Next time you tune in to a high-profile Senate hearing—perhaps to view a Supreme Court nominee sit to be questioned during his or her nomination process—consider this: A man sodomized another man in that very room, in one of the very seats that a U.S. senator would sit to engage in constitutional duties.
The person involved in this incident—a Senate staffer—has since been relieved of his position.
Unfortunately, the now former staffer will face no further punishment, as a senior congressional official stated that “no crime was committed”—assuming the sex in the Senate Judicary Committee’s hearing room was consensual.
And what might even be worse, the staffer, in a childish and unsuccessful attempt to shift the narrative, hardly acknowledged any wrongdoing, stating that he has been “attacked for who [he] love[s] to pursue a political agenda.”
The disturbing video, uploaded to “a private group for gay men in politics,” clearly shows two men engaging in anal sex between where Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Chris Coons, D-Del., most recently sat, according to the Daily Caller.
That leaves us with an important question: Why would somebody be so brazen enough as to upload such an incriminating video of himself?
What this should tell everyone is that this Senate staffer was both a perpetrator and a victim—a perpetrator who desecrated a solemn and venerable place, but also a victim of a wider problem that is undoubtedly persisting in the halls of Congress.
The problem is that he didn’t just think he could get away with it; his posting of this content is indicative of a mindset where he thought he would be celebrated. Why else share an intimate moment like this with a large group of people, where only one would need to turn on you?
The halls of Congress are where the most important decisions in this country are made. Legislation that will affect millions, funding that sits in the trillions, negotiations, diplomatic retreats, and more all occur in these halls.
What shouldn’t occur is debauchery on this level. Members, staffers, and guests alike must treat these halls with respect, lest they become a breeding ground for the decline of American morality.
The tragic part about this entire situation is that the occurrence is extremely unsurprising. It coincides with a drastic downward spiral of morality, where our nation is turning into the next Sodom and Gomorrah.
Only a person so emboldened by the lack of respect shown toward work and others, in general, would commit such an act in such a place. Only a person so feeble and self-righteous could attack others and shirk responsibility. The way this staffer acted isn’t just indicative of his own failing moral character but of the state of this country.
The staffer was fired. Good. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, no doubt.
If someone felt so emboldened as to post such a disgusting act in a historic Senate hearing room, what have others done to stoke his behavior? Will he find employment elsewhere in politics? Will there actually be others who believe his response was justified and that his sexual acts weren’t so bad?
The Senate staffer worked for a Democrat after all—and he clearly is one. No doubt there are elected officials out there who condone this form of behavior, just as there are many who condone and support the terrorist actions of Hamas, the destruction of U.S. cities and small businesses, the brainwashing of young kids, and the moral and intellectual decline of our nation’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.
America is better than this, but we’re not on the right path. If we continue down the path we are on, this type of action will not just be normalized, it will be encouraged. The fringe will become the mainstream in the the U.S. government, the most important employer in our nation, and those who fight back will be silenced.
American values of decency, respect, and integrity will be overshadowed by a culture of divisiveness and disrespect. This erosion of values and increase in tolerance for reprehensible behavior requires a cleansing of our political discourse, something that unfortunately won’t happen any time soon.
So, until then, maybe the Senate Judiciary Committee should start with a physical cleansing of the hearing room.
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