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| Pictured: John Conyers III Credit: Monica Morgan/Wirelmage file |
On February 15th, Conyers III was arrested for suspicion of domestic violence against his girlfriend. She suffered knife cuts during an argument in a Los Angeles residence and claimed he "body slammed her...pinned her down and spit on her." In an interview on Wednesday, Conyers III explained that he "didn't do this...She kept swinging [the knife] and she cut herself." The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office cited "a lack of independent witnesses" and no evidence that the injury "was not accidentally sustained." Additionally, charges were dropped. He was released in lieu of a $50,000 bond the same day. His girlfriend also received a restraining order against him which lasts until March of next year.
As of now, John Conyers III hopes to and is still deciding on whether or not to run for office. However, the seat is not guaranteed. Some also claim that he lacks political experience. Additionally, this incident with his girlfriend was not his first scandal. John Conyers III was also cited for speeding his father's government-leased vehicle. (Oops?)
Discussion Questions:
As of now, John Conyers III hopes to and is still deciding on whether or not to run for office. However, the seat is not guaranteed. Some also claim that he lacks political experience. Additionally, this incident with his girlfriend was not his first scandal. John Conyers III was also cited for speeding his father's government-leased vehicle. (Oops?)
Discussion Questions:
In your opinion, is John Conyers III a qualified candidate?
Also, how do you think these scandals play into his situation? Or do they at all?
Also, how do you think these scandals play into his situation? Or do they at all?
Does the case with his girlfriend call for more investigation?
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21 comments:
I personally don't think that I can make conclusions about whether Conyers III is qualified or not because being qualified to be a Representative entails a rich understanding of politics and the ability to take leadership and speak publicly, none of which I know for sure whether he possesses or not. I think that if he eventually decides to run, it may pose a threat to his election, but also, since the matter has been settled and we are not sure if he actually hurt his girlfriend, it may not really matter. I don't really think the case really calls for more investigation because when there aren't that many witnesses in the first place, no matter how many times the investigation happens, I feel like the conclusion will still be the same.
I believe that this article doesn't have enough evidence about Johns ability to succeed in congress for me to make a decision on whether he's qualified or not. His actions are questionable and should absolutely be looked into, but they should not impact his situation if there is not sufficient evidence to prove him guilty. If he would like to become a representative, then he should be evaluated based on his qualifications and his ability to succeed.
I feel like this article has nothing to do with his qualifications to succeed in Congress, so I can't really formulate an opinion on whether or not he is qualified to run for office. While these scandals may hurt his chances in his running for office, I don't think that it will play that big of a part against his campaign, especially since there was no evidence against him. I don't know if this case really calls for more investigation because the charges against him were dropped.
I agree with the others that since he has not been proven guilty and charges have been dropped, it is unclear whether he is truly violent or not, although this is definitely a questionable incident and it will definitely hurt his reputation and professional image whether or not he has experience in office or will be good at his job. I think that his opponents could potentially use this scandal against him.
I disagree with what's said above because I do think what he is accused of changes how others perceive him (including myself). If he did or did not hurt his girlfriend, I still wouldn't want anyone accused of such a crime to be in Congress, even though it has nothing to do with politics. This event shows his true character. I also think his other incident with his fathers vehicle just proves he is unqualified for the position. In my opinion his actions are childish and as of now, I don't think he is a qualified candidate.
I agree with Melanie in how these actions from him reveal his true character. Regardless of how politically qualified he is for the position I don't think someone with his history of crime and scandal should be considered for this position. I think that being politically aware and understanding is only one aspect that makes someone a good candidate, the other being his character. I think that if he does decide to run, he might have a harder time winning because of his history, though I'm not sure how much it will effect him.
Political experience definitely needs to be considered when trying to determine how qualified John Conyers III is to be a Representative, as being endorsed by your father shouldn't be a one-way ticket to a seat. Also, because he's part of the Democratic party, his previous history of alleged domestic violence could leave a negative impact on public opinion. (Republicans are about to elect a President-backed child molester--who has had multiple charges of misconduct in the past--as a Senator, why should domestic violence allegations matter?) It's true that these are only claims and not convictions, but Al Franken recently resigned over sexual misconduct allegations as well.
On block day, we learned about appointment considerations in our activity of selecting candidates. A scandal was listed under bios of each contender, suggesting that scandals can have an effect on eligibility of a candidate. Additionally, according to Washington Post, he lacks political experience, which is the appointment consideration (degree of experience), that he does not satisfy. To add onto “shouldn't be a one-way ticket to a seat” and if it were to be considered, in Article 1 Section 9 of the US Constitution, Title of Nobility is prohibited, which is the heredity of titles or seats in the House for this case.
Like some of the comments above, I believe that this multitude of scandals will hurt John Conyers's chances of running for office. Although it is unfair for me to conclude whether he was indeed guilty or not for his arrest for suspicion of domestic violence against his girlfriend, the accusations against him are very grave. The fact that his girlfriend had severe knife cuts after having an argument with him seems fairly suspicious to me and it seems kind of unlikely that she cut herself from swinging the knife around like Conyers stated. Also, I'm pretty sure that you can't just get a restraining order on someone unless you have an actual valid reason. And since the articles state that his girlfriend was granted a restraining order against him, I am led to believe that he was abusive to her in some way, which is not a quality that you want someone representing the country to have. I hope that more investigation does go into this case so that either his name could be cleared up for his future in politics or so that he could be rightfully charged for these incidents.
I believe that since he does lack political experience as well, he isn't as qualified for this seat as some of his rival candidates. Like Cris stated, an endorsement from one's father isn't a very good reason to be elected to office.
I think that his actions are a reflection of his character. Part of being qualified for a political position is the way a persons portrays themselves and the way they act in public. Being a congressmen means that he would be a representation of our country and being accused of harming his girlfriend is not a good reputation. This being, I think he will have a hard time winning because his reputation and history will play a role in the election for him.
As far as I'm concerned, John Conyers Jr.'s endorsement is pointless. First of all, he just resigned amidst allegations of sexual assault. So his endorsement is not what I would necessarily call convincing. More concerning, though, are Conyers III's charges of domestic violence. People who act in such a cruel and rash fashion should not be in public office, as they have demonstrated a lack of sympathy and thoughtfulness — two important traits for a Congressperson. While I don't know enough about Conyers III's qualifications for Congress, I do know that, because of his domestic violence charges (even though they were dropped, I have no reason drop my cause for concern, as, even if the allegations were illegitimate, they would have had to stem from something), I would not vote for him. But even so, this shouldn't be an issue — he shouldn't gain office through the support of his disgraced father, and I highly doubt that anyone would even vote for him simply due to guilt by association.
I think his charges of domestic violence should go through a more thorough investigation. Although it is very possible, I don't think someone would lie about being attacked and hurt by their boyfriend. I think he still has time to prove himself as a good person, and a good Congressmen but for now, I don't think he should run because of his past actions. In my opinion, he has some growing up to do and needs to be more mature.
In coordination with my peers, I think it’s important to establish a zero tolerance policy when it comes to domestic violence allegations because it sets a tone of what the US government defends and supports. We’ve seen the backlash Trump and Moore have faces in response to the sexual assault reports. Trump, in simpler terms, stated that he doesn’t believe the accusations solely based on the fact that Roy Moore has denied them. One of the earlier controversies with Chris Brown was easily dismissed by the public, and he faced minimal repercussions in my opinion because he is still prospering and thriving in the music industry, and some have basically dismissed and/or ignored those actions in its entirety. After the Weinstein news was revealed, over 40 men in Hollywood and within the realm of politics have been accused of sexual and violent misconduct towards women. I praise Hollywood for being relatively quick to fire and hold these men accountable, and I think that the political world should follow suit. These men shape our laws and if predation against women is permissible within these men, then it sets an unsafe tone for women, and will continue to encourage men because they know that its acceptable in politics. With that being said, I wholeheartedly believe that Conyers III should be held accountable for these actions beyond just a verbal denouncement.
I don’t believe Conyers is qualified and the case with his girlfriend should be looked into as it involves domestic abuse. Especially in a time now where acts of sexual harassment are coming to light after being concealed for years, it’s been seen how powerful men in higher authority are and how they’ve been able to silence others from speaking out. Thus, it becomes even more important that current allegations regarding others abusing their authority are not overlooked or condoned. Conyers would be another man in higher authority who has allegedly harassed another woman, therefore I don’t believe he should he should be considered for a position in the House.
I do not believe that John Conyers is a qualified candidate for a position in the House, especially due to the red flags raised by the alleged sexual harassment. With current scandals currently rocking politics, I believe that entering the house with past allegations could be problematic if not impossible.
I do not know John Conyers III well enough to determine whether he is a qualified candidate for the position he seeks. However, I do not believe that he should be deemed unqualified because of the charges he faces. He has not been proven guilty, and until he is, his reputation should not be harmed by the accusations. Too many people have been harmed by false accusations in the past, and the worst thing we can do is allow it to continue. If he is found guilty, however, he should definitely be eliminated from the race he is running in.
As others have previously stated, I do not think that Coyners III is a qualified candidate. From the looks of it, his only real qualification is that he has a father in the House of Representatives, so perhaps that gives him a little knowledge of politics. Other than that, though, it does not seem that Coyners III has any qualifications to be working in government. I could be wrong; since we do not know much about Coyners III, he could actually be qualified. Even if he turns out to be qualified as a politician, I do not think that he is fit to serve in the House because of the charges and accusations against him. Although Nico claimed that these charges should not go against him because they have not been proven, I think that based on the current political situation that we are in with politicians coming out left and right admitting to misconduct, it would be very detrimental for Coyners III to enter the House, if it would even be possible for him to do so.
I agree with Ben that Coyners III is not a qualified candidate for this position. It seems to me that he sort of expects the job to just fall in his hands. We should not be letting these sorts of people be in the House. In addition, the allegations do not really add up. To me if you are in a situation where your girlfriend is swinging at you with a knife, something is wrong and you should not be running for a government position. Also, because this was not his first scandal, I believe that there is some background evidence hinting that this is not the full story. More investigation should be conducted if he continues his pursuit to be in the government.
I believe that Coyners is not a qualified candidate. It is a big red flag to have someone with sexual harassment allegations to have a seat in the house. Despite it only being a rumor, I still do not believe that it is ok to have someone who has even had speculations. It is not good to have a bad reputation that Coyners has obtained.
I do not believe Coyners is not a qualified candidate for multiple reasons. Anyone that has assault or sexual harassment accusations against them is not someone I would want to represent me or my state. On top of that if people do not believe he has enough experience to be in that position then I doubt he would be good in there anyway.
I believe that although there isn't enough evidence to prove whether he has committed true domestic violence or not, the situation will nevertheless harm his chances of becoming elected because of the way the public will react to this and how they will perceive him. However, unless he is proven guilty, he should at least be given the chance to run for office.
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