Bill O’Reilly’s Sexual Harassment Was ‘Unconservative’
As conservatives, we need to acknowledge that behavior that takes sexual advantage of women is inconsistent with a movement that heralds family values and moral righteousness.
One of the core pillars of the modern American conservative movement is its emphasis on personal responsibility. Conservatives believe that a self-governing society depends on individuals taking responsibility for their actions, and those of their family and community. They deride others, especially American liberals, who fall short of this standard, who blame anything other than themselves for personal transgressions or failures. For conservatives, every policy solution starts with an individual picking oneself up, acknowledging his or her mistakes, as a first step to improving his or her circumstances.
.. We saw no acknowledgment of mistakes publicly or privately from Mr. O’Reilly nor from Roger Ailes, the former Fox News chairman. Instead Mr. O’Reilly blamed others, embracing the victimization he so ridiculed of the American left. He claimed his departure was no fault of his own, but the cost of doing business as a high profile media personality.
.. Today’s conservatives must dissociate themselves from a “Mad Men” culture of the past. They should flatly condemn this disrespectful behavior toward women. Otherwise they, too, are complicit.