{UAH} THE LEFT WING-NUTS HAVE WEAPONIZED THE ME TOO MOVEMENT

The left has weaponized the Me Too movement

Neal Larson

What began as a legitimate and honorable effort to root out sexual predators from high places, the MeToo movement has been overtaken by an irresponsible mob that cares far less about the veracity of an accusation than they do about its political value.

As nearly all of us know, two women (at this writing) have come forward to accuse President Trump’s SCOTUS pick Brett Kavanaugh of teenage sexual misconduct. In both cases, the accuser is a known supporter of liberal causes, alcohol was involved, memories are fuzzy, and details murky.

Neither case produced a single corroborating eyewitness to the alleged behavior. While there’s not enough evidence to prove the accusation, what’s more important for Kavanaugh’s opponents is that there’s not enough evidence to disprove the accusation.

The frightening expectation of today’s hijacked Me Too movement is that the burden of proof instantly rests on the accused. In the first case, Brett Kavanaugh is expected to disprove an accusation about an unknown location at an unknown time under the foggiest of circumstances, muddled by the passage of time. In the second, the accuser wasn’t even sure of the accused offender’s identity until — Golly Shazam! — after he was named as an originalist Supreme Court nominee.

The predictable happened. A parade of celebrities, left-wing pundits and politicians jumped immediately from accusation to belief, leapfrogging over the scrutiny and critical thinking that ethical people value before destroying a reputation and career.

Because I probably consume too much news, I already have a jaded outlook adorned with cynicism. But this week, my meter was pegged with frustration over how devoid of honesty and decency the process has become.

The eagerness for some to chip away at the foundational to achieve a current desired political outcome is tragic. It is selling a precious civic birthright for a mess of political pottage. They should be ashamed.

None of this is to suggest either of Kavanaugh’s accusers are lying. Every accusation of sexual misconduct should be taken seriously. But “seriously” still merits scrutiny. Because the accusations truly are serious with life-altering implications for both the accuser and the accused, we all should take extra caution, not less, before arriving at “I believe.”

The implications for the culture at large are that just about anyone’s career and reputation can be destroyed by a mere accusation. Those who threaten the left are particularly prone to this guilty-until-proven-innocent standard.

Those useful to the left, not so much. High-ranking democrat Keith Ellison — a congressman now running for attorney general in Minnesota — allegedly abused a former girlfriend who provided far more evidence than just an uncorroborated accusation clouded by alcohol and time.

Juanita Broaddrick, Bill Clinton’s alleged rape victim, very publicly wondered why her highly-credible story continues to be ignored by those so self-righteously defending Kavanaugh’s accusers. I truly feel sorry for politically inconvenient victims of sexual or physical abuse.

This week, we’ve seen some of the worst American politics serves up. The eleventh hour accusations. The lack of corroboration. The selective willingness to destroy sterling careers and unblemished reputations all to prevent an undesirable outcome.

It is now more important than ever that the Senate confirm Brett Kavanaugh, because derailing him over murky 11th hour accusations that are not disprovable is a tactic that will be added to the permanent playbook. Pavlovian psychology suggests that such expressions of selective feigned virtue should never be rewarded.

Associated Press award-winning columnist Neal Larson of Idaho Falls is the author of “Living in Spin.” He is a conservative talk show host on KID Newsradio 106.3 and 92.1, and also at www.kidnewsradio.com. “The Neal Larson Show” can be heard weekday mornings from 6:00 to 10:00. His email address is neal@590kid.com.

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