An organic response from ladies who finally felt angry enough to come forward, or felt for the first time—in the wake of the leaked tape—that their allegations against Trump would be believed? A coordinated attack from Clinton supporters? Or can we blame the press, as reporters rushed to contact and listen to anyone with an anti-Trump story in the hopes of breaking the next big scoop or winning that day’s ratings cycle? I’m prone to think it’s some of all three.

I’m also prone to think any of the women’s claims could be true, even if they originated in opposition research—but I’d probably be more skeptical of those that did. And it’s certainly not the realm of Trumpkin conspiracy-theory that pro-Hillary forces may have enticed some of these women to come forward. That’s politics. We’re in the final stretches of the race for the most powerful position in the country. Democrats would be idiots not to try and stoke these flames.

And Republicans, at least those who still find a Trump presidency worth fighting for, would be idiots not to paint Trump’s accusers as liars who are politically motivated.

It’s a good reminder why campaign politics is a horrible context in which to have a productive national conversation about sexual consent (if such a thing is even at all possible). The stakes here are just too high. It’s he-said/she-said with not just one person’s reputation, freedom, or justice on the line but the reputations, hopes, and livelihoods of all those personally invested in the outcome of this election and, to some extent, the future of the Republican Party. If anything, it’s only going to get uglier from here.

Source: Electoral Politics Is a Horrible Context In Which to Talk About Sexual Consent – Hit & Run : Reason.com