That said, there's a big difference between 'why didn't this person break the story' and 'why did this person *endorse the candidate they had a pretty good idea what an abuser*'. very different things!

April 11, 2026 - 02:38 UTC

10
0
1213
Seriously, how can they not go "yikes, got to freeze this abuser out of power at least".

I guess sexual abuse is just that normalized in political circles, and people just do what's right for their careers, fuck morals.
1
0
0
Sexual abuse is just that normalized, and people just do what's right for their careers, fuck morals.

There’s actually some accountability in political circles. She’ll probably still have a job on Monday and friends will invite her out next week, which isn’t true in most other situations.
1
0
3
I have a feeling that it’s exactly why Antonio Villaraigosa didn’t attempt his planned comeback, because yeah, Swalwell was known for grooming interns in Sacramento, but not the only one. I was warned by 3 different STRANGERS, and 5 friends, including 2 men, never to be alone with the then-mayor.
1
0
4
The difference between Swalwell and Villar -- let's stop calling him "-raigosa", because that was his wife's name and he cheated on her --

Latinos in L.A. did NOT keep Villar's creepiness a "secret", but whites in Sacramento sure as hell kept Swalwell's a secret.
1
0
1
Yes! Also, “why didn’t this person come forward sooner” should be struck from the lexicon.
0
0
2
one of the very, very few stories I have had to kill because we couldn't stand it up legally involved sexual misconduct at one of the biggest NGOs, because literally nobody would go on record because the culture of said NGO is *so* toxic and vindictive.
6
0
702
Is there a way to go public with unsubstantiated rumors? Can it be punted to a different publication?
3
0
3
Just blink slowly, Palmer.
0
0
3
Mid 2000s the company I worked for had a manager who was a micromanaging asshat. The open secret I heard discussed by multiple women was that if he was harassing you, wear a lower cut shirt. Everyone knew. I wasn't in that area long, but that manager lasted another 3 years before he was fired.
0
0
0
Isn’t this most NGOs?
2
0
57
When stories like this “break” I always have to wonder about the timing. If this has been an open secret for so long, it seems strange that it is just now saturating my feed.
8
0
6
Never underestimate the power of PERCEIVED self preservation
0
0
8
also what 'everybody knew' in practice often means '40 percent of people knew' or even more commonly '70 percent of women and 20 percent of men.'

(And exactly *what* they know also differs)
5
0
173
and I want to emphasize very strongly here that *women often pay a serious price for coming forward and it can be extremely costly to their careers*
2
0
141
Yeah. I know of some stories (not all involve sexual issues) in my home state, and yeah....
0
0
7
part of this was some of those in the thread were throwing shade at some of the politicians withdrawing endorsements hinting that "everyone already knew", when as you point out, "everyone knew" is not the blanket statement they think it is.
1
0
13
I worked with the NYS Senate years ago + there was a good on policy senator who often went out drinking w/his young interns + had an office of young staffers. Female senators advised their interns to stay away from him based on his observable behavior. He was offered course suspected of worse.
1
0
2
Also, if you've heard 3rd-hand about something, and the victim didn't want to come forward, the amount of steps you can take in response are limited. Even warning people can run into very sticky legal situations if you're not careful.
1
0
72
that said, in one case where I had directly been told the person was an obsessive stalker who had made the life of somebody they were in a position of power over miserable for a year, not only did everyone I mentioned this too who had worked at that organization know who I was talking about but ...
1
0
97
it turned out their ex-girlfriend had a restraining order on them for stalking, this had been reported in the press, and said organization had hired them anyway to oversee junior fellows. they are in this position to this day.
1
0
106
Yep. People should not have been endorsing him. Some may not have known better, but many did.
1
0
8
Unfortunately a lot of endorsements are political posturing or trying to get on the winning side. It’s a disservice to voters.
0
0
2
This is the part I’m struggling with. Especially in this political reality, what if this didn’t come out until after the primary? The abrogation is very serious. Why did they think the coverup would maintain?
1
0
5
He’s been doing it for years. It’s the same reason that people who drink or use drugs or gamble away their salary think no one will notice: a combination of magical thinking and they haven’t yet.
0
0
1
I am only surprised Republicans didn't stumble onto this info earlier. They don't have the same journalistic standards and they've been trying to destroy him for years.
0
0
6
Also, "why didn't someone break the story years ago if it was so well known?" Maybe because women weren't willing to come forward until it was necessary to stop him becoming governor of a whole damn state!
2
0
31
Men can come forward too as a character reference.

Putting all the risk and responsibilities on the victims is a bad system.
2
1
12
A man who repeatedly assaulted me in high school ran for office. It was traumatic af to drive around town and see his yard signs, see his ads on tv. I did not come forward (his family is $$$), but if he’d had a shot at winning, I would have sucked it up and stepped forward. I hate this, but believe.
1
0
20