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Coventina

(27,114 posts)
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 06:42 PM Dec 2018

Eight women say George HW Bush groped them. Their claims deserve to be remembered as we assess

his legacy"

https://www.vox.com/2018/12/1/17274466/eight-women-george-hw-bush-touching-inappropriately-metoo-legacy

George H.W. Bush died at his home in Houston on Friday night, launching a blizzard of long-held obituaries praising his legacy and successful stewardship of the country as a one-term president. But it is not too soon to talk about the accusations by eight women that Bush Sr. touched them inappropriately.

Sexual harassment or assault can’t be bracketed off as part of a politician’s private life. It’s an important part of the story of their leadership, their use of power, and their policy. The same is true for Bush.

Relatively little has been made of the accusations against Bush since they emerged last year. A woman initially accused Bush of groping her and telling her a dirty joke as she stood beside Bush, seated in a wheelchair, in a photo opp. The family responded suggesting the aging former president might be slipping a bit. “President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures,” a spokesman, Jim McGrath, said on Bush’s behalf.

But then the story changed. More women came forward describing incidents that took place before Bush was in a wheelchair and even while he was in office. One woman described a credible story dating back to 1992, when she says that Bush, then the president, put his hand on her rear-end while taking a photograph at a re-election fundraiser. Another woman described an incident from 2003, when she was 16 years old — and Bush was still spry, zipping around Kennebunkport on a Segway.

*****************************

A dirty man to the end.

23 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Eight women say George HW Bush groped them. Their claims deserve to be remembered as we assess (Original Post) Coventina Dec 2018 OP
Give it up, he is dead now...he is only answerable to his maker now. beachbum bob Dec 2018 #1
Just putting all of his legacy out there. n/t Coventina Dec 2018 #3
Assess his legacy... Mike Nelson Dec 2018 #2
Recommended. guillaumeb Dec 2018 #4
He did racist and abusive things. I'll never romanticize or rationalize him lilactime Dec 2018 #5
Then there were those midnight tours of the White House. We can chew gum and walk simultaneously. UTUSN Dec 2018 #6
Don't speak ill of the dead. LisaL Dec 2018 #7
Speaking truth isn't speaking ill. WhiskeyGrinder Dec 2018 #8
And the apology that was conveniently forgotten... cynatnite Dec 2018 #9
The problematic nature of that "explanation" and apology is discussed in the article. n/t Coventina Dec 2018 #10
Apologies are never good enough or perfect enough for some folks. n/t cynatnite Dec 2018 #11
And, rightfully so. Saying, "Sorry you were offended" doesn't mean anything. Coventina Dec 2018 #12
He was 93 years old at the time... cynatnite Dec 2018 #13
Did you read the article? It does go back decades. Coventina Dec 2018 #14
Yes, I did... cynatnite Dec 2018 #17
How many women would he have had to grope before it becomes serial? Coventina Dec 2018 #18
No one's whitewashing anything from what I've read... cynatnite Dec 2018 #19
Yes, I'll give him ADA.....that's about it really for me. Coventina Dec 2018 #23
After the thread we just finished I can't believe what I am reading. StevieM Dec 2018 #20
I wonder if his long-term mistress is still alive. Grasswire2 Dec 2018 #15
Here's an interesting page about her. Jennifer Fitzgerald. Grasswire2 Dec 2018 #16
The link doesn't work. (eom) StevieM Dec 2018 #22
Still alive lunasun Dec 2018 #21

Mike Nelson

(9,953 posts)
2. Assess his legacy...
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 06:46 PM
Dec 2018

… nice play on words. And, Al Franken touched a woman's.... WAIST when she asked him to take a picture with her!

guillaumeb

(42,641 posts)
4. Recommended.
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 06:47 PM
Dec 2018

He was a very toxic man, and we should remember the truth of him, not the Official Version that the media prefers to promote.



The Bush clan has almost always been given a pass by the corporate media.

UTUSN

(70,684 posts)
6. Then there were those midnight tours of the White House. We can chew gum and walk simultaneously.
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:02 PM
Dec 2018

I can only think of one thing (the Americans/Disability Act) to support, but dying doesn't wipe out whatever crap somebody does.





cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
9. And the apology that was conveniently forgotten...
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:10 PM
Dec 2018

From his spokesman at the time:

At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures. To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.

Coventina

(27,114 posts)
12. And, rightfully so. Saying, "Sorry you were offended" doesn't mean anything.
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:22 PM
Dec 2018

If he had said that he RECOGNIZED that groping women while telling them dirty jokes (My favorite book is David Cop-a-feel) and called upon other men to learn by his example, it would have meant something.

cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
13. He was 93 years old at the time...
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:28 PM
Dec 2018

and had vascular Parkinsons which affects movements. He couldn't lift his arms very high at all. Not to mention that his memory even then was faulty.

I don't buy that he was a dirty old man otherwise there would have been reports going back decades coming out. That and his physical disabilities is why I think the women took it as something else when they were next to him. He was confined to a wheelchair.

There are things that one doesn't have to like about him. His record is pretty clear. I had issues with how he conducted Somalia and the reasons for it. That needlessly cost the lives of service members. It wasn't for humanitarian efforts, IMO. It was to salvage his poll numbers and he was trying to win re-election.

I think there are other things that he righteously deserved criticism for and this isn't one of them.

Coventina

(27,114 posts)
14. Did you read the article? It does go back decades.
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:30 PM
Dec 2018

Saying "cop a feel" while grabbing a woman's buttocks is not Parkinson's disease.

cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
17. Yes, I did...
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:37 PM
Dec 2018

I don't view it the same as you. That's all.

We should be taking issue with his standing by Clarence Thomas, Iran-Contra, Somalia and the host of other issues that we don't like if we're going to do this.

I'm not reading serial sexual harrasser in the article. Even the article gives due where it's deserved in the good things he did accomplish.

I'm just not willing to excoriate a dead man for anyone's benefit.

Coventina

(27,114 posts)
18. How many women would he have had to grope before it becomes serial?
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:40 PM
Dec 2018

Just wondering.

And yes, I do blame him for all those other things as well.
I'll add Willie Horton to your list.

I'm just making sure that his full legacy is remembered here, because there's been a lot of whitewashing today.

cynatnite

(31,011 posts)
19. No one's whitewashing anything from what I've read...
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:44 PM
Dec 2018

People are discussing what they like and didn't like about him. He's the reason college campuses have to report campus crimes, including sexual assault.

He did a few good things despite the rest of it.

Coventina

(27,114 posts)
23. Yes, I'll give him ADA.....that's about it really for me.
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:49 PM
Dec 2018

But that in no way makes up for his multitude of crimes and his lousy personal behavior.

Scolding people for bringing these things up is whitewashing, and there's a lot of it here today.

StevieM

(10,500 posts)
20. After the thread we just finished I can't believe what I am reading.
Sat Dec 1, 2018, 07:48 PM
Dec 2018

You condemn Al Franken but are excusing George HW Bush?

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