*** By Bryan Crabtree ***
Do I believe the women? Honestly, at this point, I don’t know. But, what I’ve discovered that NO mainstream media outlet has reported is chilling if not threatening to our culture.
I certainly want to believe women. I live in a state, Georgia, where one in three women will be abused in their lifetime. This is tragic.
What is also tragic is a country allowing itself to lose due process.
One of Pres. Trump’s top aides, Rob Porter, resigned last week because two ex-wives accused him of abuse. What I find most fascinating about this story is the fact that Porter had just written the most successful speech and presentation of policy by Pres. Trump yet: The State of the Union Speech. It was met with an over 80% approval rating. Porter clearly was a rising star in the Trump administration.
Now? Gone! Finished over abuse allegations from eight and fifteen years ago.
Pardon me if I find this scandal a bit odd in terms of timing.
I realize there is a picture of a black eye and a protective order. But, the protective order does not say Porter hit his ex-wife, Jennie Willoughby – only that he wouldn’t leave her home.
This morning, I began asking my wife what she thought about the situation. She said she believed the women. I said, “don’t you believe he’s deserving of due process?” Her response was a bit odd but piercing. She asked me if I let my daughter date a guy like this?
Obviously, my immediate reaction was “no.” But what if I didn’t know about the story?
Rob Porter is a Rhodes scholar, the son of a respected Harvard professor, worked at high-ranking positions in three political administrations including the White House. Without these allegations, he’s every father’s dream of who their daughter might find in a relationship.
But, because two women have come forward and accused him of abuse he’s suddenly off-limits to every dad and politician in America, including me. So, as a father, do I believe the women? I can’t afford not to believe them….for now.
However, that doesn’t mean I can’t question motives. The first red flag was a Time Magazine article by Jennie Willoughby as she fired back at Pres. Trump for pointing out that Porter says the allegations are false. Her reaction was that such a comment was, in fact, Trump calling her a liar.
It is worse. I started digging through a sea of typical media vomit: ” Should Chief of Staff John Kelly be fired? When did he know about these allegations? Just what does it take to be fired in the White House? Why is the White House abusers? Aside from the fact there is no unique thought are critical thinking in our media any longer, these questions are politically polarized.
And, so is Jennie Willoughby, Porter’s most recent ex-wife. There is a picture from an article called “Charlottesville: a call for courageous love” by Willoughby. The phrase that caught my eye was the one that said “Have our government representatives and the media watered down their disavowal of unsavory and morally disruptive behavior? Definitely. Has Donald Trump stoked the fires? Yes. Does mental illness play a role? Probably.”
Remember, Willoughby fired back at in Time magazine, a publication anything but positive about this administration.
But the part that really got my attention was the Willoughby article in rebellesociety.com entitled “Why I Chose Hillary Clinton” pictured below. Here are the passages that speak volumes about the timing of this takedown:
“Barack Obama was African-Americans when Hillary Clinton is to women – a counter bias, a dream fulfilled, a bastion of hope.
So when the glass broke at the Democratic national convention, and Hillary was standing there with children around her, specifically little girls, I started crying out loud. This was what I believed in. This is why this election was important, and what I am voting for……
It breaks my heart that Hillary had to accomplish this milestone opposite such an unworthy adversary. Trump’s experience, intellect, temperament, and the core I sent contrast to Hillary’s firm and steadfast presence………
….. [Hillary] had to be the first it was because she had to work within the confines of this long-standing system of bias in order to make a mark.
A system that a Democrat like Trump has no problem manipulating because he is a white male of European descent.”
Do these passages discredit the women? Is the timing of the very successful, Porter-written speech that Pres. Trump delivered the week prior coincidental? Is it a tragedy that no media has dug to find what I have to share with you both sides of the story? Would I let my daughter date this guy?
How the Hell do I know? I don’t have all the facts and you don’t either. And, even worse, the media is avoiding any counter-argument for the sake of bashing Trump.
What I do know is that Rob Porter’s career has been destroyed, and the credibility of two women has been challenged because the media is more interested in being activists against Trump than seeking the truth and then telling the American people the truth.
The media hears what it wants to and runs with it no matter how much damage it causes. So long as it makes Trump look bad, it’s just – in their sick minds.
