It’s Not Common, It’s Criminal.

Let us not dismiss or perpetuate open confessions of sexual assault and abuse of power as common locker room banter, because it is not.

In all my years, no man has spoken thus in my presence – locker room or not – and if they had, it would not have remained unchallenged. I would not only have not participated and encouraged in the way Billy Bush did, but I would have shut it down. In a case such as this, I would have reported his statements to authorities.

Trump wasn’t just being a locker room braggart, he was confessing crimes; sexual assault, abuse of power, coercion, workplace violence upon women.

If anyone thinks that increasing his fame, fortune, and legal clout will reduce his tendency to abuse what power he already has, they are sourly misguided and mistaken.

As president “The Donald” will be even worse.

And all those comparing this to Bill Clinton, consider, if Clinton’s sex scandal had occurred on the campaign trail instead of after he was elected would we have allowed him the office?

We have the opportunity now to prevent it from happening again instead of enabling it. And if we enable it, we elect him now, knowing this, we will have no recourse when he does it again because we will all have been complicit in putting a known and admitted amoral repetitive sexual predator into a position of legislative power.

The behavior of Bush and Trump in the video is not common and should not be dismissed as common. However, even if it was, I’d contend as Shaun King said that we don’t need a common man as President but an exceptional one.

Trump is only exceptional in his utter disregard for all living things that do not bear the name Donald J. Trump.

For a very important woman’s perspective I’d encourage you to read this excellent piece by Lindy West entitled “Donald And Billy On The Bus.“