Hey, Trent Franks, ‘No’ means ‘NO!’
There’s an old poor excuse for a joke: When a lady says no, she means maybe; when a lady says maybe, she means yes; and when a lady says yes, she’s no lady. When I entered my sexual prime, I came up with my own version: When I mean yes, I say yes; when I mean maybe, I say maybe; and when I mean no, I say no, and I don’t want to have to say it again. In other words, guys, if you don’t get lucky the first time, don’t assume that constant dripping will wear me away like a stone.
It is a pity that Arizona Rep. Trent Franks never got that message. When I first heard that he was resigning because of a charge of sexual harassment, the story was that he and his wife had fertility issues, he discussed the need for a surrogate mother with his staff, and a couple of them weren’t comfortable. My reaction was: Oh come on, who can be that squeamish? At this rate, we’re not going to have anyone left in Congress.
And then I heard the full story. It wasn’t just a discussion; it was a verbal barrage, followed by what felt like retaliation from the boss. The staffer, who is still anonymous, says “the conversations took place in private, sometimes in the congressman’s car, and that she repeatedly told him she wasn’t interested.” She said she even turned down an offer for $5 million. That really, really sounds like the lady meant no.
So why was it so important to Franks to have that specific woman rent her womb, when he could have easily hired any other healthy woman for a hell of a lot less than $5 million. And when she turned him down again and again, why couldn’t he just take her at her word?
There is a certain irony in Franks’ downfall. He is an ardent anti-abortionist–which in itself is not a bad thing. But in opposing abortion for any cause, he advanced the spurious argument that rape rarely results in pregnancy. Totally false: Studies show that rape is as likely to lead to pregnancy as consensual sex. And rape, as Franks should know, is the ultimate crime committed by men who won’t take NO for an answer.