Anita Hill and the despicable "olive branch" of Virginia Thomas, wife of Clarence

By Michael J.W. Stickings

As ABC News is reporting, Virginia Thomas, wife of Clarence, recently left a phone message for Anita Hill:

Good morning, Anita Hill, it's Ginny Thomas. I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.

That's right, Virginia asked Hill to apologize for what she did. What did she do? She testified at Clarence's Senate confirmation hearings that he had sexually harrassed her in the workplace, when she worked for him both at the Department of Education and at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the '80s.

It may be the case that there is no definitive evidence to support either side -- Clarence denied the accusation, as he has denied it ever since, and claimed he was the victim of a "high-tech lynching" -- but there is absolutely no reason for Hill to apologize for anything. As she told ABC News:

Even if it wasn't a prank, it was in no way conciliatory for her to begin with the presumption that I did something wrong in 1991. I simply testified to the truth of my experience. For her to say otherwise is not extending an olive branch, it's accusatory... I don't apologize. I have no intention of apologizing, and I stand by my testimony in 1991.

Good for her. Good for standing firm. Virginia claims that "no offense was ever intended," but she basically accused Hill of lying, of smearing her husband, and there was certainly no indication that she believes any of Hill's story. It would be one thing to seek to get past what happened by first acknowledging on her end that, at the very least, her husband had behaved inappropriately. It is quite another to heap the blame on Hill and, from that basis, extend an "olive branch."

Utterly, utterly despicable.

Frack you: The self-aggrandizing dishonesty of Eric "The Groper" Massa

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Yesterday, I called Eric Massa the Worst Democrat of the Day for a variety of reasons.

Well, Massa went to Glennbeckistan last night and admitted to having "groped" and "tickled" a male staffer at his 50th birthday party:

He also said he'd used rough language when he shouldn't have and that he had jokingly told a male staffer at a wedding reception that he'd rather have sex with him than with one of the bridesmaids.

But, Massa told Beck, "I did nothing sexual."

He said he had done "things that were wrong," but he suggested that his only real sin -- aside from "salty" talk -- was that he had allowed himself to become too familiar with his staff.

Uh-huh, sure. Is he lying or is he really that (self-)delusional?

Because it seems that there was more going on than the ex-Congressman would care to admit:

Not long after Eric Massa joined Congress in January 2009, several male staff members began to feel uncomfortable with the sexually loaded language their boss routinely used, according to accounts relayed to the House ethics committee.

As the months passed, rumors began to circulate in Congress that the married New York Democrat had sexually propositioned young male staffers and interns in his office, allegations, according to two sources with knowledge of the inquiry, that included Massa groping at least two aides. In the second week of February, Massa's deputy chief of staff contacted the office of Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer for help in dealing with the accusations.

According to two sources familiar with the investigation, Ron Hikel, Massa's former deputy chief of staff, provided the information about the staffers' allegations to the House ethics committee three weeks ago. Hikel had earlier sought advice from Hoyer's office about internal complaints, the sources said, and had been urged to report the allegations to the panel.

Upon becoming aware of the claims, Hoyer (D-Md.) gave Massa an ultimatum, his office confirmed: report the staffers' complaints to the ethics committee within 48 hours, or Hoyer would do it for them. Last week, the panel's investigation became public, and Massa resigned, effective Monday. 

And yet Massa insists on lashing out at Rahm Emanuel and blaming his situation, claiming he was forced out, on the Democratic House leadership, which, in his polluted mind, wanted him out so as to have one less No vote on health-care reform?

Uh-huh, sure. Does anybody outside of Glenn Beck and his ilk actually think this guy's story is credible? He refuses to take the blame for anything, only vaguely admits to doing some "wrong" things, like "tickle fights" and "inappropriate language," and, offender that he is, tries to direct the focus elsewhere, anywhere else but on himself, attacking his own party and turning to Beck to spin his nonsense (like that it's all about his health-reform vote when, as we know, this all started long before his vote mattered).

Massa may very well be "a very sick person," as Nancy Pelosi put it, referring to his health problems, but it would seem that he's also sick in a different way, either deeply delusional or deeply dishonest -- or perhaps both.

Worst Democrat of the Day: Eric Massa

By Michael J.W. Stickings

That would be (now former) Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY), who has resigned, effective today.

And he's the worst for so much:

-- For (allegedly) sexually harrassing one of his aides at a party on New Year's Eve, and for frequently using "salty" (his word) and otherwise "inappropriate" (also his word) language in the workplace.

-- For initially claiming that he was resigning because he has cancer (and thereby likely lying).

-- For trying to excuse his behaviour/language on his time in the U.S. Navy, where, apparently, it's fine to be a foul-mouthed lout.

-- For blaming Democratic House leaders for his demise: Mine is now the deciding vote on the health care bill. And this administration and this House leadership have said, quote-unquote, they will stop at nothing to pass this health care bill. And now they've gotten rid of me, and it will pass. You connect the dots." When I connect the dots, what I see is that Massa is an idiot. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has pushed back, asserting that he told Massa's staff to report the harrassment complaint a month ago. Actually, it's not clear what the House ethics committee is investigating, but it seems that Massa's inappropriate behaviour goes back many months, long before his vote on health-care reform mattered so much.

-- For viciously attacking Rahm Emanuel: "Emanuel is son of the devil's spawn. He is an individual who would sell his mother to get a vote. He would strap his children to the front end of a steam locomotive." I'm not a big Rahm fan myself, but come on. This is laughable in its excess.

-- For regurgitating Republican talking points (i.e., propaganda) on health-care reform (more shoving the bill down our throats nonsense, which we've heard from countless Republicans).

-- Looking ahead, for going on Glenn Beck's show later today to attack and blame Democrats (what else?), and no doubt also to be lauded as a true American hero of Glennbeckistan.

-- And for being, in general, a pretty reprehensible figure. I feel sorry for him with regards to his very serious health problems, but, as for his political career, good riddance.