For once, Republican Party operatives are feeling grateful to The New York Times. Thanks to the paper of record’s blockbuster report on Harvey Weinstein’s long alleged history of sexual predation, Republicans are seeking to brand the Hollywood producer—a longtime donor to Democrats and liberal causes—as the smarmy face of rich liberal privilege.

The Democrats, after all, claim to be champions of women’s rights—so taking money from a repulsive figure like Weinstein seems like obvious hypocrisy. “During three-decades worth of sexual harassment allegations, Harvey Weinstein lined the pockets of Democrats to the tune of three quarters of a million dollars,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel gloated in a press statement. “If Democrats and the DNC truly stand up for women like they say they do, then returning this dirty money should be a no brainer.”

Of course, political hypocrisy is often in the eye of the beholder. Democrats, in turn, are quick to point out that McDaniel is drawing her own paycheck from the party that’s launched Donald “Grab Them by the Pussy” Trump into the highest summit of power. But beyond the familiar, sententious sport of Washington hypocrisy-spotting, it’s pointless to deny that McDaniel is right: Weinstein’s “dirty money” should be repudiated.



Weinstein himself continues to supply the best argument for this course of action every time he opens his mouth. On Friday, the Hollywood producer released a cringe-inducing statement showcasing his own m.o.: He intends to keep using his liberal activism to defend himself—and to distract attention—from serious allegations of sexual assault. “I am going to need a place to channel [my] anger so I’ve decided that I’m going to give the NRA my full attention,” Weinstein wrote. “I hope Wayne LaPierre will enjoy his retirement party. I’m going to do it at the same place I had my Bar Mitzvah. I’m making a movie about our President, perhaps we can make it a joint retirement party. One year ago, I began organizing a $5 million foundation to give scholarships to women directors at USC.” The subtext here couldn’t be clearer: Love me, I’m a liberal. Don’t think of me as a man who coerces sex from female underlings, but rather as a progressive Santa Claus dedicated to fighting the NRA and Trump.

But Weinstein isn’t acting like Santa Claus so much as a liberal Roger Ailes, and he’s tendering a sordid Faustian bargain that Democrats—and liberals in general— should reject. To their evident credit, they’re so far doing just that. As Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo notes, there has been a rapid move, in liberal circles and beyond, to disavow Weinstein: “Weinstein was immediately forced to take a leave from his company. A parade of Democrats ostentatiously coughed up his campaign contributions. His legal team abandoned him. Yesterday he was fired from his eponymous company. Various Hollywood luminaries have denounced him. I’m at least not aware of anyone in that world who is publicly sticking up for him.”