While following the Donald Trump election campaign finance trial yesterday, I was struck when Stormy Daniels said she did not want to sleep with Mr. Trump. After repeatedly rebuffing Mr. Trump’s advances, including greeting her in silk pajamas, she eventually consented, saying she “blacked out.” Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was asked if she asked the alleged billionaire to stop. "I was trying to think about anything other than what was happening there,"Daniels testified. "I didn't say anything at all," she said. She testified that she left the hotel room quickly afterward. Women, since time immemorial, regardless of station, status, or objections, have been subjected to the abuse of powerful men. We have heard story after story from women trapped in bad and physically and verbally abusive relationships who do not leave.
Aside from the horrors of being assaulted by Donald Trump, as evidenced by his confession of how easy it is to grab women’s private parts, and E. Jean Carroll, who won a defamation suit about what Judge Lewis A Kaplan called rape,
“The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was ‘raped’ within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape,’”Kaplan wrote.
He added: “Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump, in fact, did exactly that.”
Judge Kaplan went a step further, clarifying his ruling by adding; New York’s legal definition of “rape” is “far narrower” than the word is understood in “common modern parlance.” Kudos to Ms. Carroll for her persistence, courage, and strength. Weak-spined members of the Republican party could take a lesson. Not only are members of the GOP willing to compromise truth, religion, integrity, and pride for Donald Trump, but they are willing to double down in the face of public ridicule. His former Vice President, Mike Pence, to whom it took the threat of his hanging to create space between him and Donald Trump, raised his hand when asked in a debate if he would support Mr. Trump even if convicted of a crime. Pence, who has written he would not drink or eat with a woman without his wife present, can set aside his religious morals for a man who was sleeping around while his wife was home nurturing their newborn.
The list is long and shameful, starting with the former rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), who once said he could not explain his support of Donald Trump to his fifteen-year-old daughter after he was recorded describing how to get away with molesting women, now supports him. Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz issued a hollow threat to Donald Trump after he insulted his wife Heidi’s looks, “I don't get angry often, but you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that'll do it every time,"said Cruz. "Donald, you're a sniveling coward, and leave Heidi the hell alone." Cruz’s descent into the cult was not complete. Sen. Cruz had a second chance when Trump accused his father of being a political assassin but buried his pride once more.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy proclaimed they were done with Trump after the January 6 riot and attempted insurrection. Both came home to Trump’s warm embrace, tails dragging between their legs.
Senator Tim Scott(R-SC), whose bible-thumping is only surpassed by Mike Pence, could not bring himself to answer Kristen Welker's question about pledging to honor the American election process.
Republicans have been looking for a way out of Trumpland for years but are too craven to leave. They hope circumstances will substitute for courage. They held their collective breaths, hoping the disparaging of John McCain's military service, Cruz’s wife and father's ridicule, and Chaffetz's daughter would do the trick, but no sacrifice is spared from the altar of Trump. So, while we are all amused by the saga of the President and the Porn Star, half the United States Congress is mired in the abyss of spinelessness, fear, and moral decay. There is no secret to Donald Trump’s control; it's simply cowardice.
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