Beneath the wave of sexual misconduct allegations in recent weeks against male lawmakers and candidates lies a common theme: These offenses had been going on for decades but were either not acknowledged or were dealt with quietly.
Now, veils of silence in legislative chambers are lifting as public disavowals and calls for resignations pour in against the accused, even from fellow party members.
Roiling the political world in the past week was a report in The Washington Post that four women had accused Roy Moore, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama, of sexual or romantic advances when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers, one as young as 14.
While many Republican officials in Alabama have gone to Moore's defense, a chorus of others -- including the president, vice president and Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority leader -- immediately called on the candidate to step aside if the allegations were true. The Senate campaign arm of the party cut its fundraising agreement with him, and two Republican senators have rescinded their endorsements.
But as the debate over Moore, who called the allegations "completely false," plays out on a national scale, a blitz of scandals has also hit statehouses from California to Florida, where accusations that might have been ignored in the past are drawing aggressive responses. Those accused have found themselves with few colleagues to back them up in public.
Women continue to come forward, writing public letters about abuses ranging from lewd comments to groping, and joining others in a wide range of industries where powerful figures have been toppled in the wake of the scandal involving film producer Harvey Weinstein. As a result, legislators have resigned or have been removed from posts, sexual harassment policies have been revised, women's caucuses have been formed, and broad investigations have kicked into gear.
So far, many of the accused have held on to their seats -- if not their stature. Some of the accusers have raised questions about whether they are witnessing the beginning of a systemic change or a short-lived political Band-Aid.
"Now they're doing this because -- why?" asked Denise Rotheimer, a political activist and Republican candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives. She complained last year that state Sen. Ira Silverstein, chairman of the Democratic majority caucus, had sent her midnight messages and asked numerous personal questions when she tried to work with him on a bill. "Because the media grabbed onto this? Because now it's public? Because there's nothing different from my complaint in November last year to my testimony this year."
Rotheimer testified publicly late last month at a state legislative hearing on a fast-moving measure addressing sexual harassment; within a day, Silverstein had resigned his leadership position, though he disputed the accusations, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lawmakers then moved quickly to appoint an interim legislative inspector general to lead the office tasked with receiving and investigating complaints, after the position had sat vacant for about three years.
This month, the speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, Jeff Hoover, was reported to have secretly settled with a staff member over claims of sexual harassment. The Republican governor, Matt Bevin, and eight of Hoover's fellow Republicans in the House demanded his resignation. Last week, Hoover stepped down as speaker, though he remained in his House seat. Three other Republican lawmakers -- who were also named in the Oct. 25 settlement, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., reported -- were removed from their committee leadership posts pending an investigation.
The president of the Florida Senate ordered an independent investigation and took a powerful chairmanship post from state Sen. Jack Latvala, a fellow Republican, who last week was accused of inappropriately touching or making derogatory comments by several women who work at the State Capitol.
On Wednesday, MinnPost, an online news site, reported that several women had described Minnesota state Sen. Dan Schoen, a Democrat, making unwanted advances or even grabbing them, prompting immediate calls for his resignation."
And The Denver Post reported Friday that Rep. Steve Lebsock, a Democrat in the Colorado House, had been accused of sexual harassment by his colleague and fellow party member Faith Winter. House Speaker Crisanta Duran, also a Democrat, quickly urged Lebsock to step down. He later apologized for "offending" Winter.
Both political parties have had to reckon with sexual misconduct allegations as a threat to their power.
"This is a real issue, and you want to do the right thing," said Kent Redfield, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. In Illinois, Democrats have controlled both chambers in the state Legislature since 2003.
A Section on 11/13/2017