Many people have discussed the major McCain fundraiser Clayton Williams, who said in his campaign against Ann Richards that that rape is like the weather, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." McCain canceled the event after the media heard that McCain had raised $300k from Williams.
He should donate every single dirty dollar that this man has raised for him - all $300,000 - to an organization working to combat rape in our society - like RAINN or RVA.
It's hard to discuss rape, because even the mention of the word brings up any number of defense mechanisms, from a sensibility that it isn't polite to discuss it to a strong awakening of painful memories. Well-heeled universities and institutions like the military have documented histories of covering up sexual assaults, even though rape is quite common and leads to symptoms like depression, drug abuse, and PTSD. For some context, 1 in 6 women is sexually assaulted, and only 6% of rapists will spend any time in jail. Someone is raped every two minutes in this country.
McCain knows the importance of leadership and honor, especially in those at the top. If a leader tolerates rape as just another recreational event, even if he himself does not engage in that activity, that leader is contributing to a culture where abusing and crushing someone else's soul is an acknowledged and legitimate social activity for the powerful. The President is first and foremost a moral symbol, a leader in whose person America places its trust. McCain, by only breaking ties with a strong financial backer who treats rape as a trivial activity after the media caught him, is showing that trust in him would be woefully misplaced.
This is not a partisan gripe, and I would praise McCain is he did what Russo suggests, and gave the money to a charity that focuses on rape victims. Rape is a great evil, with 60% of rapes going unreported. Were McCain to acknowledge this scourge when few other leaders do so, he would show himself as man with integrity. If not, well, even though the majority of the electorate is female, I would hope that both male and female voters would punish him at the polls and show our politicians that wanton cruelty from the top is not our America.
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