In case you missed it, Rep. Barbara Comstock was called out for her affiliation with a radical group “formed in the early 90s to defend Clarence Thomas against sexual harassment allegations from Anita Hill,” and had no real response.
According to the Washington Post, Comstock has been a member of Independent Women’s Forum since at least 1998, done consulting and legal work for them, and attended one of their events as recently as last year.
The group has recently said that, when it comes to sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement, “the pendulum of social justice can swing too far.” They have written articles entitled “Sexual Harassment Training Isn’t Just a Waste of Time: It’s Harmful,” and “Sometimes, women lie about rape.”
These views run in direct opposition to the causes that Comstock claims to champion on Capitol Hill, yet Comstock refused to answer for her ties with the group or their comments. In fact, in the 200 word meltdown she posted last night, Comstock doesn’t even mention the IWF, instead going after her political opponents and the media for bringing it up in the first place.
“It’s deeply disturbing that Rep. Barbara Comstock is so closely affiliated with a group founded to silence a victim of sexual harassment for political purposes,” said DCCC Communications Director Meredith Kelly. “It is even more disturbing that, given every opportunity, Comstock wouldn’t reject this group and their repulsive comments undermining the progress that has been made for victims of sexual harassment. This is further evidence that Barbara Comstock is paying lip service to victims of sexual harassment, and can’t be trusted by those looking for an advocate.”
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Washington Post: Wexton challenges Comstock over her links to a conservative women’s group
By Jenna Portnoy
State Sen. Jennifer Wexton has called on Rep. Barbara Comstock, the congresswoman she hopes to unseat, to cut ties with a conservative group formed in the early 90s to defend Clarence Thomas against sexual harassment allegations from Anita Hill.
The Independent Women’s Forum’s skepticism of the #MeToo movement and sexual harassment training undercuts Comstock’s support for victims of sexual harassment, according to Wexton (D-Loudoun).
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The Forum’s website features articles that argue flawed sexual harassment training is harmful because it reinforces gender stereotypes and the #MeToo movement may unfairly depict all men as potential predators .
Wexton said Comstock should “denounce their repulsive statements.”
“Comstock’s coziness with this backwards group is further proof that she is not to be trusted by the millions of sexual harassment and abuse victims who so clearly need a champion fighting for them — not undermining them — in Congress,” Wexton said this week in a statement.
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Eight Democrats are currently vying for their party’s nomination and the chance to run against Comstock in November. Comstock is seeking a third-term.
Comstock has been linked to the Forum since at least 1998 when she called herself a member of the group and spoke at a Forum-sponsored panel about scandals in the President Bill Clinton administration.
At the time Comstock was chief counsel to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and investigating Clinton campaign contributions. She worked as “a consultant and legal strategist” for the Forum, according to a 2005 Post article, and she attended a Forum event on pay equity last year.
The connections were first noted by Dump Comstock, a group that operates a super PAC working to unseat her.
In addition to Wexton, Lindsey Davis Stover, another Democrat seeking the nomination, and Shak Hill, Comstock’s Republican challenger, have said Comstock is partially to blame for the GOP-controlled House’s failure to act sooner on the secretive and inadequate harassment reporting process.
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