WASHINGTON (AP) – Kirsten Gillibrand was the first Democratic senator to ask for the resignation of her colleague Al Franken in 2017 while he faced accusations of sexual misconduct, building a profile as an important advocate for women who became the centerpiece of his presidential candidacy in 2020.
But the New York senator is taking a different approach when it comes to sexual harassment charges that hit her closer to home, those against her state’s Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo.
In a series of statements, Gillibrand said that Cuomo’s accusations of offensive behavior are “serious and deeply worrying” and that the three women “who have shown themselves have shown tremendous courage”. She said the charges against Cuomo were “completely unacceptable” and called for a full investigation – but did not actually demand his resignation.
The leading Democrats in New York and nationally abstained from suggesting that Cuomo resign. That includes senior senator from New York and the leader of the majority of the chamber, Democrat Chuck Schumer. It is a much more cautious approach than the parade of Democratic senators who followed Gillibrand’s example in calling for Franken’s resignation.
This is raising doubts as to whether, more than three years in the #MeToo movement, the pressure to hold powerful men accountable for sexual harassment and abuse is losing steam. Gillibrand paid a political price for his role in Franken’s resignation and his tone towards Cuomo may reflect this.
“Our country needs to do better for women on a large scale,” said Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of Women’s March, a advocacy group that emerged from the January 2017 demonstration, when tens of thousands of women, the mostly dressed in pink, went down to Washington to protest the presidency of Donald Trump. “Both parties and at all levels of government.”
Franken eventually resigned, but Democrats later questioned whether they had acted too quickly to remove him. During his presidential campaign, Gillibrand faced questions about his decision and insisted that he did not regret asking Franken to give up his Senate seat. But she acknowledged that doing so has hurt her with major donors and may have hampered her effort to gain followers at the initial conventions in Iowa, which borders Franken’s Minnesota state.
Pete Buttigieg, who essentially tied for first place in Iowa, said that when it came to Franken, he “would not have applied that pressure at that time before we knew more.” The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is now President Joe Biden’s transportation secretary.
Carmona’s group took a step beyond Gillibrand and other leading Democrats, calling for an investigation against Cuomo, but also demanding his “immediate resignation”, noting that “conduct does not have to be illegal to be disqualifying”.
Cuomo categorically rejected such calls on Wednesday, saying that although he was “embarrassed” by the accusations, he had no intention of resigning.
“I work for the people of the state of New York,” said the governor, breaking days of silence during a news conference. “They elected me.”
A spokesman for Gillibrand declined to comment on whether the senator considered asking for Cuomo’s resignation. But even in 2017, Gillibrand spent weeks calling for an investigation into Franken and only became the first Democratic senator to say he should step aside when news of a seventh woman accusing misconduct surfaced.
She also argued that a “double standard” was at work, with her being blamed for her party losing a rising star in Franken, although so many Democrats have called for her resignation.
“Who is being held responsible for Al Franken’s decision to resign? Senators, including me, ”said Gillibrand in July 2019, about a month before leaving the presidential race. “It is outrageous. It’s an absurd. “
She is not the only one to see sexism in the pressure on women to denounce a man’s alleged transgressions. But Gillibrand has promoted herself as a feminist leader and defender of women’s rights, and the Cuomo scandal concerns her state.
Gillibrand founded an activist group called Off the Sidelines, which raised millions of dollars to help mobilize more women to participate in politics, and for years he loved being sometimes called “#MeToo Senator”.
“We would all like her to have more courage now, but she is not the story and she should not become the story,” said Rebecca Katz, a Democratic consultant in New York City who said she equated Gillibrand with Cuomo’s alleged misconduct. is “to miss the whole point.”
Gillibrand, however, saw his national profile decline after his presidential candidacy.
She campaigned for Biden last fall. But unlike several other Senate colleagues who competed against Biden for the Democratic nomination, Gillibrand was never seriously considered an important option to be Biden’s running mate, despite his long-standing promise to choose a woman.
Already a senator for a dozen years, Gillibrand, 54, has time to mount another presidential candidacy, although doubts about how to deal with the scandal involving Franken – and now perhaps even her reaction to Cuomo – may remain.
“We need to stop blaming women for the harassment of men,” said Katz. “Sen. Gillibrand received a lot of criticism for correctly calling Al Franken many years ago – for being one of many to call Al Franken. We’re doing it wrong. “