WASHINGTON (AP) – Kirsten Gillibrand was the first Democratic senator to ask in 2017 for her colleague Al Franken to resign because he faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
But the New York senator is taking a different approach when it comes to allegations of sexual harassment closer to home, against the Democratic governor of her state, Andrew Cuomo.
In a series of statements, Gillibrand said the allegations of offensive behavior by Cuomo were “serious and deeply regrettable” and that the three women “who came forward showed tremendous courage.” She said the claims against Cuomo were “completely unacceptable” and called for a full investigation – but stopped demanding his resignation.
Top Democrats in New York and nationally have also refrained from proposing that Cuomo resign. These include the senior senator from New York and the leader of the chamber, the Democrat Chuck Schumer. This is a much more cautious approach than the parade of Democratic senators who followed Gillibrand’s leadership to demand Franken’s resignation.
This raises questions about whether the pressure to hold responsible for sexual harassment and abuse for more than three years in the #MeToo movement is losing steam. Gillibrand paid a political price for her role in Franken’s resignation, and her tone towards Cuomo may reflect that.
‘Our country needs to do better for women who write a lot,’ says Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, an advocacy group that emerged from the January 2017 demonstration when tens of thousands of women, mostly dressed in pink, descended . on Washington to protest Donald Trump’s presidency. “Both parties and at every level of government.”
Franken eventually resigned, but the Democrats later asked if they had moved too fast to oust him. During her presidential campaign, Gillibrand was faced with questions about her decision, insisting that she did not regret dismissing Franken. But she admitted that it hurt her with top donors, and that it hampered her attempt to win a fan in the lead kisses in Iowa, which borders Franken’s state of Minnesota.
Pete Buttigieg, who essentially won first place in Iowa, said that when he came to Franken, he “would not apply that pressure at that time until we knew more.” The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is now President Joe Biden’s Secretary of Transportation.
Carmona’s group went a step further than Gillibrand and other leading Democrats, calling for an investigation against Cuomo, but also ‘immediate resignation’, pointing out that ‘conduct does not have to be illegal to disqualify.’
Cuomo completely dismissed such calls on Wednesday, saying that although he was “embarrassed” about the allegations, he did not intend to resign.
“I work for the people of New York State,” the governor said during a news conference. “They chose me.”
A Gillibrand spokesman declined to comment on whether the senator was considering asking Cuomo to resign. But even in 2017, Gillibrand spent weeks investigating Franken and only became the first Democratic senator to say he should step aside when the word of a seventh woman accusing misconduct appeared.
She also argued that a ‘double standard’ was at work, and that she was to blame for her party losing a once-emerging star in Franconia, although so many Democrats eventually resigned.
‘Who is held responsible for Al Franken’s decision to resign? Women senators, me too, ”Gillibrand said in July 2019, about a month before she left the presidential race. ‘It’s outrageous. This is absurd. ”
She is not the only one who sees sexism in the pressure on women to announce alleged transgressions by a man. But Gillibrand has promoted herself as a feminist leader and campaigner for women’s rights, and the Cuomo scandal pervades her state.
Gillibrand founded an activist group called Off the Slines, which raised millions of dollars to help mobilize more women to participate in politics, and for years liked to be called the “#MeToo Senator”.
“We all wish she had more courage now, but she’s not the story and that she should not be the story,” said Rebecca Katz, a Democratic consultant in New York City, saying Gillibrand is being equated to Cuomo’s alleged misconduct. point. ”
Gillibrand nevertheless saw her national profile decline after her presidential bid.
She fought for Biden last fall. But unlike several other Senate colleagues who competed against Biden for the Democratic nomination, Gillibrand was never seriously considered a leading option to be Biden’s running mate, despite his long-standing promise to choose a woman.
The 54-year-old Gillibrand, who has been a dozen for a dozen years, has time to run for president again, although questions about her handling of the scandal involving Franken – and perhaps even her reaction to Cuomo – may stay.
“We need to stop blaming women for men’s harassment,” Katz said. “Sen. Gillibrand took a lot of income because he rightly proclaimed Al Franken many years ago – because he was one of the many who proclaimed Al Franken. We are doing it wrong. ”