(Cross-filed under “Ethics Dunce,” “Unethical Quote of the Month,” “Incompetent Elected Official,” “When Ethics Alarms Don’t Ring,” and “Wow, What An Idiot!”)
I would have thought that both parties would have required briefings for all their elected officials on what constitutes workplace assault and sexual harassment. Apparently not, because this guy apparently seems to think that when your boss, a powerful Senator, demands that you submit to his sexual advances, it ‘s OK as long as you give in. It’s not. Never mind that Komi’s tweet attempts to excuse Biden —and his denials—by blaming the victim.
Oh, the dead ethics alarm started pinging softly once enough colleagues and constituents contacted him to say, “Are you out of your mind??? Take that thing down!” It may have been too late anyway. His own party, as corrupted and hypocritical as it has revealed itself to be during this fiasco, couldn’t that this pass. New Hampshire House Speaker Stephen Shurtleff, also a Democrat, said in a statement, “I am appalled by Representative Komi’s comments. They were dismissive and hurtful to survivors of sexual assault across the Granite State and across the country. The comments are not fitting for the New Hampshire House of Representatives and immediately upon learning of them, I called him and asked Representative Komi to resign his seat.”
A spokesman for the New Hampshire democratic Party itself also called for his resignation, saying,
Representative Komi’s comment is wrong, inappropriate, and offensive to all Democrats, and does not reflect the values of our party. I applaud Speaker Shurtleff’s swift action, calling for Rep. Komi to resign immediately
And I was just going to write that I wondered which ploy Komi would try to wiggle out of this. My money was going to be on “This doesn’t reflect who I am,” with a touch of the Pazuzu Excuse and the recently resurgent Yoo’s Rationalization, or “It isn’t what it is.”
As I was typing that, the news arrived that the idiot resigned, along with a crummy hybrid between a Level 9 non-apology apology [ “Deceitful apologies, in which the wording of the apology is crafted to appear apologetic when it is not…”] and a #10 apology [ “An insincere and dishonest apology designed to allow the wrongdoer to escape accountability cheaply, and to deceive his or her victims into forgiveness and trust, so they are vulnerable to future wrongdoing.’]…
“I also want to offer my sincere apologies to anybody whose feelings may have been hurt by the tweets. I am and will continue to be a supporter of victims of sexual and domestic assault. The tweets were very poorly worded and do not reflect who I am and what I stand for. I ask for the forgiveness of all who have been a victim of sexual or any other kind of assault.”
I think the Democrats need to explain what the rules are and what values they are promoting. It’s too complicated for me. As I see understand it, all women making credible–barely credible, in the case of Dr. Blasey-Ford–accusations of sexual misconduct should be believed, especially when the man accused is in line to ascend to a powerful position, unless the powerful man being accused is a Democrat being prepared to unseat a repugnant adversary, in which case the woman shouldn’t be believed, and it is okay for the man accused to impugn her honesty, even if he has previously stated that such women should be presumed truthful.
Thus it is then acceptable for the accused to denigrate her as a liar, and for other Democrats to imply she is lying as well. BUT to try to reconcile her statement and the denials of the accused by suggesting without evidence that she in some way consented to the assault under duress (which legally changes little) is less tolerable than denying her veracity, which many higher officials have done shamelessly and with impunity.
Do I have that right? I’m also trying to figure out how a black state legislator in New Hampshire has to resign for speaking disrespectfully about a victim of alleged sexual assault, but a Democratic Lt. Governor in Virginia, also African American, who has said that two women that accused him of rape and sexual assault respectively were lying, is still in office. I was mistakenly under the impression that the Democratic Party stood for extra leniency in all matters for African Americans in their ranks, which would explain the political survival of Fairfax, but then poor Komi was thrown to the virtual wolves like he was just another disgusting, sexist white man.
I wonder if the Democrats know what their values are any more.
Ethics Alarms 
He’s now the Todd Akin of the democrat party. This is equally outrageous, but we all know the media will cover for Komi so he won’t suffer the same fate.
I was wrong. Apparently the NH speaker of the house has a spine. Komi is out.
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/nh-state-rep-richard-komi-resigns-after-graphic-hurtful-tweet-about-tara-reade-and-biden/
Good that he’s out, but the media will still cover for him by not covering this incident or framing it so he comes out not looking so slimy. We all still know who Todd Akin was, even though that was, what? Six years ago? No one will remember this guy six weeks from now.
Fairfax is an African American. Komi is a guy from Africa. Probably makes a difference on the victim ranking list.
Does this guy have any idea where a woman’s vagina is located? At least he’s not a medical doctor.
I would still support Biden or Fairfax based on context. Fairfax and his first accuser both agreed that their encounter was consenual at first. Biden’s accuser doesn’t have any witnesses or corroborating evidence. He’s even encouraged the archives to produce documents and his poll numbers are rising. People like Alyssa Milano (who the author of this blog has a very irrational hatred for just because she’s famous and has an oppinion?) and Ronan Farrow who originated the #metoo movement have never said believe people without evidence.
I can’t speak for other Democrats but I don’t support an excessive #metoo movement where someone has to leave without trial like Al Franken. I didn’t necessarily support Kavanaugh being bought down over things that happened when he was a minor or lesser crimes (exposing himself) in college. However, there were larger contexts about how he couldn’t hold himself together under questioning, how Lindsey Graham exploded, how McConnell and his colleagues pressured a vote to go through fast which was only in the interest of scoring some quick Republican points and not proper vetting.
The evidence is that many people who worked with Trump on movie sets or the Ms America pageant has spoken of him relentlessly hitting on women and being misogynistic, he has a high number of accusers that seem to have panned out under scrutiny.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that no matter what Trump has done, his supporters give him a free pass for everything which has put our country at risk in more ways than one: His charity was fake, his college is fake, he shut down the government for no reason, he admitted to sexual assault on tape, he’s alienated several world leaders, the secret meetings with the Russians, the refusal to release taxes, the refusal to call on witnesses, the active smearing of anyone who might expose him, the list goes on and on,
In a previous post, Jack Marshall says Trump’s crimes are alleged, but will any of his supporters ever admit to anything that might be in the realm of guilty? Then our national nightmare could be over
I’m aware that at least Jack himself is critical of Trump’s flaws but his commenters rarely acknowledge these flaws and the idea that Biden is at some lower level of morality than Trump in terms of his interactions with women or that they’re both equally guilty is absurd.
There is a lot to unpack here. Perhaps a more skilled person can comment on the bulk. I’ll stick to the Alyssa Milano bit.
Mr. Marshall’s comments on Alyssa Milano are neither irrational nor hateful. They point out the hypocrisy of Milano and people like her when it comes to the me too movement. Recall that when Justice Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court, she wanted his nomination dropped due to Dr. Blasey-Ford’s accusation. Now, by the standards that Milano herself championed, she is hypocritically endorsing Mr. Biden.
If Alyssa Milano had been consistent in her me too movement convictions, then Mr. Marshall would not have used her as a prominent example of the hypocrisy that has infected the movement.
Thanks Andrew. Absolutely cogent and succinct. I wasn’t sure why the comment was responsive to mine and I didn’t have the energy (or patience) to respond.
Orrin was banned weeks ago for really stupid comments like that one. “A lot to unpack” indeed—it was one stupid argument after another.
I was going to let it go, but on second thought, this comment is dangerously ignorant, Orin.
I would still support Biden or Fairfax based on context. Fairfax and his first accuser both agreed that their encounter was consenual at first.
You do realize that a consensual episode become rape, and chargeable, the second a woman says “STOP!” and thge man doesn’t, right? Apparently not. Do your research next time.
Biden’s accuser doesn’t have any witnesses or corroborating evidence.
Yes, that’s usually the situation with rape.
His is poll numbers are rising.
What? What does that have to do with whether he committed sexual assualt or not? Do you alwyas reason this poorly?
People like Alyssa Milano (who the author of this blog has a very irrational hatred for just because she’s famous and has an opinion?)
That kind of insult can get you banned, Sparky. I don’t hate Milano at all: she was cute as Tony Danza’s daughter and made a sexy witch. But people who have no qualifications or ability to issue public opinions on complex matters are irresposnible to do so. There are people dumber than her who pay attention…like you, I guess.
Ronan Farrow who originated the #metoo movement have never said believe people without evidence.
Do you know what you’re talking about in any respect? Farrow did not start #MeToo. he wrote one influentail article about Harvey Weinstein. The movement was named by Tarana Burke.
However, there were larger contexts about how he couldn’t hold himself together under questioning, how Lindsey Graham exploded, how McConnell and his colleagues pressured a vote to go through fast which was only in the interest of scoring some quick Republican points and not proper vetting.
Baloney X 3. 1. A man whose career had had not a shred of scandal and misconduct it unfairly slandered and called a sexual predator on national TV, and when he displays his outrage about it, they say, “See! He lacks judicial temperament!” That was a desperate and dishonest fallback smear. He was less vociferous than I would have been. 2. Senator Graham’s tongue-lashing was 1005 accurate, but even if it hadn’t been, what does that have to do with the claim that Blasey-Ford had to be believed? That’s a non-sequitur. 3. Before Democrats started playing partisan politics with qualified SCOTUS nominees, a nominee like Kavanaugh would have been confirmed with pro forma debate and unanimously.
The evidence is that many people who worked with Trump on movie sets or the Ms America pageant has spoken of him relentlessly hitting on women and being misogynistic, he has a high number of accusers that seem to have panned out under scrutiny.
What does “panned out under scrutiny” mean? Anyway, this issue isn’t about Trump, in any way. Completely irrelevant to the issue. If you can’t comprehend that, you need to reconsider commenting here. The rest of your comment is not responsive to the post, and is just a partisan rant mixing facts, opinions, and falsehoods. Read the commenting guidelines, please. Another post this dumb will not stay up long.
UPDATE: I already banned this dummy, and wrote at the time that I felt badly about it. I’ll leave this up because it is such a stupid, disorganized comment that I no longer feel bad at all.
Changing a screen name to sneak back only can work if a comment isn’t so idiotic that I start thinking, “Wait a minute, didn’t I already ban this guy?”
The Virginian Lt. Governor is okay because he merely denied specific allegations, which is par for the Democrat course. Poor Mr. Komi on the other hand, made the mistake of downplaying sexual assault in general.
From the Concord paper a while back:
“New Hampshire’s Legislature – a political body historically made up of mostly older white men – appears to be getting more diverse after Tuesday’s election….
…the first former refugee to hold statewide office is believed to be Richard Komi, a Nigerian refugee who represented Manchester’s Ward 5 in 2009. Komi won another term in Manchester’s District 43 on Tuesday.
The state doesn’t keep demographic data on candidates or elected officials, so whether historical wins or demographic shifts happen in the Granite State is mostly anecdotal…
On Wednesday, Gardner said he remembered Komi, as well as a Pakistani immigrant and late Manchester state Rep. Saghir Tahir, whose obituary states that he was one of the first Muslim-Americans ever elected to legislative office in the country.
Gardner said he didn’t bring them up because he wasn’t sure of the circumstances by which they came to the United States. And he questioned whether that information should be readily available to the public.
“It’s almost like you’re checking to see if they should be here,” he said.
The state only asks for a candidate’s age, address, whether they want to declare a party affiliation and whether they are registered to vote when they sign up to run, Gardner said. Everything else, he said, is a matter of privacy.
“Think about it – is it the role of the government to ask all these questions of people who would like to run for office, or is it the role of the public or of the press, representing the public, to get this information?” he said.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, less than 5 percent of the state’s 424 legislative seats were held by people of color in 2018. That’s less than the state’s overall makeup; in 2017, about 93 percent of the state was white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Both Komi and Mangipudi said it’s heartening to see diverse candidates winning political office in New Hampshire.
“I am just so thrilled that we have an opportunity to show who we are as Granite Staters,” Mangipudi said. “We are strong and resilient, and diversity is a celebration here.”
…Richard Komi’s journey towards political involvement began long before he came to New Hampshire.
A member of the Ogoni People, Komi fled political persecution in Nigeria after he was targeted by the government, which at the time was a military dictatorship that “visited tremendous violence against my people,” he said. Komi spent time in a Benin refugee camp before he arrived in Manchester on Sept. 13, 1999.
When he first ran for office in 2008, he remembers that former president Barack Obama had just been elected and that New Hampshire’s State House was controlled by the Democrats. The political climate, he says, was much more civil.
Things have changed. Nigeria is now a democracy, although “one in its infancy,” Komi said, and he said he looks forward to working with a Republican governor. He says what he went through in Nigeria makes his political involvement more significant.
“Those seeds were sown in Africa,” he said. “They became actualized when I ran for office here, and it was a dream come true when I was sworn in.”
Komi said he never thought about whether he was the first refugee to run for office.
“I was focused on getting elected and seeing what change I could bring to the House,” he said.
Komi said it’s good to see more minority candidates running whether they win or not.
“Even though they may not have been successful, there will be more,” he said. “… As time goes on, more and more immigrants will become involved in the process. This is just the beginning.”
(Caitlin Andrews)
I for one celebrate that we have such internationally diverse points of view in our government! It’s exciting to not know which lawmakers in your state secretly think that all women who are raped must be asking for it.
Komi was low-level enough to be expendable.
This is certainly very true, but imagine the implications. The media bloc was intending to stonewall the Reade accusation all the way through the election. Fox is making hay out of it, but their own voting base is trained never to countenance anything said outside the party’s controlled outlets. It looked like the fix was in.
Then this guy piped up publicly. He didn’t get the implied memo that silence was the party-approved play, and he was so inarticulately insane they had to respond. What can they possibly do now? Perhaps they’re hoping they shut him up fast enough to minimize the damage. If this was the only way fate itself seems to be biased against them, maybe they’d have some hope, but, boy is that not remotely the case. The implosion of the once-invincible Democrat machine is truly entertaining to watch. It’s as addicting as a revenge fiction but it’s without any particular protagonist. It’s like watching a fictionalized Stalin taking repeated, debilitating pratfalls and clownishly shaking his fist at the heavens each time in impotent rage. He steps on a rake here, he aggravates a nest of hornets there – good clean fun.
Neobolshevik Follies is the family entertainment event of the summer.
Not only ethically stupid but apparently anatomically stupid.
Oh, so you’re one of those people who thinks only white men can be sexist…but not Nigerian immigrants…great! Use common sense next time.
What the HELL are you babbling about?