Good Politics, Poor Behavior

Good on women's issues, bad on women. The fall of Bob Packwood is troubling to watch.

The Republican senator from Oregon had long been considered one of feminism's best friends on the Hill, certainly on the Republican side. He has consistently appointed women to top jobs--for the last fifteen years his chief of staff has been a woman--and has been an outspoken advocate of a woman's right to make her own reproductive choices.

It surprised many of Packwood's supporters, therefore, when allegations of sexual misconduct against him were published in The Washington Post last month. So far 16 women, including the founder of the Oregon chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), have come forward with charges going as far back as 1969.

Packwood, while not admitting to any specific allegation, apologized Thursday for making "unwelcome and offensive" sexual advances. In defending himself, Packwood has stopped implying that his behavior was all caused by alcoholism.

His most recent explanation plays into our worst cultural stereotypes about white men of a certain age: that Packwood grew up in the '50s when boys would be boys and that "he just didn't get it." Using this excuse ("the Beav made me do it" future lechers could say to judges) is a clever move on Packwood's part. The only thing our society likes more than a recovering alcoholic is a recovering sexist.

Packwood has every reason to ingratiate himself with his fellow Oregonians--he was reelected to his fifth term in the Senate by a margin of less than 60,000 votes.

It is surely no great coincidence that Packwood's contrite acknowledgement of misdeeds has come after his reelection. Packwood beat out Democratic challenger Les AuCoin by only 4 percent in a race that many predicted could go either way. In an interview with the Post before the election and in previous interviews with local newspapers Packwood denied the accusations outright.

Packwood has said that his initial denial came at a time when he was absent-minded due to campaign worries. It doesn't take a cynic to suggest that one of the things Packwood may have been worried about was how the allegations would affect his reelection chances.

Meanwhile, calls for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate are bogged going committee heads are unlikely to want to start a probe against a man popular among his fellow senators when they can so easily dump it off on the new members of the Ethics Committee next year.

If they decide to wait, the allegations could go unexamined until next spring, by which time Packwood will be well into his 25th year as a United States senator. Furthermore, given the recent history of Senate Ethics Commmittee investigations, Packwood is unlikely to receive more than a slap on the wrist even then.

More than a few people have been calling it a "paradox" that someone who was perceived as being so good for women as a group behaved so badly to them as individuals. Liberals often like to pretend that sexual harassment, like negative campaigning, is strictly conservative behavior. The truth is that the abuse of power is a temptation felt by many, regardless of their stance on affirmative action.

It is disturbing, therefore, to hear rumors that prominent feminist activists knew about Packwood's behavior for years but chose not to say anything in public. Moreover, it is clear that Packwood, or friends acting in his interest, have tried to get at, at least, two of the women bringing charges.

Mabsie Walters, a former campaign volunteer as well as a former president of the Oregon chapter of NARAL, was interrogated about Mary Heffernan, the founder of the chapter who is one of Packwood's principal accusers. Julie Williamson, a former Packwood aide, has claimed that a friend of Packwood advised her personal life would be investigated if she continued to maintain her story.

Too much of this story is familiar to Northwestern voters. Similar accusations of sexual misconduct on the part of Washington Senator Brock Adams were published in The Seattle Times last spring. After a few weeks of dithering, Adams decided to withdraw from the campaign while maintaining his complete innocence. Adams, a Democrat, also had a good record on women's issues.

The investigation of his behavior by the media (the Senate Ethics Committee declined to intervene as the incidents mentioned didn't fall under its jurisdiction) has suggested that several top female lobbyists were aware of Adams' behavior. While privately advising female office assistants not to get too close to Adams, these women were content to turn a blind eye in public.

Unfortunately, this will not be the last time that allegations of sexual misconduct will be revealed about a member of Congress. Since the only people in the country not protected by law against sexual harassment are those working for Congress, it is inevitable that powerful people will continue to think they can get away with behavior they have legislated against.

Bob Packwood is unlikely to resign. The success of a recall vote is dubious unless new accusations continue to appear. He maintains that now, "he gets it." Too bad we're stuck with it.

Lori E. Smith '93-'94, an editor of The Crimson, would like to point out that she didn't mention Seattle even once in this column.