W

e are more than a 
week removed from 
the 2018 midterm 
elections, 
and 
basically 
everything to be said about 
the electoral side of things has 
been said. What was projected 
to be a “blue wave” for the 
Democratic 
party 
did 
not 
quite come to fruition. While 
the Democrats were able to 
flip enough seats to take back 
the House of Representatives, 
their majority is slim and, 
in the process, they lost two 
valuable seats in the Senate. 
Despite receiving a significant 
amount of criticism following 
the 2016 presidential election, 
the polls and prognosticators 
reaffirmed their legitimacy 
this time around.
Much was made of the 
gains of female candidates in 
the midterms as women were 
declared the real winners 
of the election. One notable 
female victor was Michigan’s 
now Governor-elect Gretchen 
Whitmer. 
Furthermore, 
Representative-elect 
Ilhan 
Omar 
of 
Minnesota’s 
5th 
Congressional 
district 
and 
Representative-elect Rashida 
Tlaib 
of 
Michigan’s 
13th 
Congressional district made 
history by becoming the first 
two Muslim women elected to 
Congress.
And while female political 
empowerment is certainly a 
cause for celebration, now 
that we have had a week to 
bask in said victories, it is 
important that we turn our 
attention to something a little 
more unsavory. This cycle saw 
an 
unprecedented 
amount 
of money funneled into it. 
According to the Center for 
Responsive 
Politics, 
these 
midterm 
congressional 
campaigns cost a staggering 
$5.2 billion.
And while it is true that 
many campaigns — such as 
unsuccessful Texas Democrat 
Beto O’Rourke’s campaign for 
Senate — were able to raise 
huge sums of money primarily 
through small-scale donors 
and contributions, to ignore 
the influence of the oligarchy 
in propping up candidates and 
pushing them to the finish 

line would be foolish. The 
simple fact is that far too 
much of this money came from 
far too few people. The super 
PACs that the vast majority of 
Americans oppose are more 
influential than ever. In the 
month of October alone, the 10 
highest-funded super PACs for 
each of the two major political 
parties raised a combined $174 
million.
The 
disproportionate 
impact of billionaires was 
also 
in 
full 
force 
during 
this election cycle. While I 
normally direct my criticism 
towards the Republican Party, 
this election cycle proved 
that both major parties are 
completely bought and sold. 
Plutocrats drive the agenda, 
and I can prove it.

One 
example 
of 
this 
occurred in Tennessee. GOP 
mega-donor 
Charles 
Koch 
poured 
$5 
million 
of 
his 
own money into the coffers 
of Trump-loyalist U.S. Rep. 
Marsha Blackburn’s campaign 
for 
Senate 
in 
Tennessee. 
Maybe he was just really 
excited by her campaign. Or 
maybe he wants a piece of the 
corporate tax cuts and the 
repeal of the estate tax for 
which she has advocated for 
so long.
On the Democratic side, 
a 
particularly 
egregious 
example 
of 
electoral 
manipulation 
during 
this 
cycle by the ultra-rich took 
place in Nevada, in regards to 
what was known as “Question 
3.” 
The 
proposal 
asked 
voters whether or not they 
would want a constitutional 
amendment 
requiring 

lawmakers to pass measures 
in an attempt to establish 
a competitive, free market 
for energy. Investor Warren 
Buffett, one of the richest 
men on Earth, shelled out 
$63 million through Nevada 
Energy to wage a propaganda 
campaign against the passing 
of the proposal. His motives 
could not have been clearer.
Buffett is the owner of 
Nevada Energy, which is the 
current 
monopoly 
supplier 
of electricity in the state. 
A man worth a whopping 
$86 billion was hellbent on 
protecting his profit margins 
at all costs — at the expense of 
the general public. He could 
not accept the prospect of 
Nevadians potentially seeing 
their energy costs go down, so 
he put up an ungodly amount 
of cash to ensure that didn’t 
happen. Here’s the worst part 
— he got his way.
The 
disproportionate 
influence 
of 
those 
of 
astronomical means on our 
political system is nothing 
short of a disgrace. It is 
an 
affront 
to 
democratic 
ideals and the idea of “one 
person, one vote.” While all 
of-age citizens — who aren’t 
convicted 
felons 
or 
being 
actively suppressed by racist 
voter 
ID 
and 
registration 
laws — have the right to voice 
their opinion at the ballot 
box, we must reckon with the 
fact that we are only given a 
choice within the confines 
of what the super-rich find 
acceptable. We might play 
the game, but they make the 
rules.
Now that the elections are 
over, it is incumbent upon 
all Americans to work to 
hold elected officials’ feet 
to the fire. One way to do 
this is to make sure they are 
accountable to the people, 
and not their mega-donors. 
We have to bring campaign 
finance 
reform 
to 
the 
forefront if we wish to salvage 
democracy and respect the 
popular will.

A 

few 
weeks 
ago, 
thousands of Google 
employees 
from 
across 
the 
globe 
staged 
what the media is calling a 
walkout. Employees refused 
to work as they protested 
the 
company’s 
treatment 
of 
sexual 
assault 
claims. 
The walkout was in direct 
response to a scathing piece 
published by The New York 
Times which detailed Google’s 
track 
record 
of 
protecting 
high-profile executives, even 
after determining the sexual 
harassment 
claims 
against 
them were credible.
The piece looked closely 
at Andy Rubin, the creator of 
the Android mobile software. 
An employee accused Rubin 
of sexual misconduct after he 
coerced her into performing 
oral sex in a hotel room in 2013. 
Google chose to investigate 
and 
ultimately 
concluded 
that her claim was credible. 
Andy Rubin was subsequently 
asked to leave the firm — but 
not without a $90 million exit 
package. The Times reported in 
the same piece that Rubin was 
one of three executives that 
Google protected over the past 
decade after they were accused 
of sexual misconduct.
Employees, 
disappointed 
with a culture that they felt 
protected 
perpetrators 
of 
sexual 
misconduct, 
began 
communicating with each other 
to stage a protest. Walkout 
organizers generated a list of 
demands on how Google (which 
at one point in time boasted the 
motto: Don’t be evil) should not 
only handle sexual misconduct, 
but how it should also improve 
its culture. 
The demands included ending 
the use of private arbitration 
in sexual misconduct issues 
and publicizing a transparency 
report which detailed instances 
of sexual harassment. Beyond 
issues relating specifically to 
sexual 
harassment 
(though 
they 
are 
complicatedly 

intertwined), the organizers 
asked 
for 
an 
employee 
representative 
on 
Google’s 
Board of Directors and a chief 
diversity officer that to speak 
directly to the board.
The walkout at Google is the 
latest instance of the #MeToo 
movement’s effect on corporate 
America. Started 12 years ago 
by Tarana Burke and having 
gained attention nearly a year 
ago with the public humiliation 
of 
film 
producer 
Harvey 
Weinstein after he was accused 
of rape and sexual harassment, 
the 
#MeToo 
movement 
has come a long way. Many 
powerful men have been forced 
out of their cushy executive-

level jobs. Just a few weeks ago, 
Leslie Moonves stepped down 
as CEO of CBS after accusations 
of sexual harassment were 
publicly disclosed.
The 
#MeToo 
movement 
has 
generated 
awareness 
regarding the prevalence and 
severity of sexual harassment 
in 
organizations 
spanning 
all 
sectors. 
Organizations 
have been forced to either 
design or adopt mechanisms 
that 
minimize 
the 
amount 
of 
workplace 
harassment. 
Many 
companies 
have 
set 
up independent, anonymous 
helplines that give employees 
the 
opportunity 
to 
report 
misconduct without fear of 
immediate repudiation. While 
these mechanisms may prove 
useful in the short term, The 
Economist suggests in a piece 
titled 
“American 
business 
and 
#MeToo” 
that 
sexual 

harassment 
is 
“a 
symptom 
of bigger, subtler problems: 
unequal access to power and 
unaccountable cultures.”
The walkout organizers at 
Google had the right idea with 
their demands that extended 
beyond calling for change in 
how 
the 
company 
handles 
instances of sexual harassment. 
Their last two demands (an 
employee representative on the 
board and a more influential 
chief diversity officer) work 
toward 
transforming 
the 
company’s culture — ideally 
making it more inclusive and 
accountable.
Greater 
employee 
input 
at the executive level would 
benefit not only individuals 
commonly 
associated 
with 
the #MeToo movement, but 
instead, 
a 
host 
of 
people 
with other identities found 
throughout 
the 
company’s 
ranks. Gillian White writes in 
The Atlantic that the #MeToo 
movement has “been centered 
on the experiences of white, 
affluent and educated women.” 
Avoiding this fault, the walkout 
organizers intelligently used 
the momentum generated from 
the 
#MeToo 
backlash 
over 
Andy Rubin to call for greater 
involvement from all employees 
— regardless of not only gender 
and rank, but of race, sexual 
orientation and socioeconomic 
class too.
While it is still uncertain 
to 
what 
demands 
Google 
will 
completely 
concede, 
the walkout should serve as 
an inspiration to employees 
seeking to work in safer, more 
accountable and more inclusive 
environments. 
Employees, 
when acting together, can hold 
significant leverage over their 
employers. Employees need to 
make it known that they are 
a stakeholder to be reckoned 
with.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4A —Friday, November 16, 2018

Emma Chang
Ben Charlson
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman

Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Lucas Maiman
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland

Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ali Safawi
Ashley Zhang
Sam Weinberger

DAYTON HARE
Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ALEXA ST. JOHN
Editor in Chief
 ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND 
ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

ELIAS KHOURY | COLUMN

Billionaires win the midterms... again

How the #MeToo movement is shaping corporate America

ERIK NESLER | COLUMN

Elias Khoury can be reached at 

ekhoury@umich.edu.

Erik Nesler can be reached at 

egnesler@umich.edu.

“T

o 
demand 
that 
people 
take 
personal 
responsibility 
for 
their 
behavior 
is 
extremely 
difficult. 
It 
doesn’t 
come 
naturally to any of us. Perhaps 
the case for it can best be 
made by using other words 
to 
describe 
the 
assuming 
of 
personal 
responsibility. 
Those words are ‘growing 
up.’” This quote from Dennis 
Prager 
captures 
a 
major 
societal problem today. People 
today, from young adults to 
politicians, too often make 
excuses for their negative 
behavior instead of owning up 
and trying to improve the way 
they act.
Taking 
responsibility 
for 
our actions was hammered 
into many of us by our parents 
and teachers when we were 
children. We learned to do our 
chores and homework, and 
that we are accountable for our 
behavior. My parents told me 
that my grades in school would 
reflect the amount of work I 
put in. They did not consider 
that my teacher was bad, or 
that I’d be distracted by my 
friends, or that maybe I just 
didn’t like the subject or school 
in general. Those were not and 
are not adequate excuses. The 
lesson that your life is in your 
own hands is something lost by 
many today.
The 
conduct 
of 
many 
politicians today has, at times, 
sunk far below civility. Even 
some of the more reserved, 
professional 
representatives 
have had moments of weakness.
During the 2016 presidential 
primary 
race, 
Sen. 
Marco 
Rubio, R-Fla., responded poorly 
to outside stimuli but proved 
to be a perfect example of 
assuming sole responsibility 
for his conduct. Rubio, in 
response to Trump’s continued 
and relentless barbs and jokes 

about 
the 
competition 
for 
the 
Republican 
nomination 
for the presidency, began to 
make the same type of jokes 
about Trump. He joked about 
Trump’s constant tweeting, his 
spelling mistakes and even his 
apparently small hands. Much 
of Rubio’s campaign, for a few 
weeks, became centered on 
“out-Trumping” Trump, during 
debates, speeches and rallies.
What is unique about this 
situation is that Rubio felt 
remorse, 
acknowledged 
his 
poor conduct and apologized 
to Trump for his jokes and 
comments. Rubio said, “I don’t 
want to be that. If that’s what 
it takes to become president of 
the United States, then I don’t 
want to be president.” It is 
refreshing to see a politician 
realize 
their 
misconduct 
instead of sweeping it under the 
rug or blaming someone else, 
like Rubio easily could have 
done here instead of accepting 
and apologizing for it. It shows 
true class from a man who 
understands 
what 
personal 
responsibility is. Instead of 
dwelling on politicians and 
their misdeeds, we should first 
look upon ourselves and fix 
our own character. Once we 
have done that, then we will 
be able to hold elected officials 
accountable.
Take this lesson and apply 
it to your own life: the way 
you act, your work ethic, the 
way you treat people. Those 
things 
are 
all 
completely, 
unquestionably in your control. 
Don’t blame societal pressures, 
peer pressure, racism, sexism, 
tiredness, 
poverty, 
a 
busy 
schedule or anything else for 
disappointments or failures in 
your life. While these things 
can certainly, and often do, 
affect people in a myriad of 
serious ways, they do not 
determine anything on their 
own. The number one factor 

in every event in your life is 
you. Accept that and embrace 
it. It does yourself no favors 
to 
attribute 
the 
ability 
to 
determine the outcome of your 
life to any outside influence. 
Treat your life as if it is just 
that — yours. If you can do this, 
then you will be motivated to 
make the most of life’s many 
opportunities.
I understand that people 
don’t like to be told to “grow 
up” or to “take responsibility.” 
It sounds authoritative and, in 
a way, scary. I think, however, 
that it is an empowering idea 
that 
especially 
applies 
to 
many of us as aspiring young 
adults. 
Blaming 
supposed 
insurmountable 
barriers 
for 
our own lack of success may 
make us feel better about 
failure, but it does us no favors.
In high school, I saw plenty 
of 
the 
blame 
game. 
The 
“non-stop grind” of student-
athletes being blamed for poor 
grades. 
“Crappy” 
teachers 
who apparently didn’t teach 
the 
material, 
even 
though 
plenty of kids in class got As. 
Friends pressuring friends into 
making inadvisable decisions. 
Personal 
responsibility 
and 
accountability 
is 
something 
I was raised to believe and 
that I believe in fervently. For 
that reason, when I graduated 
from high school and we were 
asked to pick a “senior quote” 
to accompany our picture in 
the yearbook, I chose one that 
embodied that belief. Former 
President Ronald Reagan said, 
“We must reject the idea that 
every time a law’s broken, 
society is guilty rather than the 
lawbreaker. It is time to restore 
the American precept that each 
individual is accountable for 
his actions.”

DAVID HAYSE | COLUMN

Growing up

David Hayse can be reached at 

dhayse@umich.edu.

We might play 
the game but they 
make the rules

Employees need 
to make it known 
that they are a 
stakeholder to be 
reckoned with

EMILY CONSIDINE | CONTACT EMILY AT EMCONSID@UMICH.EDU