No political victory should be worth sacrificing moral integrity

Graham Platner’s campaign to dethrone Susan Collins as one of Maine’s two senators has come to an abrupt end following allegations of sexual assault.

In an 11-minute-long video on X, the progressive firebrand launched a combative defense calling the allegations against him “not remotely true” and blaming “larger forces” conspiring against him and his campaign.

Platner’s campaign had been no stranger to controversy. He previously came under fire for using ableist and homophobic slurs, having a tattoo of a Nazi symbol, sending sexually explicit text messages to several women and engaging in volatile romantic relationships. Platner had portrayed himself as a progressive anomaly — a Marine turned oyster farmer whose “man’s man” image was seen as a way to reengage young men with the Democratic Party.

This is just the latest in what feels like a never-ending series of political sexual abuse scandals. At nearly the same time as Platner’s scandals surfaced, Eric Swalwell — a Democratic representative from California — resigned from his seat and suspended his campaign for California governor because of his own sexual abuse allegations. These two high-profile election year stories follow a consistent string of alleged sexual abuse by those in political power.

A bigger pattern

The National Women’s Defense League reports that over the past 12 years, at the state level, at least 162 state officials nationwide have been publicly accused of sexual harassment. Over the past 20 years, at the federal level, at least 49 federal officials have been publicly accused of sexual harassment. The NWDL also notes that because sexual abuse is underreported, the actual numbers are likely at least three times higher. Of incidents that were reported, only half (53%) were investigated.

NWDL co-founder and co-director Sarah Higginbotham says their reporting is “not really a measure of how much sexual harassment there is. It is a little bit — it of course tells us if these are the number of people who are making it this far, it’s probably three to four times that, in actuality, if not more.”

And even this expanded picture is only a page in the long history of sexual abuse by those in political power. Thomas Jefferson sexually abused Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman who was his wife’s half-sister. Grover Cleveland allegedly raped and impregnated a woman named Maria Halpin, whom he later had institutionalized against her will. Richard Nixon made unwanted advances toward multiple women while president.

Ronald Reagan was accused of assault by actress Selene Walters. George H.W. Bush was accused of inappropriate groping by eight different women. Bill Clinton has a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to his sexual assault allegations. Joe Biden also has a list of alleged inappropriate behavior. And, of course, current President Donald Trump is an adjudicated rapist and serial sexual abuser with deep ties to pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

“The prevalence of sexual abuse among the politically powerful is a bipartisan issue.”

The prevalence of sexual abuse among the politically powerful is a bipartisan issue. NWDL found that, federally, 60% of those accused of abuse were Republican and 40% Democrat. At a state level, 52% were Republican and 48% Democrat.

Why power breeds abuse

As I have written previously for Baptist News Global, sexual abuse is a problem across the political and ideological spectrum. That is because sexual abuse is not tied to political policy positions. Sexual assault is tied to political power.

This does not mean political power inevitably causes sexual violence but that sexual violence is about the inappropriate desire for power. Individuals who are strongly motivated by power, driven to obtain power or used to having power over others may increasingly seek opportunities to exert that power and authority in ways that are inappropriate. They then also have the power to silence, cover up or outlast any claims of abuse.

This dynamic is hardly unique to politics. Similar patterns exist in churches, the military, the entertainment industry — wherever power imbalances exist, whenever authority is concentrated and accountability is weak. Sexual violence is often less about sexual gratification than about domination, entitlement and control. It’s not just that sexual abuse is tied to political power — sexual abuse is tied to all forms of power.

That is why meaningful accountability must focus not only on the character of individual leaders but also on the systems that create massive imbalances of power.

“Meaningful accountability must focus not only on the character of individual leaders but also on the systems that create massive imbalances of power.”

Breaking the cycle

I won’t claim to know the truth behind the allegations against Platner, but I do know they are serious enough to demand an investigation. The first and most obvious step is to refuse to elect candidates who have a documented history of abuse. Political parties must resist the temptation to excuse misconduct when it advances their electoral goals.

Platner’s checkered history — known from the beginning of his Senate campaign — along with other red flags to his character, were overlooked or downplayed because of the “masculine progressivism” he brought to the party.

Too often, the desire to win elections has taken precedence over the responsibility to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable. The Democratic Party has done the proper thing in calling for Platner to step aside, and Platner has done the proper thing by acceding to those calls. But we cannot fix this problem simply by electing different people.

Preventing abuse requires more than better vetting of candidates or a repudiation of candidates with credible allegations of abuse. If sexual abuse is enabled by unchecked power, then preventing abuse requires changing the systems that allow powerful people to act with impunity.

The second and more crucial step is to make changes to the system that prevent abuse and take allegations seriously. Every legislature should have independent, nonpartisan mechanisms for reporting misconduct, investigations insulated from political influence, meaningful protections against retaliation and transparent processes that do not allow complaints to disappear behind confidential settlements.

“Every legislature should have independent, nonpartisan mechanisms for reporting misconduct.”

Congress has been improving in this regard. For years, Congress allowed taxpayer funds to pay settlements arising from workplace claims — including some involving sexual harassment. Public outrage during the #MeToo movement prompted bipartisan reforms in 2018, which now require members of Congress found personally responsible for sexual harassment to reimburse the Treasury for any settlement or award paid on their behalf.

Just this year, the House almost unanimously passed a resolution directing the House Ethics Committee to preserve and release records related to sexual misconduct settlements. It could be that the recent prevalence of public allegations may not represent an increase of abuse but an indication that abuse is no longer being swept under the rug with politicians facing political — if not criminal — consequences.

Graham Platner’s fall from grace proves that charismatic, populist white male politicians still can be held accountable for their past behavior. Recent trends in the legislature show Congress is making at the very least an overture toward transparency and reform that could become substantive.

The fact that the public is aware of the prevalence of sexual abuse among political figures is a sign that there is growing accountability and consequences for abusers. Yet there remains one glaring exception.

The Trump exception

The counter example to this is, of course, Donald Trump. Politicians accused of sexual misconduct long have denied allegations against them, but there was generally an understanding that such accusations, if substantiated, could end a political career. Trump, while being the impetus for legislation requiring greater transparency, has shattered that expectation.

Despite being accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women and being found civilly liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll, he returned to the presidency with the enthusiastic support of millions of Americans — including 72% of white Christians. Rather than diminishing his political standing, the allegations became another front in the culture war, dismissed by many supporters as partisan attacks or media conspiracies.

“Rather than diminishing his political standing, the allegations became another front in the culture war.”

That reality carries consequences well beyond one man or one administration. Powerful people pay close attention to what other powerful people are allowed to get away with. When voters, political parties, media personalities and religious leaders demonstrate that sexual misconduct is not disqualifying if the accused is politically useful, they send the message that accountability is optional if you have enough power, money and loyal supporters.

No one can be above accountability

Ultimately, this is why sexual abuse cannot be treated as merely a partisan issue. Democrats have protected abusive politicians. Republicans have protected abusive politicians. Progressives and conservatives alike have found reasons to excuse the misconduct of those who advance their preferred causes. Whenever loyalty to a movement outweighs concern for victims, abuse flourishes.

The solution is not simply to elect “better” politicians. The solution is to build institutions in which no one is above accountability and to cultivate a political culture that applies the same moral standard to allies as it does to opponents. The solution is to tear down the hierarchical power structures that create the power imbalances that allow sexual abuse to thrive.

Sexual abuse thrives where power is unchecked and accountability is conditional. It is only when voters, parties and institutions consistently refuse to excuse abuse — regardless of ideology, popularity or political usefulness — that the cycle can finally begin to break. Democrats, although they did not act until their backs were against the wall, took the difficult and necessary step of removing their brash-talking, charismatic political outsider. It is what Republicans should have done 10 years ago.

No political victory should be worth sacrificing moral integrity. Platner was the Democratic Party’s best chance to flip a Senate seat, a linchpin in the goal to retake majority control.. The path to power looks much more difficult now, but Platner’s series of red flags reached an inflection point that could not be ignored. The decision was politically costly but ethically straightforward.

It leaves us with the question: If this is the standard to which we hold would-be senators from the 42nd most populous state in the union, why is it not the standard to which we hold the president of the United States?

 

Josh Olds is a public theologian and pastor for those disillusioned with institutional church. He is the creator of the small-group video series “Year on the Mountaintop” and a featured contributor to Fostering Hope: A Prayerbook for Fostering and Adoptive Parents. Follow his work on Facebook or at JoshOlds.com.

 

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