The removal of Indiana senate minority leader Greg Taylor on Dec. 18 comes weeks after three women spoke out with accusations of sexual harassment this year, and days after an additional three women came forward with their own experiences of sexual harassment.
Make no mistake: Taylor’s downfall did not occur because Indiana Democrats suddenly decided to begin acting on their supposed principles. Democrats only acted to take Taylor out of leadership after these six brave women came forward publicly, which forced them to respond. Despite rhetoric designed to deflect responsibility, Democrats have provided no guarantee that they will follow their newly created processes and procedures regarding sexual harassment by their privileged colleagues. While Taylor retains his membership in the Democratic party and his place in the state senate, all six women who have accused him of impropriety no longer pursue careers in government.
Indiana Democrats’ failure to remove Taylor from leadership for an entire month after several credible accusations of harassment is not an isolated incident but rather indicative of the culture of the party as a whole. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Democratic mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration protected and ran cover for another perpetrator of sexual misconduct in the city government: Thomas Cook.
The investigation into the Hogsett administration has fallen out of the public’s attention just as the Democrats intended. They crafted a long process hoping that the victims would “trust the system” and release no more statements about Cook’s abusive behavior. In October, the City-County Council, with a Democrat majority, hired a private law firm, Fisher & Phillips, to investigate the Hogsett administration instead of dole out consequences. On November 14, the law firm presented to the Council on Indiana code covering sexual harassment. The next phase of their work will cover the allegations and are scheduled to release another report to the council on January 29. Although, Hogsett’s investigation has fallen out of view, the allegations against Taylor continue to grow in number of victims coming forward.
Taylor, who was accused of harassment by three women on November 18, was reelected to the position of senate minority leader the same day. Still, later that day, Democrats released a tepid statement admitting a “culture of misconduct” exists in the Statehouse but refused to name Taylor or respond to the accusations.
Even now, Democrats continue to cover for Taylor despite their decision to remove him from leadership. In a statement welcoming Democratic senator Shelli Yoder of Bloomington as the new Democratic senate minority leader, the caucus went so far as to thank Taylor for his service. The statement reads, “Taylor’s leadership was defined by his collaborative approach, working across the aisle to find common ground while consistently advocating for fairness and progress, laying a strong foundation for the work ahead.”
It speaks volumes that the Indiana Democratic party holds up a serial sexual abuser as a model for “fairness and progress.” The Democrats’ failure to address Taylor’s sexual misconduct while serving as a leading representative of their party delegitimizes further the idea that the Democrats are a viable party that can meet the needs of the majority of working residents in Indiana.
Taylor uses identity politics to cover his sexual misconduct
In an attempt to deflect the public’s attention away from the multiple women coming forward with their stories of sexual misconduct, Taylor offered a halfhearted apology for his behavior toward multiple women in a statement he later admitted he did not even write himself, but was written for him by a public relations firm. He clearly lacks sincerity and empathy for the victims, evidenced by his attempt to spend money on PR to save him from accountability. Taylor changed his approach in his most recent statement, saying the accusations were all lies. He goes far as to say because he is Black, it is racist for women to accuse him of sexual harassment. This abuse of identity politics to protect him from his accusers is as absurd as it is insulting.
We may not know the race of the courageous women who reported Taylor’s abuse of his position of power over them, but we do know they were interns, lobbyists, and fellow legislators. Taylor’s attempt to use his race as a cover for his inappropriate actions obscures the reality of racism and dismisses multiple womens’ credible accusations as mere lies. It also attempts to pit the womens’ struggle and the struggle against racism against one another in a highly cynical fashion; in fact, the two struggles are connected. Racism limits Black and Indigenous people from access to healthcare, housing, clean drinking water, food, education, good-paying jobs, etc. Sexual harassment limits women’s ability to participate in the workplace and keeps them in a state of fear. Ultimately, Taylor’s actions undermine both the struggle for Black liberation and the fight for womens’ rights by making ridiculous comparisons to the Jim Crow South in an attempt to discredit his accusers.
There are real instances of Black men falsely being accused of sexual assault that does still happen to this day, but the consequences of being falsely accused are far more dire for working people. Vernon T. Bateman was falsely accused of sexual assault, the victims pressured by the detectives to convict the first Black man they found. Bateman did 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and the victims recanted their testimony against him. Yet, Bateman continues to live with an ankle monitor, limited in where he can go, and has a daily curfew. This is an example of a truly racist incident. What Taylor is experiencing for credible claims is a slap on the wrist.
Democrats posing as the party of workers
The Democrats are embroiled in sexual assault scandals locally and at the state level in what is described as a “boy’s club;” they are not equipped nor willing to protect and advocate for women nor address any of the mounting issues facing working-class people. They have not fought for reproductive access in any meaningful way, have not addressed rising costs of living and stagnant wages, and continue to invest public funds in Israeli bombs to continue a genocide in Gaza that is quickly spreading to other countries in the Middle East (killing primarily women and children civilians). The Democratic Party is a dead-end for working people.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation is comprised of working-class people from our communities who advance the interests of the working class. When the unelected Supreme Court Justices overturned the Dobbs decision, the PSL hit the streets immediately to fight for a system to meet the healthcare needs of working women. The Democrats were nowhere to be found except for releasing weak statements of support for reproductive access on social media platforms.
The PSL is the real alternative to the two parties representing corporate interests. It is time for the working class to move away from the Democrats and Republicans and forge a new path forward to permanently secure the gains of workers and meet the needs of the majority over the privileged rich minority. Our collective problems can only be addressed by replacing capitalism’s profit-first orientation with socialism’s people-first orientation.
Our demand still stands for Greg Taylor to resign or be removed from his seat and expelled from the halls of power.
Featured image: A picture of Greg Taylor superimposed on the Indiana State Capitol.
