Follow @SallyAlbright
Oct 8, 2018 • 23 tweets • 4 min read
1/ This isn't a #MeToo story exactly, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. This happened when I was 22. I'd been in DC less than a year, working as a receptionist on Capitol Hill
2/ My friends and I attended a huge black tie event full of Southern political people. Tons of people we knew and worked with. Open bar (natch), ball gowns, the whole nine...
3/ I was hanging out with a good friend and a girl she worked with. I didn't know the 2nd girl well but she was sweet, shy, a bit awkward. She looked AMAZING, low-cut dress showcasing her grandmother's pearls and a knock out figure
4/ An older man, very drunk, one of the party sponsors, came up and said something about her cleavage, so bad she burst into tears. It wasn't something like "You look sexy" or even "Nice tits," it was about what the view made him want to do to her 🤮
5/ She just wanted to go home after that but my friend and I- both of us recent women's college graduates and budding feminists primed to save the world from the patriarchy- sprang into action on her behalf.
6/ Our righteous indignation galvanized by the "Crown & Diet" in our double old-fashioneds (I know, I know, shut up 🙈), we reported it to several people from their office. I'm sure I complained to anyone who would listen.
7/ Both of us woke up the next morning with a Papadopoulos-level hangover. Who all did I talk to? Did I say too much? Is anyone mad at me? Am I going to be in trouble on Monday?
8/ To be fair, her office made the guy apologize. We worked with good people. Then again, that's easy for a United States Senator. Most people don't have that kind of leverage.
9/ But we didn't get off scot free. As we feared, our salacious tale had not been universally well-received. Several people sought us out to talk about what happened.
10/ Not official reprimands- it was couched as "advice" and "mentoring." They cautioned we should mind our own business, that we'd overreacted, caused unnecessary drama. We should've waited until we sobered up. Things look different in the light of day
11/ They warned us about getting "a reputation" - not the kind that keeps you from getting into a sorority, the kind that keeps you from getting a job. The word "troublemakers" was not used but it was strongly implied.
12/ I remember being ashamed for weeks, avoiding people I had seen that night, wishing I had let it go instead of blowing it out of proportion. For a long time, I couldn't think about that night without cringing.
13/ Looking back, I know our instincts were correct. It shouldn't have happened. She should have been allowed to enjoy her night, her moment, her beautiful dress. And we were right to step up.
14/ In retrospect, an apology doesn't seem like much. (Although I imagine being summoned to the Capitol to face senatorial-style dressing down for making a secretary cry was a highly unpleasant experience)
15/ So that's the conditioning I got as a young staffer. And I don't fault anyone for trying to help us. The thing is, that was GOOD advice at the time, professionally at least. That's how harassment works.
16/ We soon learned to meet a leer with a friendly smile. Giggle at their creepy come-ons. When to playfully smack a roving hand and pivot away from an incoming grope. Who to avoid after midnight.
17/ Because we were on our own. We had to get along or we'd have been left out completely, our careers over before they started. That's how harassment works.
18/ That's not the worst thing I experienced or witnessed as a staffer, not by a long shot, but it's the last time I complained. And that's how they get you. That's how harassment works.
19/ I don't know if anything has changed on Capitol Hill. I assume it has. I hope it has. But there's no way to know. Because those girls aren't saying anything either. That's how harassment works.
SERIOUSLY???????????????
https://twitter.com/cliffpotter/status/1049311279712800768
https://twitter.com/howl505/status/1049312414871646208
And he acts like I'm supposed to remember the name 25 years later. We definitely named him at the time. He must have missed the part where they made him apologize 🙄
https://twitter.com/Kacibelle/status/1049313570746511362
@GChernack This might interest your wife. Ask her to forgive a little poetic license
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I want to talk about this tweet. Yesterday I was with some GOP colleagues. Immigration was ALL. THEY. TALKED. ABOUT. MS-13, sanctuary cities, open borders, "Rule of law"
They think this is a slam dunk, their silver bullet for the midterms
https://twitter.com/SallyAlbright/status/1023947498304532483
When we say "Abolish ICE" we are playing right into their hands. They were LAUGHING at me about it.
I know it feels good to "take a stand" but in this case there is a real cost to irresponsibly sloganeering.
Think it through. We aren't really saying we want the functions of ICE to go away. We're protesting the way ICE operates currently. It needs to be reformed. Maybe restructured. So let's say THAT.
Thread about how Democrats should be so grateful Bernie Sanders came along and inspired the youth of America to get involved in party politics. /sarc
Bernie "inspired" his flock to think our nominee is evil, our party is corrupt & that little birds should pick the president.
Thanks a lot Bernie!
Bernie "inspired" his flock to believe bipartisanship demonstrates weakness, compromise is failure, and that throwing a temper tantrum is an effective advocacy strategy.
Thanks Bernie!
A big theme of the protest today, as always, is "Why?"
Let me explain why, because blaming NRA $$ is only half right.
1st, let's talk about NRA. Originally a sportsman organization, members were hunters who paid dues & voted on policy positions. Dues funded hunter safety classes, including classes geared towards women. They were not against gun control or gun safety.
Misguided, but legit.
In the late 70's (I think) the organization was taken over by hardliners, and gun manufacturers started funding them. For a long time they went through the motions of letting their membership of hunters vote, but it was a formality.
I have taken classes at the Leadership Institute. Berners can add this to the list of "evidence" that I'm a "secret Republican" but I consider it gaming the system. Also, like the Iowa gig, it was really interesting to peek behind the curtain.
Let me explain
As a civic education group, Leaderhip Int gets federal subsidies. (I'm not sure Democrats have anything similar but we should.) They have tons of classes: social media, research, campaign management, graphic design, media training and they are DIRT CHEAP
I'm not even kidding. $35, $50, never more than $100/day for multi-day classes, and they serve breakfast, lunch & dinner free- n some cases you come out ahead. It's technically "non-partisan" so they have to let anyone in. They'd lose funding if they treated me differently
I'm going to re-work a thread from June that speaks to what Trump is doing with this Nunes memo, and why GOP is letting him get away with it. (Thread)
Once upon a time a guy friend of ours was fighting with his girlfriend because he did something horrible. The details escape me but in the end he made up an elaborate story and somehow convinced her to give him another chance.
We were pretty skeptical she would believe such a ridiculous lie. But here's what he said:
"Sally, girls want to believe. Give them an explanation that isn't 'He doesn't love me' then they can let themselves forgive you. She didn't want to break up, she just needed a reason."
Thread: As the campaigns heat up for 2018, here's a reminder of how GOP will exploit Berners and their insistence on a single payer litmus test to destroy us if we let them.
First, let's talk about "Bernie's bill" m4a. It's not legislation, it's a campaign document. Yes, it was introduced and has cosponsors, but it has no funding mechanism. Meaning, there's nothing in it that addresses how to pay for it.
The Senators who cosponsored m4a are politically brilliant. It appeases the litmus test crew and while costing them nothing. Even if it were a real bill, cosponsoring isn't binding. It means nothing beyond, "I like this idea." They all still support fixing ACA (except Bernie)