The California Democratic Party loves to trumpet its superior moral values. The party and its faithful never miss a chance to present themselves as paragons of anti-Trumpian virtue on issues such as immigration, climate change and economic inequality.
Still, it was somewhat shocking to witness party figures crowing perversely about "values" last Friday as they announced a multimillion-dollar financial settlement for sexual misconduct and racial discrimination claims against former party chair Eric Bauman.
"Some of the California Democratic Party's most sacred values are fairness, respect and dignity for all," said Rusty Hicks, the party's new chair. "Those values empower so many grassroots leaders and activists to devote their time, talent and treasure to our Party's candidates and causes."
Hicks said the party was "pleased to announce equitable settlements" with five former staffers.
"I fully concur with CDP Chair Rusty Hicks' affirmation that some of the Party's 'most sacred values are fairness, respect, and dignity for all,'" said Bauman, according to the Wall Street Journal. "In that spirit, I am pleased that the CDP 'has reached equitable settlements with' all parties."
With so much "values" on parade, one might easily get the impression that these men were announcing a voter registration drive instead of a massive financial payout to former staffers "who accused the party's former leader of discrimination, assault and unwanted sexual advances," according to The Sacramento Bee. Both statements were heavy on feel-good buzzwords and avoided the unsavory facts.
"War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength," wrote George Orwell in "1984."
To which the California Democratic Party might add: "Sex harassment scandal is values."
It's almost as if these men believe the simple repetition of the word "values" has the magic power to erase the ugly details of a sexual harassment scandal that rocked the party to its core.
To recap: Bauman, the former leader of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, was forced to resign as state party chief in November 2018 after multiple allegations of misconduct came to light. Among the accusations: repeated sexual assaults and persistent sexual harassment by Bauman, who enjoyed near-dictatorial power over the party organization and its staff.
William Floyd, a 28-year-old who worked as Bauman's assistant for nearly two years, filed a lawsuit last April alleging that his boss performed "oral sex on him without his consent" at least three times, according to the Los Angeles Times. The lawsuit followed an earlier one filed by three former staffers who alleged both sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
John Vigna, the party's former communications director, told the Wall Street Journal that Bauman groped or harassed him on "nearly a daily basis," called him "baby" and demanded to be called "daddy." Another man claimed Bauman groped him at least twice, and yet another man alleged that Bauman made unwanted sexual advances.
Not all of the misconduct was sexual. Tina McKinnor, a former party employee who is African American, accused Bauman of discrimination and said he made racist comments. After promising a thorough investigation and trying to cling to power, Bauman resigned. Lawsuits followed.
On Friday, the party apparently put the legal claims to rest for an estimated $2.9 million, according to the Wall Street Journal, though party officials declined to release the dollar figure to The Bee or the Los Angeles Times. In October, the party settled a previous wave of misconduct lawsuits for $380,000.
The latest costly settlement "makes the price of future hypocrisy absolutely clear," Vigna told the Wall Street Journal.
We're not so sure. When a powerful organization settles serious legal claims without mentioning the offenses or coming clean on the dollar amount � and instead harps on "values" � we detect defiance, not repentance.
By all appearances, the party has installed new leadership and taken steps to ensure such abuses don't happen again. Yet the seemingly recalcitrant and Orwellian manner in which the party publicized this settlement suggests that some lessons remain unlearned.
Going forward, we hope the California Democratic Party can live up to its image as a champion of progress and avoid chump mistakes that make it look more like an arrogant mafia unworthy of the mantle.
