Sexually graphic shaming of fellow legislator crosses bounds of decorum
American political culture hit a nadir this month, when a Nebraska state senator unleashed what can only be described as a verbal sexual assault on a female colleague during a debate about keeping obscenity out of schools.
From the floor of the legislature, Republican Sen. Steve Halloran read a passage from the book “Lucky” by Alice Sebold. The best-selling memoir tells the story of how Sebold’s life was transformed after she was brutally raped and beaten as a college freshman. Halloran, who wants the memoir banned, read an explicit and graphic rape scene from the book. That’s been done before, sadly. But he decided to add his own sick twist, taking time to insert the name of a Democratic senator throughout. At one point, as he read, “I want a b--job,” he deliberately added the words, “Sen. Cavanaugh,” and looked up for emphasis.
Halloran was widely condemned for his actions by Democrats and Republicans, but he has been bold and unashamed in rejecting immediate calls for his resignation. Such behavior would be grounds for immediate dismissal in most workplaces in America.
What’s ugly about this incident is not just that Halloran had the temerity to insert the name of a female colleague in a passage recounting a violent sex act. It also serves as a nasty reminder of what’s become far too normal in American politics, where elected officials seek attention through coarse, profane language, gestures and tactics — and with few to no consequences.
Little appears to be out of bounds, especially among the party that claims Donald Trump as its avatar. Beginning with his vulgar comments on the infamous Access Hollwood tape. He was found liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll — then and defaming her. Trump has made a specialty of denigrating women, his opponents and anyone he doesn’t like — from humiliating nicknames to sexist, racist and bigoted slurs. He laces his rally speeches with profanities to the delight of his adoring audiences, which often include children.
State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, the target of Halloran’s attack, was clear in her response, and told Halloran she considered his speech harassment.
“That was so out of line and unnecessary and disgusting to say my name over and over again like that,” she said from the floor. “You don’t know anything about anyone else’s life, and I can tell you that women in this body have been subjected to sexual violence. I didn’t know you were capable of such cruelty.”
Halloran did offer an apology of sorts the following day, but used much of his time on the floor to restate his issues with the book itself, saying “that’s what we should be outraged about.” He also insisted, belatedly, that his remarks were addressed not to Machaela Cavanaugh, but to her brother, Sen. John Cavanaugh, who serves alongside his sister. As if that somehow made his behavior OK.
Cavanaugh is right to be angry with Halloran. But there is plenty of blame to go around, including the legislature’s speaker, Sen. John Arch, who could have stopped Halloran immediately rather than let him continue reading the passage and degrading Cavanaugh.
There are Halloran’s colleagues, who mostly allowed him to finish his methodical and deliberate recitation of the rape passage, in which he went on to say, “Something tore. I began to bleed there. I was wet now, Sen. Cavanaugh.”
Sen. Julie Slama, a conservative Republican, did send a post on X to Cavanaugh afterward, calling his actions “disgusting,” adding that “no context makes this appropriate.”
Thankfully, there has been a flood of collective outrage, including, according to one senator, dozens if not hundreds of emails, texts and social media messages. The Nebraska Legislature’s executive board has opened an investigation.
As a far-right senator who came in the year Trump became president, this is not Halloran’s first brush with controversy. But this time he may have gone too far, perhaps violating the Legislature’s workplace harassment policies, resulting in the investigation. Slama, who is a member of the executive board, said in an interview with a local television station, “If you were in your job, and you got up and said that to one of your co-workers in front of everybody else in the company, you wouldn’t have a job the next day.”
It’s still possible that Halloran could be disciplined, either through censure or even expulsion. Letting him off the hook sends the message that such behavior is acceptable.
There is a reason politicians used to address one another as “my esteemed colleague” before laying into their opponent’s proposal. The political process depends on the ability to work with others, often over years. Relationships matter. Respect matters.