Another day, another sexual harassment scandal in Washington. Our chosen leaders.
This piece caught my attention today.
Top Democrat in Connecticut Senate Calls on Elizabeth Etsy to Resign
Elizabeth Etsy is a Democrat and a US House of Representatives member representing Connecticut’s 5th District. You probably know of this district, because located within in it is Newtown, CT (Sandy Hook). She has an impressive educational background, with a bachelor’s from Harvard and a law degree from Yale. She’s a hardcore liberal, which is a fine fit for the state of Connecticut.
And… her Chief of Staff, Tony Baker, recently resigned, with severance, and a positive recommendation and new job waiting, after being accused of sexual harassment and threats of violence (assault?) Apparently, after Representative Etsy was made aware of the alleged issues with her Chief of Staff, a full 3 months ensued before an agreed-upon resignation was accepted. In a nutshell, the issue against Ms. Etsy are the 3 months.
So the argument goes, Rep. Etsy exposed her staff to a hostile work environment for 3 months, when corrective action could have been more expeditious. Now fellow Democrats are piling-on Etsy, demanding she resign for mishandling this situation.
First, it is proper that Democrats are handling this issue. She is a Democrat, and these issues are best handled within their family. Any outside pressure, i.e. Republicans, will be dismissed as political and self-serving. So that’s fine.
Her Chief of Staff was allegedly engaged in improper, immoral, and illegal behavior. It looks like he has not been formally charged with anything, let alone convicted. In the eyes of the law, he is not guilty. Now there is the law and its rules of evidence, and then there is the internal knowledge of the happenings within her office that she and her staff know about. The later has a much less stringent bar.
Let’s also not forget that this guy is was a General Schedule employee. He was riding the Federal Gravy Train as a civil servant.
Maybe things have changed since I was last in that world (as a military officer 20 years ago), but I recall that it was not a quick nor easy task to fire a GS civil servant. That’s why these jobs are a magnet and a call for under-achievers of the world to unite. Once you’re in, it’s really hard for them to get you out. Keep in mind, Ms. Etsy is a Yale-trained lawyer, and she knows you can’t just fire a Federal Civil Servant like any other employee at will.
Is it unreasonable that once Rep Etsy became aware of these allegations, that a full, 3 months transpired before he was shown the door? Minimally, an internal investigation did need to be conducted. I could see that potentially taking two weeks. The bad news for Etsy is that the scuttlebutt, from her own and fellow Democrats, is that her Chief’s behavior was pretty much an open secret. There were shades of grey regarding just how severe the behavior was, but a general acceptance that unacceptable behavior was present.
As I type through this, analyzing and thinking as I go, I realize that is the problem for her. Her peers are correct. And it is a big problem. If everybody and their brother knew of this, and it was her responsibility to deal with, she did need to move more affirmatively. As we discussed, it is likely (and not even proper) that she could dismiss him on the spot. Verification of facts must occur. False allegations do happen. This is Washington, DC; politicians and staffers are practiced in lying like Marine Drill Instructors in profanity. But as Baker’s supervisor, and the lead of the entire staff, she could have directed him to work from his home.
That would have sent the following messages:
- A serious investigation is underway, but there is presumption of innocence
- The work environment here is safe
- Allegations of hostile work environment are taken seriously, and even the Chief of Staff is not immune
Sadly, for Representative Etsy, she didn’t take a little bit of time to type this out the way I did. If she did, she would have known the proper course.
Today she stands defiant, as Al Franken was within the past half year before he finally conceded to resignation. She is even using a derivative of the Franken excuse, saying “I have important work to do in Congress.”
I doubt that, but I have no doubt she believes her work is important. More importantly, it is red herring; a fallacy of logic. No one is questioning the importance of her work, they are questioning her competency to provide a safe work environment. The days of Bill-Clinton-Tolerance are no longer vogue.
About the Author
Chris Sandys, being a classical liberal (libertarian), does enjoy witnessing a little Blue-on-Blue fighting. He can’t deny it. Especially when it involves CT Democrats, as he scripts this from the Nutmeg state. Being formerly involved in CT politics on a very local level, none of this surprises him.
2 Too Many 