Letter From An Intern: Almost Every Man In The Plaza Feels Entitled
Posted on July 23, 2009 at 8:49 pmIn an email to Post Politics, a member of McKensie Morrison’s intern class speaks about the conditions young females on the Hill and her brief impressions of Tennessee’s most infamous intern:
I was an intern this year with McKensie, and I talked to her a few times. She seemed very charasmatic and nice to be around, but i only spoke to her a few times. That’s really all I can say, other than I had forgotten about her until this. I didn’t even realize she had left early as a result of her affair.
What I can tell you is this is hurtful to the internship program which gave me so much insight and I had a wonderful time, truly.
What I can also tell you is that almost every man up there feels entitled to look, touch, and flirt with any female in that place, regardless of whether she is an intern, lobbyist, guest, etc.
I was shocked when I heard about this, but not really. The ego that exists in most men up there is enough to make me sick. There are people that you respect and admire who wouldn’t think twice about giving you a good up and down look in the elevator.
I had been given looks, creepy smiles, and strong drinks made by those very legislators who are probably laughing right now at all of this, those hypocrites. most of them married, too.
Now, I don’t think she’s innocent, but she’s also not there to serve her community and the people of Tennessee. She’s also not getting paid as much (maybe she even got her paycheck from Austin Peay!) and she’s not reforming anything or changing the world. She was most likely making copies and having fun, as it appears.
I just hope all of this knocks those egotistical creepy men off their high horses and maybe scares them off from chasing around interns, and I can assure you that some of them did. I know some interns didn’t have the best character but they were also 22 as opposed to 50+.
Just to let you know, I think its the men up there who have the potential to ruin the internship program. If it goes because one or two Senators or Representatives couldn’t keep their married johnsons in their pants, I will be utterly devastated.
Oh, and by the way, I didn’t see ANY women hit on a single male intern. That’s because the women up there are there to WORK not to PLAY and DRINK EVERY NIGHT!
Blogger Says Speaker Williams Confirmed The Sexual Harassment Incident
Posted on February 3, 2009 at 12:51 pmWell, sort of:
The Johnson City Press, along with other newspapers throughout Tennessee, ran stories in which Speaker Kent Williams of Carter County rebutted a two year old story that was first reported by Tennessee bloggers. To simply rehash the story, then Rep. Kent Williams was accused of telling a female legislator that he would give her a week of pay just to see her naked. People are too busy questioning the timing of the release of this information, but the truth is some of us wanted this information to come out when it first happened. I hate to hear him deny that this incident ever happened. In fact, that event did happen. The question is, “What were the exact events that happened?” If any proof is needed as to whether or not the event happened is still in my e-mail inbox. In an e-mail dated April 2, 2007, I asked Williams if indeed he did make sexually charged comments to a female legislator. Williams responded saying that he had never sexually harassed anyone. He stated that “any comment made by myself to a colleague was made in jest and for it to be misconstrued as intended harassment hurts me deeply.” That response seems to back up that he did in fact make the comment. It also seems to be the missing piece to the puzzle with what information came out later. According to A.C. Kleinheider of the Nashville Post, a memo from the victimized legislator stated that Williams’ apology was not much of one, and that Williams stated “the sincerity over his original offer.” It seems that Speaker Williams needs to have clarification on the definition of “is.”
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He Was As Serious About The Apology As He Was About The Offer
Posted on January 28, 2009 at 5:29 pmAt this link is the full and complete statement of Rep. Susan Lynn which was to be delivered today (if needed) at the House Ethics Committee meeting called to deal with the ethics complaint lodged against Speaker Kent Williams by Rep. Brian Kelsey.
In it Lynn recounts the now well-reported incidents of alleged sexual harassment between her and Rep. Kent Williams as well as her reported contacts with the media over the allegations. Her account is consistent with the Mumpower memo
The only new information iss that the reported apology by Williams after the first incident didn’t go quite as smoothly as described in the Mumpower memo.
“During the apology, the legislator tried once more to assure me of the sincerity of his remarks. This upset me and I expressed to Leader Mumpower that this was not really an apology. Leader Mumpower stated to the freshman legislator than this was upsetting me and that he should stop repeating his sincerity over his original ‘offer.”
If true, of course, this would but a little dent in the “he was just drunk” defense. Drunken misplaced stumblings of a lonely legislator in a parking garage during the late hours of the evening are easier to forgive and forget than than those same stumblings are repeated in the cold, sobering light of day, in the legislative office of the Minority Leader.
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Speaker Williams Comments On The (In)Actions Of The Ethics Committee
Posted on at 4:46 pmWilliams, upon returning from the funeral of a fellow legislator’s wife (whose surname he did mispronounced shortly after becoming speaker), makes a statement on the “resolution” of the ethics complaint made against him by Rep. Brian Kelsey:
I am pleased that the Ethics Committee has completed its work and fully resolved this matter.
It is time to turn our undivided attention to the serious challenges which we face. There are serious issues before us and we need serious people to join together to address them.
We must get past the bickering and partisanship. The people of Tennessee expect and deserve our very best as we move forward to address these issues.
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The Benchmark
Posted on at 2:19 pmDavid Oatney thinks that Rep. Brian Kelsey may have gone too far:
[I] understand and believe that the allegations of sexual harassment by Kent Williams need to be dealt with, but Rep. Kelsey overstepped.
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Rep. Susan Lynn’s Planned Statement To The Ethics Committee (If Needed)
Posted on at 1:55 pm“I was as surprised as anyone to learn that there was a memo chronicling the events. In fact, I was directly asked by a member of the press if there was any documentation of the events and I answered firmly “no” because I had not recorded anything.”
“On Tuesday, January 13, as the member [Williams] in question was being nominated many of us were very angry but I maybe more so. Sitting with my husband and our newly married daughter who both knew about the events of two years earlier, I struggled gretly with the grave injustice.”
“I curiously watched the news to see what the speaker would say. I expected him to state that it happened, he apologized and that as far as he knew it was over. And truly, if he had said that it would have been over. What a tremendous shock to hear him deny the events and the apology. Essentially, he is calling me and everyone else that witnessed his deeds a liar.”
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Stop Blowing Up Her Phone: Susan Lynn Is Resting Comfortably
Posted on at 1:34 pmFrom a statement:
“I was admitted to the hospital this morning for stress-related symptoms caused by the incident under discussion. After several tests were run, doctors confirmed it was indeed related to stress. I have been released from the hospital, and I am now resting at home. I appreciate everyone’s concern.”
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Harwell Goes Against Kelsey In Ethics Committee
Posted on at 1:14 pmAfter legal counsel Doug Himes reiterates that the issue was not properly before the committee, Rep. Beth Harwell moves that the committee not to move forward with Rep. Kelsey’s complaint against Speaker Kent Williams. Rep. Henry Fincher seconds. Committee agrees.
SEE ALSO: Whitehouse
Is Rep. Susan Lynn In The Hospital?
Posted on at 11:16 amRep. Brian Kelsey says she is:
“This is a complaint about sexual harassment and about lying to cover it up. Clearly this committee came in here with the idea that they are going to cover up this whole issue and not even investigate this. It’s really absurd.” …
“I don’t know where this committee is going right now, but if they came in here not ready to investigate it then that’s the wrong attitude to have when you’ve got serious allegations of sexual harassment and of lying about it to the public.” …
“I came here ready to have a hearing. We’ve got several members who were witnesses to this. To deny them the opportunity to comment on this is a travesty. The reason Representative Lynn is not here is that she had major feelings of stress this morning and she is in the hospital and unable to make it here. This is a serious charge. This is not a joking matter.”
SEE ALSO:
Ken Whitehouse
Tom Humphrey
Sher
The Associated Press
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PREVIOUSLY: The livestream report
Rooting For Susan Lynn
Posted on January 26, 2009 at 10:27 amA feminist critic hopes she finds her way:
I’m tired of defending Lynn, who I despise as a legislator, but Jesus Christ. She seems to me to be the only person in this whole sordid affair who is actually acting like a real person with no agenda. She did what she thought was the best thing. She also, for reasons I don’t comprehend, wanted to keep this whole thing private and now finds that she can’t. And she wants to be an active participant in her own life–”I don’t want to be treated like an object. I want to be treated like a professional, like a peer. That’s all I was asking for.”–(And I’m sorry, but that breaks my heart.)–which means that, for herself, she has to figure out how to act like a professional, like a leader. So, yeah, it means she’s going to speak when she said she wasn’t going to. She may have been pissed at Williams and also friendly with him. So what? She’s making her way as she goes.
I don’t like her, but I’m rooting for her to find her way.
House Ethics Committee To Take Up Kelsey Complaint Wednesday
Posted on at 8:25 amChairman Ulysses Jones announced the intent of the committee to take up Rep. Brian Kelsey’s ethics complaint against new house speaker Kent Williams in a memorandum to Ethics committee members dated Friday. The meeting will take place Wednesday, January 28, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. in 16LP.
The complaint will force the committee to directly confront the now nearly two year-old allegation of sexual harassment against then Rep. Kent Williams made by Rep. Susan Lynn.
At issue will be not only the sexual harassment allegation but Williams’ denial that the sexual harassment took place. In the complaint, Kelsey argues that this action was just as bad as the original alleged incident.
“Speaker Williams’s actions of sexual harassment were bad enough to begin with. Denying that the events ever occurred, in effect calling Rep. Lynn a liar, is like spitting in the face of his victim,” stated Kelsey in a press release.
Speaker Williams since the issue made news last week has issued a general denial that he has ever sexually harassed anyone and has cited house rules demanding confidentiality in matters of sexual harassment in refusing to address the specific allegations made by Lynn.
Lynn to date has not filed a formal complaint against Williams in connection to the incident. Lynn has said that her decision to go to her leadership to handle the issue instead of swearing out a complaint was an attempt to avoid the very publicity the incident now enjoys.
The ethics committee will have wide discretion on how to act on the matter. While not specifically binding on the 106th General Assembly, the ethics code passed during the 104th General Assembly, would likely be looked upon as precedent.
Under those rules, if the committee agrees with Kelsey that there has been a violation of the Ethics Code or a statute governing the conduct of a member, the committee can set a hearing where both sides can make arguments and call witnesses.
The code also offers the committee the option of recommending disciplinary action to the full house or turning over its findings to the District Attorney.
When You’re Rockin’ The Creepy Porno ‘Stache There Is No Margin For Error
Posted on January 25, 2009 at 8:54 pmMr. Mack is not sure that the actions of Speaker Kent Williams on the eve of March 27, 2007 rose to the level of sexual harassment:
If I had to guess, after an evening of “legislative receptions”, at which I’m sure alcohol was consumed, I’m tempted to think that a slightly tipsy older man said out loud what many men wouldn’t. I’d guess this was a clumsy attempt at a pass. I’d guess that an aging man, desperate to stay relevant to attractive females, engaged his tongue well before his brain. What I wouldn’t guess is that, even subconsciously, Williams was attempting to keep Representative Lynn in her place. I’m sure i could be wrong, in this instance at least, but things like this happen all the time, every day, and I keep trying to tell some of my feminist friends that the spectrum shouldn’t be so wide that the term sexual harassment is the default description of every slight directed at women.
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Blue Collar Muse
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The Media Did It: Rep. Susan Lynn Talks To TeeVee
Posted on January 24, 2009 at 8:30 pmNewsChannel5 reports:
“When he denied it, it definitely shocked me, it would have been so much easier for him to say it happened and for him to apologize,” said Lynn.
She says this all happened in March of 2007, and the allegations are outlined in a memorandum by House Majority Leader Jason Mumpower.
“Many would say the timing of this story is suspect,” said Lynn. “The night of the election, a blogger contacted me, and it concerned me, I didn’t want it to come out two years ago, and I didn’t want it to come out now. I went to my leadership, and we all said we’ll just knuckle down and not talk about it,” said Lynn.
Lynn said she wanted to keep what allegedly happened quiet, but it resurfaced after the controversial election of Kent Williams. Lynn insists the media, not the Republicans were behind it.
SEE ALSO: Jeff Woods
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Rep. Susan Lynn Blogs On The Kent Williams Sexual Harassment Story
Posted on January 22, 2009 at 7:31 amThe representative breaks down the last week:
After the election last week, I was contacted by a Nashville blogger that had knowledge of the incident two years earlier. He asked me if I would like to comment on his blog. I declined once more and immediately called my caucus leader to inform him that I was contacted by the blogger. We agreed to remain firm in our position not to comment on the incident.
On Sunday night the press started calling me. I refused to comment. Their phone calls persisted all day on Monday at which time I still refused to comment. In addition, they repeatedly contacted my leadership. In the early evening on Monday some media informed our press secretary that they intended to issue a public records request to our leadership for any information pertaining to the incident. When leadership arrived at the office on Tuesday morning members of the media were waiting with their requests for public information.
What’s A Leader To Do?
Posted on January 21, 2009 at 8:18 amAunt B. chastises Republican Leader Jason Mumpower for not issuing a stricter censure against now Speaker Kent Williams at the time of the 2007 sexual harassment allegations against him:
I understand why Lynn might not have cared if he was reprimanded. After all, her attention was on getting the incidents stopped and for Williams to straighten out. If her actions with Mumpower achieved that, great.
But Mumpower had an obligation to at least every Republican woman under his purview and, I would hope, should have felt some moral responsibility to all of the women who might have to work with Williams. His responsibility went farther than just getting Williams to back off Lynn. He had a responsibility to make sure that Williams understood as clearly as possible that such actions are inappropriate and unacceptable. And he had a responsibility to do so in such a way that, if Williams’ next target were someone less powerful, less sure of herself, less likely to be taken seriously, there was a big red warning flag attached to him that he had already pulled this kind of stuff.
Mumpower failed here.
New Speaker Confronted With Sexual Harassment Charges
Posted on January 20, 2009 at 2:43 pmAllegations of sexual harassment dating from 2007 reemerge. Go to the main site for more.
REACTS:
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Woods
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