Dems purging party of alleged abusers; GOP should follow suit

A group of Democratic senators have just come out urging Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign. Good for them. The time had come. Is it a coincidence that this move seemed to have been planned and orchestrated by a large group of Democratic women in the Senate? Not likely.

This proves that when a party has more women in positions of power, things happen. Republicans should try it sometime.

{mosads}Even former Bush pollster-turned-independent Matthew Dowd tweeted: “Today, we are discovering that Dems are way more willing to hold the members of their team accountable than the GOP is. Stark clear contrast. GOP, it is your move, time to clean up your locker room.”

He is right, and I will admit that I wish Democrats had done this sooner. But with this call to have Sen. Franken resign, the forced retirement of Rep. Conyers (D-Mich.) and the calls for Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) to resign, Democrats are demonstrating that there is zero tolerance for this type of behavior.

Democrats are demonstrating that this will be a clear-cut issue in the 2018 elections. With Roy Moore, an accused child molester and Donald Trump, a self-professed and accused sexual harasser, leading the Republican party, there will be a harsh political moment of reckoning for the GOP for its total breakdown of so-called “family values.”

The Roy Moore-Doug Jones Senate race in Alabama is a lose-lose proposition for the Republican Party. In fact, to many Republicans who have not sacrificed their moral fortitude for political expediency, there’s hope that Doug Jones wins. They see it as a saving grace for the long-term health of their party.

If Doug Jones wins, Republicans will not be burdened with having to welcome an alleged child molester into the Senate chambers. Many commonsense Republicans who want to take their party back from the Trump/Bannon wing would breathe a sigh of relief.

It could happen. Polls are tight and within the margin of error in a deep red state that should have the Republican up by more than 20 points. This goes to show just how badly damaged Moore’s candidacy is.

But if Roy Moore prevails, as Mitt Romney has said, it will be a stain on the Republican Party and the nation. Although Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said repeatedly that if Moore is elected, he will face an Ethics Committee investigation and possible removal, how realistic will that be?

I say it’s poppycock. It will be almost impossible for Republicans to remove Moore once he is elected and seated. The people of Alabama will have spoken.

I suspect the little spine that Republican Party leadership has left will not be enough to go against Roy Moore’s supporters, Trump’s supporters, Steve Bannon followers and the powerful evangelical community that will have worked for Moore’s election.

It will also be a day of reckoning for those evangelicals who are up on their high horses espousing the “virtues” of Roy Moore as a Godly man, all the while turning their backs on the credible allegations from multiple women that Moore pursued relationships with them when he was in his 30s and they were mere teenagers.

The evangelical community that is supporting Moore will have a lot to reckon with on this one. This is a crowd that will scream holy hell if one of theirs is forced to bake a cake for a gay couple because that would go against everything they hold dear.

Yet, they are fine with electing someone like Roy Moore, an accused child predator who was allegedly banned from the mall for hanging out and stalking young teenage girls.

Is that the kind of morality the Republican Party wants to hang its hat on? Is that the legacy the evangelical movement wants to be known for?

In this day of the powerful #MeToo movement, there is hope for a real change in a culture that, up until now, has protected the abuser and villainized the abused.

That is, unless you belong to the Republican Party, where the self-proclaimed assaulters are rewarded by being elected president, and alleged child predators are rewarded by (possibly) being elected to the Senate.

The women of America will not stand for it. Whether they rise up next week in Alabama and choose country over party to elect a decent public servant in Doug Jones, or Democrats sweep the 2018 midterm elections, I am proud of women standing up everywhere and saying enough is enough!

Will Republicans find their moral compass? Will they start electing more women to positions of power and ensure that the voices of women are finally included in the urgent political debates of our time?

That remains to be seen. But nothing less than their political future depends on it.

Maria Cardona is a principal at the Dewey Square Group, a Democratic strategist and a CNN/CNN Español political commentator. Follow her on Twitter @MariaTCardona.