Lang Sias has nothing to hide, so let’s talk about Tailhook
We don’t believe Lang Sias has anything to hide.
He wasn’t accused of misconduct when he was asked to testify about a naval sexual misconduct scandal that for a few months in 1991 rocked the nation.
The record indicates that Sias was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time — under orders from his superior to receive an award for his squadron at the scandalous Las Vegas naval convention called Tailhook.
So why would The Denver Post opinion section publish an oped from former Colorado Congresswoman Pat Schroeder accusing Sias of being part of the Tailhook coverup that she dubbed the “Stone Wall of Silence?”
Because fundamentally, it’s fair to ask a candidate running for lieutenant governor about his past, particularly an incident that was of national significance and that has returned to the news as an early example of the #Metoo movement where women bravely spoke out about sexual harassment and assault.
It’s also fair for Schroeder, who was a member of the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services that investigated misconduct at Tailhook, to express her disbelief that someone who attended one of the most salacious parties in question can claim he didn’t witness any misbehavior.
What we do believe in is the intelligence of our readers and their ability to consume opinion content and digest what is being said in a productive manner.
It’s why after two years of frequently broadcasting opposition to President Donald Trump’s administration on the cover of Perspective, we felt comfortable allowing the president’s son to have his turn with the microphone.
Hearing opinions — even those we disagree with — is healthy. This nation suffers when we spend too much time in echo chambers that only reinforce our own voices.
Schroeder’s voice as a pioneer of women’s liberation is important to be heard.
To her, a man who attended a party where sexual misconduct was rampant and said nothing, carries some responsibility for the actions of his colleagues.
Donald Trump Jr. is speaking from the perspective of someone at the receiving end of much public derision and anger over his father’s unconventional administration, and his voice too deserves to be heard.
If America is going to heal from this period of divisive unrest we must come out the other side together, as those who hold opposing views but share a collective love of this country and a desire to make improvements.
Our desire to share a broad range of views with our readers does not make us Trump apologists.
Nor do we think, as at least one group has called for, that Sias should withdraw as Walker Stapleton’s running mate in the governor’s race because he attended Tailhook almost three decades ago and may or may not have been forthcoming about what he did or did not see.
By all accounts Sias is an honorable man who has served well in the Colorado General Assembly.
There’s something to be said for getting opinions out in the open and allowing them to be exposed to the discerning scrutiny of our readers.