PROGRESSIVE FOR THE SOUND BITES ONLY
After over six months of #Metoo sexual harassment allegations, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has finally resigned. The announcement comes in the wake of a 168-page New York Attorney General report that concluded Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women and violated state law.”
While his resignation is a belated baby step in the right direction, the entire saga serves as a painful reminder that the #Metoo movement still has much work to do and, too often, liberal allies are merely in it for the political points.
Progressive politicians have perfected their feminist stump speeches and sound bites, but it remains rare to see any concrete consequences for sexual harassment or assault on either side of the aisle in the U.S. or Canada.
Cuomo is a Democrat who once stared into a TV camera and told women, “Let’s actually change things.” The very next day, according to the state attorney general’s report, he resumed harassing a female state trooper, asking her, “Why don’t you wear a dress?”
‘IF WE CAN LEARN ANYTHING FROM THIS CUOMO SAGA, IT’S THAT THE #METOO MOVEMENT REMAINS FULL OF FALSE ALLIES.’ sabrina Maddeaux
Eight of the 11 women who came forward with allegations against Cuomo said their harassment occurred post-harvey Weinstein’s downfall in 2017. During that same period, Cuomo fashioned himself a champion of women, surrounding himself with notable feminists during news conferences, lengthening the state’s statute of limitations for rape, and even sending out a fundraising email with the subject line “NY Stands with #Metoo.”
Now, even after the damning attorney general’s report, Cuomo can’t bring himself to admit wrongdoing. Instead, he lays blame at the feet of his accusers for feeling “offended” by what he felt were “nice,” “endearing,” and “friendly” acts such as alleged groping and inviting a young aide to play strip poker. Come on, he’s practically Mr. Rogers!
Cuomo also called the impeachment investigation against him “politically motivated” and said he’s stepping aside because he’d “never want to be unhelpful in any way.” He even had the gall to suggest he’s doing taxpayers a favour by saving them “millions of dollars” in legal costs.
While Cuomo may be an outlier when it comes to his actions, he’s anything but when it comes to co-opting #Metoo to create a false feminist persona in the pursuit of power. Doing so was practically condoned by the Democratic Party when, after years of lambasting Donald Trump for alleged sexual misconduct, they hypocritically put Bill Clinton on stage at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
Democrats, time and time again, prove to be the embodiment of “Do as I say, not as I do” when it comes to advancing women’s rights. Sexual misconduct is of the utmost importance to them, until allegations surface against one of their own. They’re happy to condemn Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Trump, but are utterly uncompelled to examine ties to politicians and donors within their own party.
We see similar hypocrisy north of the border. Our self-proclaimed feminist prime minister has seemingly spent more time avoiding a major sexual misconduct crisis in the military than fixing it. In 2019, his party allowed a male MP to run with credible sexual misconduct charges against him. In 2021, the party’s provincial counterpart in Nova Scotia booted a female candidate on account of entirely legal and victimless boudoir photos. Trudeau has also faced groping allegations of his own.
To be clear, the Liberals aren’t alone in this. Every one of Canada’s political parties harbours skeletons in their closets, some of which have been made public, with others surely yet to come (it’s almost election season, after all). What does separate Liberals from the others is their eagerness to pontificate on women’s issues and make them central to their campaigns, while failing to advance the cause whenever it becomes anything but politically convenient. For them, saving face always comes before saving women.
If we can learn anything from this Cuomo saga, it’s that the #Metoo movement remains full of false allies. Politicians can too easily claim allegiance to the cause and be celebrated for it with little chance of being held to account. It’s time to call them on it. Real change will only come when voters judge them by their actions instead of rewarding feel-good, but ultimately empty feminist promises.