On Thursday, Albany’s serial sex-abuse protector, Shelly Silver, was magically transformed into a feminist hero. That’s because he got his Democratic henchmen in the Assembly to pass a bill ostensibly designed to protect women’s rights.
Silver, no doubt, would love to silence critics of his repugnant behavior by passing meaningless bills. The speaker, recall, on more than one occasion, tried to keep the lid on a number of sexual-harassment complaints — against then-Assemblyman Vito Lopez and against his own chief counsel at the time, Michael Boxley.
But let’s face it: Legislation can’t substitute for real consequences meant to punish — and deter — anti-social actions. It can only serve as a diversion, a way to avoid responsibility.
After all, it’s one thing for cynical lawmakers to raise their hands in favor of words on a piece of paper; it’s something else again to actually fight against abusive behavior and demand respect for women. And that could only come with Silver’s removal from his lofty post as speaker.
Silver and his spineless troops, of course, have no intention of letting that happen. Indeed, one lawmaker who merely tried to rebuke his colleagues for protecting Silver as they voted on the women’s rights bill found himself abruptly gagged.
Speaker Pro Tempore Jeffrion Aubrey (D-Queens) silenced Assemblyman Steve Katz (R-Queens), arguing that any reference to Silver and his role in the Assembly’s sex scandals was irrelevant and “not in order.”
Yet Katz was speaking directly to the heart of the matter being debated. The 10-part legislation, proposed by Gov. Cuomo and picked up by Silver with the fervor of a new convert, was little more than an attempt to distract from the floodgate of stories about the speaker.
Such as how he arranged a secret $103,000 deal (using taxpayer money) with Lopez’s accusers and never referred the groping accusations, as required, to the Ethics Committee. Yet now even women’s groups are praising Silver for going to bat for them via the women’s bill.
They’re not the only ones complicit here: Cuomo, for one, refuses even to offer an opinion about any consequences for Silver. And this week, all the major Democratic mayoral candidates pledged fealty to the speaker.
New Yorkers — particularly women — don’t need sham laws like the women’s-agenda bill. They just need folks to respect their rights, especially folks holding public office, who are supposed to set an example.
Katz seemed to understand that. Too bad so many of his colleagues don’t even care.