.