A Letter to Male Politicians

Dear Gentlemen:

If you plan to seek public office, please be sure to check your sexual behavior.

We really don’t appreciate histories of sexual harassment and we are particularly offended by candidates who claim to be righteous but reveal that they have cheated on their wives for years.

The American public has grown less and less tolerant of this type of behavior. Some people are asking “why does it matter?” I personally find this question even more offensive. It speaks to your character. If you will cheat on your wife, your ethics have been compromised. If your ethics are compromised once, they appear to be flexible.

This is not a partisan issue or even specific to Herman Cain. It happened to John Edwards. Former President Bill Clinton was very nearly impeached over his behavior, or rather, his attempt to deny his behavior.

Since Clinton, however, our tolerance for “messing around” has shrunk even further. Why? Well, of course, the public loves to play “gotcha” politics and that is a significant part of the game these days.

However, I think it runs deeper. Women are major players in the political process now more than ever. Women vote. Women speak out and women are seeking office. It is a rare day when we see a female candidate fall on her rise to power because she “messed around”. It is more likely to see her fall because she hired a Nanny that might not have been a full citizen.

Yes, we women are just tired of it. We do care if you sexually harassed women and we do care about your affairs. Stop it. If you’ve done it, put it out front when you start running and control your messaging around it. Let us decide if we want to judge you on or not.

Bottom line: Sexual harassment is completely intolerable in this day and time. The excuses given by leaders are the same excuses HR execs hear all across the country. “I was just talking with her. I didn’t mean to be offensive.” Well, you were offensive and we don’t want to hear about it. It is unacceptable behavior. Women professionals, in any career, do not want to be subjected to innuendo and harassment at work. Period. And, we don’t want to hear that you engaged in that activity.

Gentlemen, gone are the days when it was considered appropriate to have a mistress along with your wife and to have your male colleagues fully aware and congratulating you. It is a new century with many women in power, more on the way and the societal views have changed.

It will be revealed and you will suffer the consequences.

Thanks,

Nancy Sims

2 responses

  1. Well put, Nancy. Those days are gone indeed. Your strong point that a man who will disregard his strongest promise–that of fidelity to his spouse–will probably disregard any promise is excellent. Should we put our faith in such a person if his family can not?

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