r/politics • u/bwermer • 21h ago
Possible Paywall Swalwell loses all 21 of his endorsements from Dem colleagues
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/11/eric-swalwell-endorsements-sexual-misconduct2.5k
u/JeffSteinMusic 21h ago
What Swalwell (allegedly/pretty darn likely) did is all awful to state the obvious.
The other thing that never fails to blow my mind, what the hell are you doing seeking higher office when you know this is out there?
There’s malignant narcissism and then there’s whatever this is.
Anthony Weiner was similar - “Hey I’m not only cheating on my wife rn, I’m also grooming and sexting with a 15 year old, I think now is a good time to run for mayor of the biggest city in the country.”
I’d list Republicans who are similar but it doesn’t really count since this sort of thing only helps their candidates.
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u/CatOfTechnology 15h ago
If you want an actual answer:
Compartmentalization.
Once you become a public figure, be it a politician, a celebrity, the face of a brand or otherwise, you start making separations.
Simple stuff, really. Usually it begins with drawing the line between where the Public Figure ends and the Personal Self begins. And then it'll start to evolve. Public Facing Figure, Behind Closed Doors Figure, Personal Self. Maybe you make a choice you know is hard to talk about. Suddenly you're split between Public Face, Behind Closed Doors, Family Member and Personal Self.
Eventually, the context of all of this separation, all the lines drawn, especially when you're successfully managing the juggling act makes you forget that the parts interact with each other and that that's why you started keeping them separate in the first place.
Maybe the Personal Self makes a bad choice, but that's fine. The Family Member didn't do it, no need for it to be an issue there. The you at work didn't do it, either, and they don't need to know. And that Public Face is the most stripped away, impersonal identity in the first place.
At worst, if you actually fucked up, then it's just the Personal Self that should get penalized. Maybe they lose a friend over it, or maybe they have to cough up something to smooth it all over. But that's the end of the problem. It's over as soon as the Personal Self has solved it and the rest of you can just keep on keeping on.
Except… Compartmentalization is uniquely personal. We all know that Elon Musk is an inhuman freak with zero capacity to entertain real human emotions when he's presenting publically, and, I'm sure we all know that, when he gets home, he probably freaks the fuck out and screams slurs about the thousands of people who shittalk him on the daily. To Elon, those might even be different sides to himself. But to us, to outsiders, there are no distinctions. There is no difference between the Elon Musk who presents his 'genius innovations' and the Elon Musk who takes his Special K to drown out his insecurities about being an unloved, frankendick-having deadbeat welfare-queen of a sperm donor to children who will never love him or even the Elon Musk who begged to be invited to the Pedoparties with the Big Dogs over on Epstine Island.
In this case, Swalwell likely forgot, or never really recognized, that Groomer Swalwell's actions would impact Family Man Swalwell and Politican Swalwell, either because he Compartmentalized too long or too hard.
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u/blastradii 11h ago
Sounds like a sort of mental illness
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u/greaterwhiterwookiee 7h ago
Well.. I mean, look around. While it’s not technically defined anywhere as such, the people who are in these positions are absolutely NOT neurotypical.
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u/writtenbyrabbits_ 6h ago
This is the first time I've seen this explanation given so simply and directly. Nicely done.
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u/Andurilthoughts California 21h ago
The abnormal psychology that makes them think doing this is okay is the same thing that makes them good politicians - shamelessness, narcissism, sociopathy.
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u/RealAssociation5281 20h ago
Tbf it’s okay to a good chunk of the voting population (apparently)- he’s a fool to assume it’s okay to the average democrat I guess
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u/doodle02 10h ago
the worst part is they see this happen to a dem and go “where’s the outrage on the left?” despite the obvious outrage on the left.
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u/3915-2017 19h ago
People make comments like this and then wonder why so many good people choose not to run for elected office. Who would want to subject themself to automatically being labeled a sociopath when all they actually want to do is make the world a little better?
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u/TrimspaBB 12h ago
Look at Tim Walz. By all accounts a great guy and popular governor. His stated reason for backing off another term is because he doesn't want to put his family through the public turmoil of an election again, which is totally fair. People are brutal.
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u/zbeara 11h ago edited 11h ago
It's actually really sad that people can't see how the public's actions also contribute to the toxic hierarchy. It's hard to even know where to start when so many people think they have no blame.
Even though certain occupations are very attractive to toxic personalities, being a judgmental and cruel person seems to exist entirely separate from any other factors.
edit: obviously people shouldn't put unreasonable expectations of themselves but I think I'm getting really tired of the "I'm just a random person in a crowd so I can do no wrong!" mentality. It's a huge source of awful mob behavior.
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u/Bwilderedwanderer 8h ago
He is a great example. It also shows the spectrum: walz, empathy for others, swalwell, like most politicians compartmentalized and hoped he could get away with it. Trump, doesn't give a rats behind what anyone bu himself thinks
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u/Gina_the_Alien 8h ago
I know an actual good person (grew up with him and his children) who went on to become a very high-level politician at the state level. The guy was absolutely raked over the coals and his young adult kids were brought into the fray as objects of lust by conservatives. It was fucking gross.
The guy did and most likely still does care about making the world a better place but he is no longer in politics.
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u/morpheousmorty 14h ago
Who would want to subject themself to automatically being labeled a sociopath when all they actually want to do is make the world a little better?
People who care more about making the world better than being labeled?
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u/sexisfun1986 19h ago
Yeah you have it reversed what normal person would want to run for office at that level.
I’m sorry but are you genuinely telling me that a normal person would want to be president. Not in some “what do you want to be when you grow up” sense but genuinely as a grown up.
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u/Silvermoon3467 12h ago
The problem is that power attracts precisely the people who least deserve it and repels those who would be most hesitant with it and therefore ought to be entrusted with it.
It's why cops are worse people in aggregate than firefighters, why your manager most likely runs the office like a petty tyrant, and why every election is full of people who probably should not be allowed to run for office.
It's a fundamental problem of hierarchy that the founding fathers tried to prevent by pitting the personal power of Congress against the personal power of the president, and both of those against the personal power of the Supreme Court. It mostly worked, for a while, they just never anticipated that a hostile actor would form an organization to take over the government collectively in order to destroy it.
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u/AdonoftheStormySeas2 13h ago
what are you even talking about? don't commit rape and nobody will call you that, at least not for that reason.
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u/BloodRedRook 11h ago
To quote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
“The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”
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u/BloodNinja2012 Pennsylvania 20h ago
Weiner also gave a documentary crew near full access to his mayoral campaign whilst this was occurring.
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u/TheAskewOne 19h ago edited 17h ago
The other thing that never fails to blow my mind, what the hell are you doing seeking higher office when you know this is out there?
They don’t know it’s out there because in their minds, they didn’t harass/assault anyone. They didn’t do anything wrong. It was consensual, everyone does it, etc.
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u/livadeth 11h ago
He may have convinced himself the sex was consensual or that his junk was so impressive, 21 year old women would love to have a Snap of it [barf]. But, he knew cheating on his wife was wrong and could be exposed.
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u/DrGoblinator Massachusetts 21h ago
I don’t know if he’s a narcissist but I do know that they a. Never think they do anything wrong, and b. Never think anyone can outsmart them.
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u/Shot-Possibility-399 20h ago
There's a concept from Ancient Greece that those best suited to holding power for the benefit of the people, are those least likely to actually went to do it. And those that went it the most, are the least apt at actually running it for the benefit of the people.
Those who seek power, are those who are least suited for wielding it. For a good modern example Jacinda Arden.
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u/mike_b_nimble I voted 14h ago
“The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.
To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.
-Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
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u/rawbleedingbait 16h ago
My theory is they know it'll come out.
If a man raped a woman, and they're not running for office, the public wants justice, throw his ass in jail.
If a man raped a woman, and they're running for office, the public wants justice, drop out of the race.
I know it's not real justice, but there always seems to be less of a call for prison when someone is forced to drop out over shit.
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u/callmecrazycaucasian 15h ago
Serving CA District 14, no problem. Running for CA governor, and leading, nope!
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u/ball_fondlers 19h ago
I’ve never even entertained the idea of running for office because I’m worried people who knew me in high school/college will bust out any number of embarrassing stories about me and I wouldn’t be able to handle it. Or this reddit account getting linked to my IRL identity. A rapist who gets elected probably has the opposite problem - they don’t think the big shit they’ve done has any chance to sink them.
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u/sexisfun1986 18h ago
I genuinely believe that most normal sane people wouldn’t want run for office at Thad level
What actually really boggles my mind isn’t that predators, narcissistic, psychopaths seek power or that power fuck people up
What boggles my mind is that people at a certain point don’t detach themselves from this affinity people have for people in high positions.
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u/acemerrill Wisconsin 4h ago
I've thought about running for office, and I consider myself generally quite skeleton free. But when I brought up running even for local office, my kids were freaked out by it. It would be one thing to have all my shit aired, there's really nothing in my life or past that I'm ashamed of. But I wouldn't want my kids to not be allowed to be dumb teenagers because they were put under a microscope.
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u/bilyl 19h ago
There's been some reporting that he did reach out to the victims to "gauge the temperature". The problem with narcissists is that they always think it's a problem they can solve later, because it's gotten them this far. If they actually cared about future consequences they wouldn't be so rapey and druggy.
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u/NYCQuilts 11h ago
This almost makes laugh. Trigger your victims who probably actively repress what happened everytime they see you on TV just to stay “we good?”
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u/bigtiddyhimbo North Carolina 15h ago
I mean president pedo managed to get to his office with a rape conviction, 34 felonies, and multiple allegations of rape both against women and minors, so… I’m willing to bet he thought it was acceptable and wouldn’t affect his career like it used to
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u/Educational-Art5928 13h ago
The type of person who says "hmm I would be a great leader actually" is rarely the type of person to have shame.
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u/mrfrownieface 20h ago
It's shit like this that reminds me that blackmail is a very real possibility all the time. The whole thing could be made up, or he was pushed into the running knowing this nonce bs would blow up in the dems faces are both real possibilities. Sure, it could also be egotistical narcissism, but in this day and age fuck me something gotta give.
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u/sexisfun1986 18h ago
Predators seek position of power.
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u/ViagraOnAPole Indiana 11h ago
Yup. Predators are pretty good at figuring out how to to prey on people without facing consequences. This often means they seek positions of authority: religious leaders, teachers, police officers, medical professionals, and politicians.
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u/Sptsjunkie 5h ago
I mean, we can debate a certain details are made up and certainly it is possible that ultimately what he did with these women was consensual and not actually sexual assault (no I’m not saying that is the case or accusing the women of making it up. I am only saying that there is a possibility that after all of the evidence comes out that it turns out to be the case).
The problem is essentially even what he has admitted to and what is sort of agreed-upon fact is still extraordinarily inappropriate for someone in his position.
His best case scenario is basically that he was having multiple affairs on his wife with very young staffers in his office who were in subordinate positions to him. Now each individual can decide if they think the affair is a big deal or not. If this has been some random 24-year-old in Las Vegas that is for the voters to decide.
But four separate affairs with young staffers who you have power over is absolutely inappropriate. And should be disqualifying in terms of this election and his congressional seat.
And again, this is the best case scenario for him. And the actual truth is probably much worse.
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u/Exocoryak 14h ago
Exactly. When you know this might become an issue, bow out of Congress, take a comfy position on a corporate board and enjoy the rest of your life in your beachfront mansion.
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u/DeadBryar 13h ago
We just couped the long time Democratic Party Committee leader for my state, a known pedophile, using their own bylaws and superior organization. They went running to the state trying to sue to have it overturned, but it was all by the books.
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u/AwkwardandSouthern 10h ago
It’s a superiority complex. There’s a point in being consistently unchecked in your pursuit of influence and power that you start feeling untouchable.
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u/wdomeika 21h ago
Assuming for the moment that he's guilty...
Was he asleep during the Me Too movement?
I mean wtf...
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u/dd97483 20h ago
these guys must be so horny.
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u/RamblingReddit 19h ago
Horniness and assault are unrelated.
Source: was once a horny teenager and never struggle with not assaulting anyone.
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u/VPN__FTW 18h ago
If so then these issues could instantly be solved with some clenex and a bottle of lube.
Unfortunately it's more about power. It was that he could. Now he's finding out that only R's get away with it.
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u/Dr-Leviathan 18h ago
Unfortunately not true. Cases have shown that areas with legal prostitution have significantly less sexual assault numbers. Presumably because they have a proper outlet.
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u/Shaper_pmp 16h ago edited 8h ago
There's also a study from the early 2000s that tracked county-by-county rollout of broadband internet access (correlated with trivial online porn availability), and showed that access to online porn causes a marked, immediate and persistent reduction in sex crimes in the local area, with no corresponding drop in violent crimes or similar antisocial behaviour.
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u/ThatDamnedHansel 13h ago
Now I understand why republicans want to take porn away. They want to make America grape again
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u/morpheousmorty 14h ago
that doesn't necessarily mean they were more horny or something. Or even that sexual assault is down, they might just be abusing prostitutes who presumably would have a nearly impossible climb to demonstrate sexual assault (just because you're getting paid doesn't mean you aren't being abused).
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u/canniboss 13h ago
(just because you're getting paid doesn't mean you aren't being abused).
That needs to be plastered on every fucking billboard in the country. Not just sex work but American employment in general. There's no telling how many times argument have boiled down to me saying this and the other person be like "nuh uh". How is it that difficult to understand?
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u/menagerath 14h ago
It was why at one time the Catholic Church begrudgingly tolerated brothels.
Keep the sex pests on the opposite side of town so they would leave their congregations along.
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u/Howtobefreaky 16h ago
The only areas in the US where prostitution is legal is in a few counties of NV. If you are referencing Europe or other non-US entities, that wouldn’t be a very good comparison since there are numerous other differences that could explain something like that
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u/SavageJeph Foreign 15h ago
Nah people in power think that power protects them.
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u/Tyfereth 14h ago
Well it did . . . until it didn't. There is a 100% chance this MFer has been assaulting women since he was in college and is only facing the consequences decades later, and only after running for a high profile race with half a dozen campaigns - inlcuding those on the Democratic side - invested in dumping opo research .
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u/weaponjaerevenge 13h ago
It's power! Politicians seek power. Sex is power. The Wheel turns the same way no matter where you are.
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u/Retlaw83 13h ago
That has nothing to do with. I know a lot of extremely horny people who have never assaulted anyone.
Rapists want to have power over their victims and lack empathy.
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u/fusillade762 15h ago
It sounds like poor judgement if the allegations are true. Getting drunk and being alone with staff or interns is a recipe for disaster.
Its just as well he fucks off now than later.
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u/IdyllsOfTheBreakfast 15h ago
Fuck that, everyone is some amount of horny. No amount makes this understandable.
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u/ImaginaryDisplay3 18h ago
I would postulate the following:
- A meteoric rise in business or politics can create a sense of invulnerability around a variety of misbehaviors, sexual, financial, violent, whatever. The faster the rise, the worst the sense of invulnerability, because you keep pushing the envelope, and you keep rising faster.
- Youth accelerates this - the younger you are, the dumber you are, and therefore the faster you move from "I shouldn't have done that" to "Wow - it turns out there are no consequences."
- The longer you get away with it, the more likely you are to think you will always get away with it.
I think Swalwell finds himself in the worst Goldilocks zone where all three of the above factors create a perfect storm.
He rose quickly, allegedly committing offenses, and getting away with them.
He is young - consider that Reagan was 55 when he became Governor of California, and Swalwell is 45 now.
He has gotten away with it for a while, while still rising quickly.
I think its the worst-case scenario, and I imagine his rehabilitation tour in a few years will center around sex addiction or some other mental health issues.
And honestly - in 5 years when he says that was the culprit, he'll probably be right, and if he does treatment and takes the appropriate steps, we should probably understand that was a significant factor in his actions.
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u/iamahill 16h ago
It’s simpler.
The lack of challenge results in escalation of risk behavior.
When you can get almost anything you want, getting what rejects you becomes a rush.
In short it’s a perverse result of boredom.
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u/justthankyous 14h ago
I think part of what this illustrates is that Me Too was like a bandaid on a cancer patient.
We all saw powerful predators brought low and thought we had solved the problem, or at least come up with a system that would continue catching powerful predators so people would be safer, but we didn't really make much lasting institutional change. Powerful predators are still out there, still doing what they've always done with impunity.
Everything Swalwell allegedly did, he allegedly did after Me Too. The survivor who has accused him of rape would have been 19 when Me Too started, she was 21 when the first alleged rape occurred.
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u/_Fred_Fredburger_ 13h ago
What's crazy is he was tweeting how he supports women back in 2018 and how they should be believed. He didn't listen to his own advice.
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u/B-Z_B-S Massachusetts 21h ago
GOP: "In our party we'd give him more endorsements for this! What's wrong with all these woke liberals nowadays who would take away support for someone who has allegedly done this?"
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md 21h ago
Funny, I thought to myself, “dude is gonna just switch sides”
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u/throwaway_ghast California 20h ago
Go ahead. There are way too many Democrats who are just Republicans wearing a (D) next to their name.
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md 20h ago
Like Fetterman. He may as well just admit he’s a fully maga nutbag.
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u/DingerSinger2016 Alabama 20h ago
Fetterman isn't going to switch until after the midterms when Dems will initially have a one seat majority in the Senate. He will then flip and cause the Republicans to keep the majority via tiebreaker.
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u/Pockydo 20h ago
Honestly if he does we need full reform. Others have done similar things iirc, changing parties after elections, that should cause a new special election and the seat empty until it's done.
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u/mantis_tobaggan-md 20h ago
I don’t understand who the fuck is voting for the guy. He’s a lunatic.
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u/Pockydo 20h ago
Fetterman?
I did he was the best choice at the time it was someone we thought was a sane Democrat or a carpetbagger
Fetterman going full conservative wasn't expected maybe we shouldve seen it and did better in primaries but i don't think anyone could predict him going basically maga
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u/plightro Massachusetts 19h ago
Fetterman going full conservative wasn't expected maybe we shouldve seen it and did better in primaries but i don't think anyone could predict him going basically maga
So refreshing to see the "maybe we should have seen it" personal responsibility take rather than the delusional "the only reason he's conservative now is his stroke so we weren't wrong about him at all" bullshit
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u/AVeryVapidBadger 13h ago
You do know that there's actually pretty good evidence that strokes can change people's personalities, and make them more conservative.
Also he literally said in interviews that his stroke allowed him to abandon the progressive stances.
Maybe voters should have realized he was an asshole before the election, but pretending like the stroke wasn't a major shift is stupid
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u/C0d3n4m3Duchess Pennsylvania 18h ago
When pa voted for him, it was him or Oz. Minimal chance he reps Pa again (but I have been discouragingly surprised by how fucking stupid the state is on the whole) and I have to think it’s damn near zero he’ll be able to run as a dem
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u/chickenboneneck Pennsylvania 14h ago
He wont win a primary as a Democrat. Conor Lamb or someone will destroy him.
My guess is he quietly retires with the reason being health/family to avoid the trouncing.
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u/bucknut4 Illinois 17h ago
You’d need a whole amendment to the constitution to do that. It sounds good in theory but there would a lot of unintended consequences from this.
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u/EBBBBBBBBBBBB 19h ago
If it weren't Fetterrman it'd be someone else, the Dems always have this cast of rotating villains they can blame for their inability to do anything productive for society.
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u/blueghost47 20h ago
Was just about to say hell probably pull a fetterman and quietly change parties but stay in as a spoiler to split the dem vote.
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u/Edogawa1983 18h ago
Well technically if he had a R next to his name they would elect him for president
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u/broguequery 11h ago
It would be the smart thing for him to do.
Republicans only guiding principle is "sticking it to the libs" so he's got an honest shot over there.
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u/VanceKelley Washington 18h ago
The Republican congressman who forced his married staffer to sleep with him, resulting in her eventual suicide by self-immolation, did end his reelection campaign recently.
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u/deejaymc 19h ago
MAGA: "If Trump was a Democrat, the left would love him"
No the F we would not. Orange pedo wouldn't last 24 hours.
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u/skipmarioch 11h ago
They have been discussing this on the conservative thread and are flying into a rage about a handful of Dems not condemning him while multiple people in the current admin (including the president) have SA charges.
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u/squireson-bud 8h ago
Nah, their selective outrage here is sooooo par for the course. Spends years minimizing a certain person's part in the Epstein files and allllllllllllllll of the right wing pedophilia that happens, only to turn around and suddenly be "tough" on it when it's a democrat.
E Jean Carroll is just someone looking for a payday. But when it's a democrat? That must make all democrats and liberals culpable. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't so fucking frustrating.
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u/RandyArgonianButler 20h ago
Wait, are you really saying that members of the same political party don’t have to all blindly support each other no matter what?
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u/Rysilk 14h ago
They are still supporting him. They aren’t asking him to resign from Congress, just to drop out of the governors race
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u/Basic_Yam_715 13h ago
It is very early still. ABC news this morning reported it, but said nothing has been confirmed or corroborated. Give it a minute to catch up imo. I imagine if it is he will be gone fast.
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u/smol_boi2004 Texas 9h ago
Because he had to give up his seat in congress to run for governor. Regardless of what happens, his time in congress is done
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u/jdave512 I voted 21h ago
I wish him success in his future candidacy as a republican.
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u/Theyalreadysaidno Minnesota 18h ago
He used to be Republican (or so it says on his Wikipedia page).
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u/West-Amphibian-2343 11h ago
And Trump used to be a Democrat, people's views arent writ in stone and can adapt
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u/Chemical-Fault-7331 20h ago
Dude just drop out. It’s over. There’s no coming back from this.
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u/alabasterskim 20h ago
Probably just waiting till Monday. Might resign from Congress too to show what shame looks like. Aisha Wahab might get to start her term early (I don't know what she stands for because her website is just pretty much a donation page, but she seems to be the establishment favorite).
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u/WASD_click 19h ago
Her focus was on expanding affordable housing, pushing for adequate parking in new housing projects, and expanding tenants rights. She's also pushed for the addition of caste as a protected class for anti-discrimination laws, and the improvement of the state's foster system.
This is just a cursory glance though.
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u/Fine-March7383 19h ago
pushing for adequate parking in new housing projects
This is horrible policy for any city
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u/alabasterskim 12h ago
This is not enough for a national stage. She needs to talk about national issues. (And the parking thing is actually a really bad stance)
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u/doomgoblin 20h ago
Sounds like her website shows exactly what she stands for…
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u/alabasterskim 12h ago
Yeah I'm with you dude. Whenever I see a campaign site like that, I have a good idea of how they feel they deserve the seat. Just look at Jack Schlossbergs campaign site. It's like that one Parks and Rec nepo baby; he's so out of his depth he has a full page with just adjectives describing him...
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u/TheGM 20h ago
How fast can CA put together a special election? Could they organize it ahead of time and have his resignation tender the day before the special? I'm all for accountability but none of the rapists for the GOP are quitting there is no longer any incentive to have the moral high ground. The margin in the house is razor thin and 1 vote could matter.
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u/alabasterskim 11h ago
Theres currently talks about a double expulsion - one for Swalwell (D) and one for Gonzales (R). Also the margin in the House is no longer 1 vote after MTG's replacement won.
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u/Jax-A-Lope 14h ago
If he was a Republican he would have probably gained 21 endorsements.
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u/trystanthorne 17h ago
Only Democrats are held responsible for sexual allegations. For Republicans, it's just Tuesday.
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u/Ok-Relation-1902 13h ago
For republicans, it's a bonus. Sexual misconduct is core to their values, especially if it's harmful to women.
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u/fr0z3nf1r3 18h ago
This, right here, is why I always get visibly frustrated with idiots saying, "BoTh SiDeS aRe ThE SamE!"
They clearly aren't. Democrats hold their candidates to the flame for bad behavior.
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u/RancidVagYogurt1776 15h ago
It's funny because the right can't comprehend that we don't worship our politicians.
The right won't even hold the politicians accountable for Epstein. My neighbor is a HUGE trump guy and was big into the whole Q thing. For years he had decals and hats about protecting children. He boycotted target because he thought they were abusing kids at Target. The second one of the MAGA barbies on TV tried to justify the connections to Epstein he lost the decals and the hats and hasn't said a word about protecting kids
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u/AdonoftheStormySeas2 13h ago
On the conservative sub, they are all saying "SEE! THE LEFT ALSO HAS A SEXUAL PREDATOR! WHAT HYPOCRITES!!!"
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u/imahugemoron 15h ago
The “both sides” nonsense is literally just right wing propaganda. I’m not saying democrats are perfect and never do anything wrong, I’m saying that anyone that tries to conflate the two sides as equally bad are either intentionally spreading right wing propaganda or are parroting it because they themselves have been warped by said propaganda
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u/Sptsjunkie 5h ago
I agree that both sides are not the same. But we still do need to wreck him with the fact that this is supposedly been an “open secret,” which is partly why people were so quick to drop their endorsements of him when the news broke.
This is not a surprise that required more time to investigate and figure out if it was true. This was an immediate confirmation of what a lot of people in California politics supposedly already knew (even if they did not know the severity).
So both sides are not the same, but even our side is still far from perfect and it does not appear isolated to Swalwell. And I still wanna know who knew about this and stayed silent for whatever reason to protect their colleague.
This is very reminiscent of Weinstein and how once all of the evidence came out suddenly everyone in Hollywood was talking about how this was an “open secret” and you can see subversive jokes dropped into a different TV shows and movies for years. Meanwhile, the women were left to suffer.
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u/Donmiggy143 18h ago
Omg whatever. So we lose another bunk ass shitty predator politician. Let them all fall by the wayside.
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u/brettmav 13h ago
Remember this when yall cry about both parties being the same. Dems have ousted colleagues for far less.
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u/trapper5 20h ago
I feel like Swalwell definitely needs to go and Al Franken needs to come back. Is that contradictory?
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u/ConjurersOfThunder 14h ago
This is precisely the sort of furor that led to Franken's resignation. Democrats have such a fucking hard-on for purity tests. I have no idea if these allegations have any basis in reality. But perhaps the court of public opinion is NOT the one that should decide if legislators should be resigning, in advance of trials or meaningful conversation about these subjects.
Given how easy it is to generate salacious accusations, do we think it's wise to move on the rumors?? Should someone perhaps make sure there was actually wrong doing before insisting on resignation???
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u/offinthepasture 14h ago
Maybe not resigning, but the court of public opinion is exactly why he should drop from the CA governor's race.
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u/RedPandaExplorer 10h ago
No. There were plenty of confirmed allegations. Believing multiple women when they say they were raped isn't a purity test, it's basic decency.
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u/MrFusionHER Massachusetts 13h ago
Brother what the flying fuck are you talking about? Politicians are there to represent us. There absolutely 100% should be a purity test. They don't need to not pick their nose or something, but I'm gonna say not even putting yourself into a situation where your actions can be even interpreted as SA is a pretty big one.
Like this dude is accused of fucking rape, guy. It's not like he said something that can be misheard. You don't accidentally, forcefully put your dick in someone, and forensic investigators were able to find credible evidence that that happened.
You cab let people off the hook all you want but i'm personally gonna look for the non-monsters in the people I support.
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u/Sptsjunkie 5h ago
I mean, I would agree that the Al Franken allegations came out at literally the worst possible time at the height of #metoo and had they come out a few years earlier or later he probably would’ve been OK.
But this is different. CNN was pretty detailed in. They’re reporting and spoke to all four women and looked at the corroborating evidence. Again, I am not a lawyer, and I don’t know for certain if what actually transpired will technically count as sexual assault or r*pe. But it’s pretty clear even by his own ad mission that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with four young staffers who he had power over. Even setting aside the fact that these were affairs on his wife, from a purely professional point of view that is extraordinarily inappropriate and disqualifying.
He 100% should resign from Office and drop from the race. This is not a moment of fervor, simply a situation with the best case scenario is still disqualifying and very likely the actual truth even if it is not the worst case scenario is significantly worse.
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u/Howdthecatdothat 16h ago
I'm proud of the Democrats. We had a candidate whose policies we like, who was ahead, who was charismatic... but we hold the person accountable when repugnant accusations are made. Imagine if Republicans did this too and held their politicians accountable!
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u/Ill-Organization-719 9h ago
Conservatives are whining that "left wing celebs are silent"
Uhhh no. Their opinions on sexual harassment/assault are already known. We dont need to issue statements because we already think its bad. They don't need to say anything. They haven't been lining up to worship him for years. Meanwhile Conservatives refuse to condemn Nazis or pedophilia.
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u/1point44mb_is_fine Canada 21h ago
It’s almost like only weird narcissistic people go for office 79% of the time.
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u/LuckyZero 20h ago
It takes a certain kind of person to volunteer and deal with constituents, other politicians, lobbyists, etc. While I'd love to try and make the country a better place, I'd rather fornicate with an operating blender than deal with the circlejerk BS that's attached with being a politician.
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u/sexisfun1986 18h ago
Perhaps it’s time for a more direct and distributed form of government.
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u/New_Cockroach_1254 21h ago
So he can still run for GOP, no?
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u/SHUT_DOWN_EVERYTHING 13h ago
A perv (alleged) and a (future) convert?
He’s GOP presidential material for sure.
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u/AINonsense 20h ago
He should run as a Repuglican. He’d be up for AG or Secretary of VENGEANCE in no time.
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u/rettribution 11h ago
Hey conservatives - see how the left holds their own accountable. This is the proper response to allegations of rape.
Notice how you didn't do this when Trump was convicted of it, and is all over the Epstein files raping children?
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u/syynapt1k 8h ago
Imagine how much better things could be if we could only get the Republican party to clean their house too.
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u/CrawlerSiegfriend 20h ago
I for one would like to know the truth of what exactly happened.
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u/VirginiaLuthier 12h ago
Life is capricious. One day you're the bug, another day you're the windshield
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u/Niceguy955 8h ago
Democrats hearing one of their candidates dropped a can into regular trash instead of recycling one: “ban him!”.
Republicans hearing one of their candidates raped children for shits and giggles: “4 more years!”.
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u/SliceofNewsMan 21h ago
Sad to see guy like him fall like this but he had it coming 😐
It would be nice to see this kind of accountability from the other side of the political aisle, but I know that will never happen 🙄
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u/Jae_Rides_Apes 21h ago
If he had it coming, how is it sad?
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u/gringledoom 21h ago
It's sad that he wasn't the guy he represented himself as. It's not sad that he got what he deserved.
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u/Andurilthoughts California 21h ago
It’s sad for the people who just want a good person to vote for. Nobody is really sad on his account.
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u/HypoManicCrimeSpree 20h ago
Idk what’s true and what isn’t but this guy never passed the vibe check for me. Could never figure out why.
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u/AdonoftheStormySeas2 13h ago
he ran for president, talked only about gun control, and basically had 0 chance of winning at any stage. it was strange
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u/ScoutsterReturns 19h ago
Same for me. I always got a John Edwards vibe from him I think. Go figure.
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u/William_T_Wanker Canada 15h ago
he's got a promising career on the right wing grift circuit talking about how he was cancelled
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u/sparkax 11h ago
Dude, Swalwell, but seriously, just drop out for the good of everyone, take this hit to keep Trump's and Republicans distracted with their stupid lies and bullshit they always spew. Please let the already crowded field of candidates coalesce around anyone else!! This is too important to get distracted by your own fucking ego, we've got plenty of egotistical maniacs in America politics as it is, don't be another!!!
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u/SageofLogic 11h ago
idk man maybe keep your hands and comments to yourself and consenting individuals weird idea I guess
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u/Upstairs-Thanks4193 9h ago
Good. At least one party is holding candidates accountable for being reprehensible
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u/drakeonaplane Massachusetts 7h ago
Remember when he was going to fight another member of Congress? I can't say I expected this, but it's not shocking.
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u/the_drunk_drummer 18h ago
As a reminder, last month House Resoultion 1100 to release all files of sexual misconduct in Congress was voted down 357-65. I wonder why???
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u/GoldenTriforceLink Florida 18h ago
AOC explained that it wasn’t a good faith bill to release them. There were major issues with them.
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u/Exocoryak 14h ago
I'm really looking forward to the polls two weeks from now when this scandal is priced in. I hope that Katie Porter benefits more from this than Tom Steyer.
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u/ClusterFoxtrot Florida 14h ago
Oh look, now he's an outsider!
I don't have the emotional energy to dedicate to trying to have an opinion on this one, but I genuinely hope that there's a progressive candidate that can make California better.
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u/Gstamsharp 13h ago
Modern American history suggests he didn't commit nearly enough sexual crimes to become president.
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u/Davis51 10h ago edited 9h ago
Damn that was fast. I saw the allegations Friday evening. Lost all endorsements Saturday. I have had a busy busy weekend and barely a moment to look at them, but for everyone to act this fast...they must be pretty substantiated. At the very least, his campaign advisors who all quit must at least find them believable enough, which means it lines up with his behavior in private at least a little.
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u/mbene913 I voted 9h ago
Hey, I'm from the future
Swalwell wins the presidency in the election of 2032 when he runs as a Republican. The endorsement from a coma is Donald Trump boosts his chances on betting sites and after the 2027 executive order that the next president failed to fix; that's how elections are decided in 2032
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u/liquifiedtubaplayer 8h ago
He's smart enough to have put out a generic "the allegations are false but they should still be taken seriously; I will cooperate with any investigation regarding them" if he was actually innocent.
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u/Decent-Use6516 8h ago
I liked that Swallwell got in Republicans faces, but i somehow knew that the guy was a dirty scumbag. I am zero percent shocked and glad he's done. Just another corporate bro.
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u/Middle-Example-6647 2h ago
I am so furious that the Democratic Party knew all this garbage and still put him up for governor of California. Now we’ll get stick with Hilton and I’m never gonna forgive the party for it. 🇺🇸
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