Greg Stumbo’s delusional denial

Democrat Speaker Greg Stumbo Denies Culture Of Sexism And Intimidation, Despite Democrats Saying Otherwise

ON TUESDAY, GREG STUMBO ASSERTED THERE IS “NO EVIDENCE” OF A SEXIST, INTIMIDATING CULTURE IN THE HOUSE

Democrat Speaker Greg Stumbo Claimed “There Is No Evidence There’s A Culture” Of Sexism And Intimidation In The Chamber He Leads. “Taking some offense to ‘the political nature’ of comments on the House floor Tuesday, Stumbo reminded reporters that he asked any LRC employees to come forward with additional complaints of misconduct. None surfaced. ‘There is no evidence there’s a culture,’ Stumbo said.” (Kevin Wheatley, “Sexual Harassment Probe Comes To An End In Kentucky General Assembly,” The State Journal, 1/7/14)

    • Stumbo Further Accused Republicans Of Politicizing The House’s Culture Of Sexism And Intimidation. “That’s a political word that unfortunately some of the minority members are using.” (Kevin Wheatley, “Sexual Harassment Probe Comes To An End In Kentucky General Assembly,” The State Journal, 1/7/14)

DEMOCRATS, HOWEVER, SAY THERE IS A PROBLEM

Democrat Representative Tom Riner Lamented The House’s “Culture Of Intimidation And Sexism.” “After WFPL News reported the accusations against state Rep. John Arnold, D-Sturgis, early Wednesday, Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, took to the House floor to speak out against what he described as a culture of intimidation and sexism in the legislature.” (Phillip M. Bailey, “Kentucky House Democratic Leaders Knew Of Sexual Harassment Claims, Filing Says,” WFPL, 8/21/13)

Democrats On Greg Stumbo’s Culture Of Intimidation

Democrat State Legislators Told Representative Tom Riner To “Keep Quiet” About Arnold’s Conduct “To Protect The Party’s Majority In Upcoming Elections.” “A Democratic state lawmaker says some of his colleagues told him to keep quiet allegations of sexual harassment and assault against a fellow legislator to protect the party’s majority in upcoming elections.” (Phillip M. Bailey, “Kentucky House Democratic Leaders Knew Of Sexual Harassment Claims, Filing Says,” WFPL, 8/21/13)

Representative Tom Riner: “The culture has to change, and right now, people are too intimidated. If we’ve got three legislators that are too intimidated to report, how should college women who are being intimidated by a professor or someone in the workforce who’s being harassed, how are they going to deal with it, if we can’t deal with it? How are they going to report, if we can’t report?” (cn|2’s “Pure Politics With Ryan Alessi,” 8/28/13)

    • According To Representative Riner, The Culture Of Intimidation In The Legislature Is So Great One Of The Victims “Thought She Would Lose Her Job.” REPRESENTATIVE TOM RINER: “One of the young ladies originally said filing a complaint was out of the question. She thought she would lose her job.” (Tom Loftus And Joe Gerth, “Kentucky Rep. John Arnold Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Legislative Staff,” The Courier-Journal, 8/22/13)
    • Gloria Morgan, A Victim Of John Arnold’s Conduct: “I felt that I needed simply to keep my mouth shut for fear of losing my job.” (Tom Loftus, “Third Legislative Employee Files Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Rep. John Arnold,” The Courier-Journal, 8/23/13)

Democrats On Greg Stumbo’s Culture Of Sexism

Former Democrat Senator Kathy Stein Lamented That The House, In Which She Served From 1997-2008, Has Had A “Sad Culture Of Good-Ol’-Boyism.” “If the allegations are true it would be ‘a huge black eye for this General Assembly’ and specifically House Democratic leaders, said Sen. Kathy Stein, D-Lexington. Stein and Senate President Pro Tem Katie Stine, R-Southgate, both served in the House before being elected to the upper chamber. Stine has been in the Senate since 1999 after serving two terms in the House. Stein has been in the Senate since 2009 after winning a 2008 special election. Before that she served since 1997 in the House, which she said has had a ‘sad culture of good-ol’-boyism’ that she and other women tried to address.” (Ryan Alessi, “Former Female House Members Say ‘Culture Of Good Ol’ Boys’ In The House Must Change,” cn|2, 8/26/13)

Democrat Representative Reginald Meeks Responded That Stumbo’s Remarks Regarding Allegations Of Sexual Harassment “Underwhelmed” Him And That He “Had Hoped Stumbo Would Have Said Something About Assuring An Appropriate Work Environment.” “Rep. Reginald Meeks, D-Louisville, replied in a floor speech that he was ‘underwhelmed’ by the speaker’s comments and had hoped Stumbo would have said something about assuring an appropriate work environment within the legislative branch.” (Tom Loftus, “Third Legislative Employee Files Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Rep. John Arnold,” The Courier-Journal, 8/23/13)

    • Representative Meeks: “At the core we are not just talking about these individuals. We are talking about a culture that may or may not exist here at the Capitol that allows that kind of activity to continue unabated.” (Tom Loftus, “Third Legislative Employee Files Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Rep. John Arnold,” The Courier-Journal, 8/23/13)

Democrat Representative Rita Smart Said She Has Suffered “Many Many Years Of Sexual Harassment.” “Rep. Rita Smart, another Arnold cmte. member, says she has suffered ‘many many years of sexual harassment.’ #kyga14” (Jonathan Meador, Twitter Feed, 1/7/14)

Democrat Representative Tom Burch Likened The Environment Of The House To A “Candy Factory.” “Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, said he believes sexual harassment may be a problem. He said that after hearing of allegations of sexual harassment in the military, he went to the Legislative Ethics Commission several weeks ago and suggested training for legislators on sexual harassment next year. ‘These guys come up there from out in the state and some of them think they’re in a candy factory,’ he said. ‘That’s not right. People should not have to work under those types of conditions.’” (Tom Loftus And Joe Gerth, “Kentucky Rep. John Arnold Accused Of Sexual Harassment By Legislative Staff,” The Courier-Journal, 8/22/13)


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