David Brooks: A Republican senator put ‘his hand on my inner thigh’ for a ‘whole’ dinner party.

[laststeamtrain]

David Brooks: A Republican senator put ‘his hand on my inner thigh’ for a ‘whole’ dinner party.

Earlier this week, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about how “the dignity code” has been “completely obliterated” in Washington, DC. Discussing the concept on MSNBC today, Brooks recalled how he “sat next to a Republican senator once at dinner and he had his hand on my inner thigh the whole time”:

BROOKS: You know, all three of us spend a lot of time covering politicians and I don’t know about you guys, but in my view, they’re all emotional freaks of one sort or another. They’re guaranteed to invade your personal space, touch you. I sat next to a Republican senator once at dinner and he had his hand on my inner thigh the whole time. I was like, ehh, get me out of here.

HARWOOD: What?

BROOKS: I can only imagine what happens to you guys.

O’DONNELL: Sorry, who was that?

BROOKS: I’m not telling you, I’m not telling you.

Brooks said that he has “spoken to a lot of young women who are Senate staffers and they’ll have these middle age guys who are sort of in the middle of a mid-life crisis. Emotionally needy, they don’t know how to do it and sort of like these St. Bernards drooling everywhere.” Watch it: ... http://thinkprogress.org/2009/07/10/brooks-republican-senator-thigh/

[marmar]

1. The Grand Old Freaky Freaky Party......

The GOP - Leaving No Private Part Untouched

[TexasObserver]

26. the Grab Our Penis party

If I were a betting man, I'd bet on Orrin Hatch.

[mod mom]

2. um...why did he allow it for a "whole" dinner party?

[Tan Gent]

5. He thought he could convert the guy to a Democrat.

:rofl:

[anigbrowl]

9. DUzy!

[seabeyond]

6. my thought. odd odd.... n/t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. EW!

These predators. In fact Grand Old Predators!

[Tan Gent]

4. Musta been some great eats that kept him from leaving.

:shrug:

[anigbrowl]

7. Talk is cheap

If true, he sat there the whole time because he wanted a story out of it, instead of discreetly but firmly returning the guy's hand to his own lap. I do not approve of the GOP or of feeling people up at dinner parties (unless one has a prior invitation to do so from the individual in question) but I don't have much time for gossip either.

[Captain Hilts]

8. Eeeeeewwww

[C_U_L8R]

10. Apparently he didn't want to remove the hand

weird story

[riderinthestorm]

11. That says a lot about the cravenness of Brooks that he'd endure that harassment for that long.

Sorry but that's sexual harassment imho. How intimidating. And David Brooks wasn't able to look that Senator in the eye and tell him to remove his hand?!

WTF?! Really. That Senator would have been exposed as a creep at a dinner party, Brooks would have gotten the scoop of the year - a male Senator fondling Brooks, gasp! - and Brooks would have left with his dignity intact.

Instead David Brooks wants to posit that the Senators are violating the "dignity code"?!

No shit. In my book, that's violating more than a person's "dignity".

[Captain Hilts]

12. Wow. Folks joking that he enjoyed it. He should have left/created a scene.

It very well could have been an NYT-sponsored party where it's not up to him to create a scene.

[riderinthestorm]

14. He didn't even have to create a scene.

He could have looked the Senator in the eye, removed his hand and said, "so you're into sexual fondling of reporters, male or female. Interesting. I'm going to remember that next time I call you for an inside scoop."

I'm sure there are a million ways Brooks could have worked the situation - especially since he had an entire dinner party to think about it!

Instead he simply endures it silently and does... what? nothing with it?

That's the very definition of sexual harassment: when one party is fondled against their will but feels powerless to stop it. And instead Brooks feels like just has to generalize it into "Senators are creeps."

I don't think so.

There's a hell of a lot more here than just Brooks unable to "make a scene" at a NYT party. Hell, he didn't even have to make a scene as I've already laid out. Just threatened. Used this new knowledge to gain leverage for a future scoop... etc. etc.

[SpiralHawk]

13. Why didn't Republicon shill Brooks move the hand from his leg?

Republicon Family Values. Ptoooey.

[KamaAina]

15. "Emotionally needy...and sort of like these St. Bernards drooling everywhere."

That settles it. KamaAina for U.S. Senate! (but no fondling. I promise. Not even of David Brooks. :P )

[Mari333]

16. wow!!

wow!! and
eww!!!

[rosesaylavee]

17. Ah, there are so many things wrong with this.

First, he's an adult, right? That dialogue reads like a bunch of teenagers talking about a teacher. Secondly, he's also a reporter, right? Or is he a doormat first and foremost? He is seriously a sad sad person if he felt he had to endure that for an entire dinner. Even if he didn't want to embarrass the Senator with a direct in your face WTF, there are other things you can do such as moving your leg out of reach, shrugging his hand off the leg, moving his chair a bit while doing either of those movements UNDER THE TABLE so as not to cause him embarrassment.

My cynical self is telling me that David got something from this or else he wouldn't have put up with it. Inside scoops (ewwww, not those), special invites to parties, part of the inner circle, etc.

[Beetwasher]

18. Did It Ever Occur To Mr. Brooks To Ask The Man To REMOVE His Hand? And If Not, Why Not???

Just wondering. The moment the man's hand touched my inner thigh, I would have made it perfectly clear that was not my thing and if he continued, I would have made it even clearer.

Now, if it is Mr. Brook's thing, cool, good for him, but then, what's his point? Frankly, this says more about Brooks than any Senator.

What a tool. What an idiot. What an insinuative jerk trying to grasp some attention.

[TexasObserver]

27. that is a good question

[MADem]

19. Larry Craig? Or someone else? nt

[optimal-tomato]

28. Larry Craig or Lindsey Graham are my two guesses.

Of course there is always the possibility of a wildcard in there like Orrin Hatch or Trent Lott.

Or better yet: Jessie Helms.
"Kiss me, you damned sodomite."

[Control-Z]

20. Could it have happened when he was younger?

Starting out his career? Worried about fitting in? Really, it is the only reason I can think of that he would allow it to go on, and then still it is pretty weird. As a woman, though, I can say that situations like that are awkward, and sometimes unsettling enough to interfere with logical thinking.

[laststeamtrain]

21. ...

[ellenfl]

22. huh? i always thought brooks was strange. eom

[Cali_Democrat]

23. I thought this post was a joke at first

But David Brooks actually said it!

John Hardwood's response and facial expression was priceless.

[Flying Dream Blues]

24. Don't you mean "Harwood?"

Great Freudian slip!
bwahahahahaha!
:hi:

[Cali_Democrat]

25. ...

:blush:

[optimal-tomato]

29. Let me stick up for Brookes and unnamed Senator.

I grew up in the south, and a lot of middle-aged southern men have boundary issues. If seated next to another man, especially one considered to be lower in social status, it's not uncommon to slap their knees (while laughing for example). Less common, but still present, are the few men that will squeeze or pinch the person's thigh playfully. Because of the seathing arrangement, that squeeze is usually on the inside the recepient's thigh (close to the knee). In the vast majority of cases, this is no more sexual than a slap on the ass among players on a sports team.

It's possible (not definite) that the unnamed Senator frequently slapped/squeezed Brookes' leg during the dinner. Brookes' own discomfort and years of retelling and exaggerating the story has resulted in "...he had his hand on my inner thigh the whole time...".

It's entirely possible that Brookes' story should be taken at face value (though not used to generalize all senators as he did). Many southern white men of a certain age (i.e. the most likely people to be the GOP Senator in Brookes' story) don't have any awareness of "personal space" in this respect. I'm not saying 100% that I know this is what happened. I'm just saying that we shouldn't assume it was intentional sexual harrassment or something like that.

If Brookes felt uncomfortable, I can relate. Like I said, I grew up in the south in a very touchy family. Ideally, it would be great if he could have just politely moved the hand away, but real life isn't like that. It would have, if nothing else, shut down that interpersonal relationship that Brookes was probably trying to build. That's probably the reason he was at the dinner to begin with. Take it for what it's worth.

[mod mom]

30. Doesn't fly w me. Anyone that has risen to the level of senator knows society's

boundaries and I suspect this wasn't the case of a southern lack of awareness of space.