The issue is about more than
the sexual harassment allegations. It’s about the integrity of the institution.
And it could become a major political issue in next year’s elections, where
control of the House chamber lies in the balance.
Even though legislative staff
and some of Arnold’s colleagues reprimanded him, and told him to stop bothering
the women, he continued the irrational behavior, according to news accounts.
Why would he defy repeated
instructions to stop? There could be a valid explanation, different than what
has been reported — and that is, Arnold’s mental health.
In addition to
quadruple-bypass heart surgery about two years ago, he was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease more than a year ago, and, indications are now he may have
Dementia, too. The latter two illnesses can be related. According to Mayo
Clinic online, “Many people with Parkinson’s disease eventually develop
dementia symptoms (Parkinson’s disease dementia).”
According to Activebeat.com, a health-answers
resource, “It’s common for dementia patients to suddenly become sexual without
awareness that their actions are inappropriate—for instance, removing clothing,
exposing oneself in public, or touching
and saying tasteless things (emphasis added) to strangers and caregivers.”A source in Western Kentucky who knows Arnold well told Kentucky Roll Call that Arnold’s “personality has changed; he says things out loud, louder than he normally would, while waving his arms; he’s not discreet; and he forgets things.”
Further, the side effects of
certain medications for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease can cause, in some
patients, a state of “euphoria” — akin to an alcohol buzz.
Arnold’s illnesses were evident in his
campaign for re-election in 2012, a race that he won by just five votes out of
15,779 votes cast. He was too ill from his heart surgery to campaign much; his
wife, Sandy, did most of the campaigning. His opponent’s campaign in the fall
election was told by a couple of sources in Arnold’s home county of Union that
he had Parkinson’s and Dementia. The GOP nominee, Tim Kline, of Daviess County,
did not use the health issues in the campaign.
Leaders meet
When the House and Senate
leaders met Wednesday, September 4, in the Capitol Annex, to discuss the Arnold
matter, more was revealed than meets the eye. The high level of intensity in
the room, and the carefully calculated words, gave off an impression that the
legislative leaders were navigating a minefield, sending to the rest of us the
message that it’s a mess they’re in. And, if they fail to contain it, what we’ve
seen so far could be the early snowflakes of an avalanche.
The leaders in the House and
Senate have a cultivated sense of politics and can usually separate the trivial
from the important; in this case, their sixth sense kicked in. They recognize
that the media is not in a feeding frenzy yet, but that it could come to that.
They met for two hours in a room
filled with reporters; and then they met four hours in executive session behind
closed doors.
Republican Senate President
Robert Stivers presided. He led the call for the meeting because the LRC staff director,
Robert Sherman, and the Democratic Speaker’s office, had not inform the Senate
leadership, including Democrats, apparently, that there has been an ongoing
sexual harassment investigation since February. Stivers first heard of it from news
accounts about three weeks ago, near the end of the special session on
re-districting.
In the first meeting, the
open one, Stivers sought an explanation, and the House Democrats maneuvered, in
effect, to suppress it by trying to keep the meeting open and not go into a
closed session, as strange as that may seem. One would assume that open
meetings result in more information made public; but in this case, the open
meeting had a chilling effect on providing information.
Sherman testified in the open
meeting, but he repeatedly prefaced his replies with a precautionary legal
point, warning that he could not say much because of the confidentiality
language in the agency’s personnel policies and because of possible litigation.
Consequently, over the course of two hours in the open meeting, very little of
substance was revealed. What we witnessed in Sherman’s testimony was a dance by
the Fifth Amendment’s first cousin.
Both sides no doubt expected Sherman
to talk more freely in private. So there was a motion by GOP Rep. Jeff Hoover
to go into executive session behind closed doors to discuss the issue as a
personnel matter. The motion carried, 10 to 5. All five of the House Democrats
voted no, saying a closed meeting violated the Open Meetings law, and they walked
out.
Stivers said before going
into the closed session that it would be recorded, and that the recording would
remain under seal unless released by a court order, or by LRC.
Clash of attorneys
Costner and Cooper have hired
an attorney, Thomas Clay, of Louisville, who said to the media after the open
meeting that this case will be resolved, either through a settlement or
litigation. When a reporter asked him whether there have been settlement
discussions to date, Clay would not comment.
The claimants and their
attorney have suggested that more complaints and lawsuits may be filed,
possibly involving other legislators.
Arnold has hired an attorney. If the sexual
harassment charges go to court, his health issues are sure to be a big part in
a presentation of the other side of the story. Outlook
Once Arnold’s health issues become fully known, it could change the game in Frankfort, in terms of the current allegations. Right now, it’s about legislators sexually harassing their female staff. That could shift somewhat to mental illness among legislators, which presents the question, “who’s responsible” for detecting emotional disorders among legislators early enough to prevent sexual harassment?
And it raises several other questions, too. Speaker Stumbo has named a five-member investigated team in the House to recommend whether to censure or expel Arnold. It’s predictable: the House won’t expel a member because he’s sick.
And if the judge’s ruling were favorable to the claimants, the liability would more likely fall on the legislature (i.e., taxpayers) rather than on Arnold. That’s how I see it.
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