GOP Women Accuse Democrats Of 'Selective Outrage'

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 19) -- When Kathleen Willey went on national TV last weekend to accuse President Bill Clinton of making unwanted sexual advances toward her, she also touched off a spirited debate among women lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Willey's sleazy tale that Clinton groped her and put her hand on his genitals just outside the Oval Office has put Democratic women in Congress on the defensive.

Republican women are accusing them of selective outrage, compared to the support they showed for Anita Hill in 1991 when she accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment.

"I would say the Democratic women [in Congress] have shown themselves to be very selectively outraged," Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.) told The Associated Press. Democrats spoke up "when it suited their political agenda," Northrup said.

Willey is "getting very little support and that is one of the issues," said Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio). The former White House aide "has a cadre of the entire White House and its entire political apparatus coming down on her head to impeach and impugn her," Pryce charged.

Several GOP lawmakers also have expressed anger at the White House's attempt to undermine Willey's credibility by releasing friendly letters she sent to Clinton after the alleged incident.

Rep. Linda Smith (R-Wash.) criticized the White House for attempting to depict Willey as out for financial gain, through a possible book deal.

"The idea that any woman wants to go out and talk about it ... It's humiliating, it's demeaning," Smith said.

Many Democratic women say Willey's accusations are serious, but Clinton deserves the benefit of the doubt.

"The president is not above the law, and he's not below it either," Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.) said. "And inasmuch as there is a process at work, I think we have a responsibility to take him at his denial, to wait for the proof to come out, to let the rule of law function as it should appropriately function, to give an individual the benefit of the doubt before the proofs come out otherwise.

"Right now, all we have are allegations," Moseley-Braun said. "This is a very, very serious matter, and it's something that is of concern not only to the president and his family but to all of us as Americans; it's a very, very important matter that we let the rule of law dictate the result and the way we consider this issue."

Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and Patty Murray of Washington each issued written statements, also noting Willey's accusations were serious and calling for prompt investigation.

"I don't know who to believe," said Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, who asked in 1991 that Hill get a chance to recount her accusations against Thomas.

Thursday March 19, 1998

• Report: Willey Wanted To Sell Story To Supermarket Tab
• Counsel Named For Babbitt Probe
• 'Primary Colors' A Judgment On A Political Generation
• Microsoft Out-Lobbies Key Competitors
• GOP Women Accuse Democrats Of 'Selective Outrage'
• Lewinsky High School Classmate Testifies
• White House Scandal At A Glance
• Troopers Told Tucker Of Arranging Liaisons For Clinton
• The One That Got Away?
• Illinois Primary Results
• Deal Reached To Keep The Internet Tax-Free For Now
• Most Of California's Prop. 187 Ruled Unconstitutional
• Republicans Say No Decision Yet On How To Proceed With Starr Report

Documents:
• Julie Steele Affidavit