Thread by @AlexandraErin

Boy, this is a weird one. First, the "only safe barrier" against inappropriate behavior is the rule... that's outright admitting this isn't about appearances, but what the man *will* (not might, but *will*) do, given the chance.

And "Repressed weirdoes?" No one's saying that.

https://twitter.com/pegobry/status/1149145405185232897

But the two oddities go together... if you think the flak that Pence and his disciples get is making fun of them for being "repressed", then you are admitting to a worldview in which, yes, it is inevitable that a man -- a Godly married man -- will "make a move" on a woman alone.

What @pegobry is saying is he thinks we're making fun of the candidate for *not* taking the opportunity to be alone with this woman and "do what comes naturally."

And here's the thing: he explains it in terms he learned from his father, as "Caesar's wife must be beyond reproach". And evangelicals call it "the Billy Graham rule".

But most men aren't Caesar, and most men aren't Billy Graham.

Billy Graham had an image to protect. He wasn't guarding his virtue or his marriage or showing respect to his wife; he was protecting a brand. His rule only makes sense in that context. It's overkill, otherwise, and should obviously be so.

Billy Graham made a pretty ruthlessly mercenary decision to safeguard his empire. It wasn't a moral stance. It wasn't predicated on any Biblical teaching. It was pure defensiveness. It wasn't about him showing his faith; it was a way of taking morality and virtue off the table.

Most men, even most men in positions of power and prominence, don't have the same image problems that Graham would. Republican politicians have to be beyond reproach? Not in this era.

We have a man in the White House, the head of the GOP, who is credibly accused of multiple accounts of rape and sexual assault, including teenagers.

Billy Graham's concerns don't apply to Republican politicians. "Reproach" is no longer a concern for them.