RateItAll: The Opinion Network

It's pretty absurd to purport that Paula Jones' accusations were swept under any rug given that they were lead story tabloid foddder for about 18 months. One case got heard in the senate judiciary committee hearings and one got heard on Hard Copy and such infotainment outlets. One plaintiff said her piece and then resumed her life as a private citizen and one tried to milk the media exposure for as much of a payoff as the system would provide. I think the system worked the way it was supposed.

Um, well, Anita Hill is a respected law professor with a Yale J.D. By contrast, Paula Jones didn't have much to lose by making accusations. "Character assassination" my %*^, Jones didn't have any character to lose. Yes, the accusations seemed to be equally true ... but since the issue in this debate is whether Jones's claims merited the same media visibility that Hill's achieved, you'd be crazy to think it was a Democratic conspiracy (as opposed to, at minimum, a bad hairstyle) that kept Jones out of the spotlight.

This was pretty much the activity/environment that killed off whatever steam NOW had left. The Clinton administration gave feminists all sorts of opportunities to engage in hypocrisy and they took full advantage of these opportunities.

In politics, some get away, others don't. It all depends on how you handle the press and how you react to a situation when it comes. Why did Bill Clinton survive Monica, Gennifer, and Paula but yet Gary Hart couldn't survive Monkey Business? Clinton may have been unscrupulous, but he took them on and confessed when he realized that he had nowhere else to run. Anita Hill's testimony against Clarence Thomas was far more damaging than Paula Jones; however the stakes were much larger with Jones, who filed a civil suit against the President. This was the same suit that led to the impeachment of a President for only the 2nd time in US History. However in the final analysis, this kind of thing is very case specific; some get exposed while others don't. Not getting caught seems to be the game.

Nice cheap shot. . .but any lawyer will tell you that Anita Hill was a much better plantiff (potentially) than that squeaky mouse Jones. Clinon could sure pick his vicitms, eh?

Sweeping bad press under the rug is a politician's specialty, not just one of a particular party. And each party will air the other one's dirty laundry to look good, and then bitch like sin when it's done back.

Aha, a clue! What that word again for those people? I keep forgetting.

Not only that, but Clarence Thomas had a fine reputation. We didn't see a parade of women making the kinds of claims Anita Hill did. Paula Jones, on the other hand, is just one of many who have served as valuable character witnesses for Clinton over the years.

Not that there isn't hypocrisy on both sides of the political spectrum. What I find infuriating is the character assassination of Paula Jones (her appearance, calling her a trailer park slut, saying she was bankrolled by right wing organizations) and the National Organization for Women, was one of the worst at piling on her. It was chilling how unanimous the derision of this lawsuit and her claims (which were entirely consistent with his well-known past behavior) and, like many other women, Paula Jones was abused twice. How did she deserve that? Because you liked Clinton?

This may actually be a better gauge of where I stand politically than I might have thought. I actually believe that both women had the right to be heard. If you've never been through the experience, sexual harrassment is one of the most humiliating things that can happen to anyone. And, I feel, whether you believe the accusation or not anyone who has gone through this or feels that they have, deserves to be heard. Many moons ago, I suffered through it in silence. The result was I carried this ugly baggage around with me for years - something I now realize I did not deserve. So, I say to everyone and anyone who has ever had the experience - don't let the sun go down on your anger - but use your head and get whomever where it really hurts once and for all. In other words, give the problem back to them and then leave it there.