Short thread about Eric Schneiderman and New York's history of extremely shitty Democratic men
Minutes after Schneiderman resigned, my dad called me. He told me that, when I was 20 covering the state capitol, I had complained to him about how Schneiderman (then a state sentator) seemed like a creep.
This, in retrospect, was unsurprising. Back then I just assumed all New York male lawmakers were creeps. And I had good reason to!
For instance: We had a sitting Democratic assemblyman named Sam Hoyt. He was not allowed to have interns because he had an affair with one of his, who was 19 y/o. We called him "lollipop man." (see here: nypost.com/2008/08/21/id-…)
Whenever we saw Hoyt walking around, my friends and I (all interns) would joke about how we "better stay away" or the "lollipop man" would harass us. Funny! Except Hoyt then joined the Cuomo administration. He resigned in 2017 over sexual harassment. nydailynews.com/news/politics/…
But Hoyt is benign compared to the other Democratic men my friends and I covered in NY.
Like Hiram Monserrate, former Dem state senator who slashed his girlfriend in the face & dragged her down a hallway.
Like Hiram Monserrate, former Dem state senator who slashed his girlfriend in the face & dragged her down a hallway.
Or Vito Lopez, the powerful Democratic assemblyman who faced multiple accusations of groping and sexually harassing young female staff members
Or Sheldon Silver, the powerful former Democratic speaker of the assembly who was sued for facilitating Vito Lopez's harassment by refusing to act on allegations
Or Democratic Gov. David Patterson, accused of interfering in a domestic abuse case by personally reaching out to a woman and asking her to soften her claims of abuse against of of his aides
Not to mention Jeff Klein, currently the leader of the NY Independent Democratic Conference, accused of forcibly shoving his tongue down a woman's throat
There is a general environment of sexual misconduct in New York politics. According to Politico: "more than 1,000 people ... have complained of sexual harassment in New York state government entities since 2012" politico.com/states/new-yor…
This sexual misconduct is costly. A recent AP investigation found that "New Yorkers have paid more than $10 million over the last nine years" to settle claims of misconduct in state government. newsday.com/news/region-st…
Republican men have of course been accused, too. But New York is a blue state, and our Democratic men—who market themselves at champions for women—should feel responsible that this culture has been allowed to persist for so long.
In sum, the New York state capitol has long been full of Democratic men who either mistreat women or do nothing when they see mistreatment occurring.
It's no wonder Schneiderman thrived there for so long.
It's no wonder Schneiderman thrived there for so long.
(I messed up threading this the rest is here)
