Watch this and judge for yourselves, gentle readers. Did Donnie grab Ann’s butt?
It’s hard to say for sure, but it looks to me like he did. The fact that they both shifted position at the same time, and she appears to have given a small start and a grimace, is pretty telling. And he smirked.
Granted, Donnie smirks a lot. It’s practically his default facial expression. But given what we already know about him and his gropey tendencies, one can expect to see him looking like the cat that ate the canary when he’s just been grabbing ’em by the pussy…so to speak.
And, honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him to molest Rafalca Romney. (That’s Ann’s horse. Remember her?) Donnie is a serial groper who seems to think all female creatures were just put there for him to paw. He can’t stop himself. He even said so himself. And the evidence was kept secret for years…presumably because it was too scandalous to air and cause a ruckus.
So the question isn’t really so much “did he do it”, as “why didn’t the Romneys speak out about it?” And the answer, I think, is down to simple embarrassment. Who wants to admit that they foolishly let their guard down around a crass molester like that? Who wants to admit that someone whose political support they actively sought out is in fact a gross old pervert?
Also, remember, this incident is not so recent. It happened in 2012. That was BEFORE the current wave of anti-rape protests. So, again: embarrassment is stronger than the desire to tell.
A final, most important thing to remember: Even now, with #MeToo still going strong, and daily reports of harassment, molestation and assault by powerful personages (mostly male) hitting the headlines, there are still victims out there who just can’t bring themselves to come forward, for whatever reason. They don’t feel safe. They don’t feel confident. They don’t believe it will do them any good, and may indeed feel that it will cost them…STILL. It probably will. They are probably NOT safe. They have every reason not to feel confident.
And honestly, this shouldn’t be on THEM. They’re not the perpetrators. But that’s the thing with sexual misconduct: It’s the only crime or misdemeanor where the victim is the one who’s held responsible and made to feel guilty. It’s the only crime where perpetrators are actively protected by “due process” and public opinion alike. “She brought it on herself” and “What was she expecting?” are still being tossed around like so much monkey-shit in the air. They clog up the courtrooms, too. Is it any wonder so few of the many, MANY victims feel free to come forward, even now?
So yeah, I believe Donnie did it. And I also understand completely why Ann Romney wouldn’t want to come forward about it. I understand why she’d rather swallow that seemingly minor embarrassment and go on like nothing went wrong. Donnie somehow wangled himself an election where Ann’s husband could not. That takes a LOT of power. The pervy old perp is still president, inexplicably and horrifyingly. He can apparently get away with anything. He can pardon any criminal crony of his, however guilty. He’s probably even looked into doing it for himself. Who wants to go up against that?
No doubt Ann Romney doesn’t, and she shouldn’t have to.
