Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) has been particularly vocal amid the recent sexual harassment allegations on Capitol Hill — as she should be.

When Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) was accused of groping a woman during a USO tour in 2006, Democrats started to rethink former President Bill Clinton’s own harassment allegations. Gillibrand, who called for an immediate ethics investigation of Franken, recently spoke with The New York Times and said Clinton should have resigned over the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Despite these comments being hypocritical and years too late, considering Gillibrand has received funding and endorsements from the Clintons for over 20 years, the senator is holding politicians accountable for their actions and promoting better moral standards. Gillibrand is making it clear sexual misconduct will not be tolerated in politics, regardless of party affiliation.

But the timing of these comments is not a coincidence. The Clintons are no longer in positions of power, so Gillibrand does not have to fear severe political backlash. So she made a statement that would resonate with her progressive following, and one that coincides with her initiative to stop harassment in Washington.

Why Gillibrand made these choices should not be criticized, but applauded. Gillibrand has spearheaded the movement to denounce and investigate Franken’s alleged behavior instead of ignoring this situation entirely or responding in a political way.

Some have made the empty argument that Gillibrand and Democrats are only being harsh because Franken represents Minnesota, a state that will just elect another Democrat if Franken were to resign. Yes, party members may have hesitated if a Democrat in a more competitive state faced these allegations. But unless that happens and a politician is not held to a higher standard by their peers, the admirable efforts of Democrats like Gillibrand shouldn’t be discredited.

With the sexual harassment allegations that have surfaced, it’s clear people of power believe they can get away with this vile behavior. Hopefully Gillibrand and her colleagues are successful, and they can prevent further sexual harassment by holding fellow elected officials to a higher standard.

Joseph Pucciarelli is a junior public relations and history dual major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at jjpuccia@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @JoeyPucciarelli.

Published on November 22, 2017 at 11:19 am