Last week we learned that one of our Courage Candidates had reported a rape. Her rape—a brutal sexual assault that occurred while she was out on the campaign trail, fixing a sign.
Yes, she was alone, and yes, it was nighttime. Both conditions are common in sexual violence, and neither is the woman’s fault. It is well past time to put the blame where it belongs. Rape is a choice. It is the fault of the rapist who chooses to do violence.
Women should be safe in every context, at every time of day. Sadly (though not surprisingly) this is not the world we live in, nor has it ever been.
The Me Too movement started twenty years ago by activist and survivor Tarana Burke. It went viral in 2017 when actor Alyssa Milano tweeted #metoo in response to the investigations of Harvey Weinstein. The movement opened the door to accountability, but every step towards justice has been bitterly contested. Violence against women remains one of the least talked about, least addressed issues for women, right up until it happens.
Once it does happen, it can even become entertainment.
1 in 5 women have been raped in their lifetime, with nearly 80% of victims under the age of 25, and 42% under the age of 18.
Cornell’s Jane Doe was one of the 80%. We are currently transfixed by the stories of what was done to her in a frat house in 2024–who committed the crimes, who encouraged them, and who stayed silent about it. It’s the same familiar shock we felt when we first learned of the horrors experienced by the many victims of Jeffrey Epstein: grief at the harm caused and rage at the utter lack of accountability.
And then there’s the story of our current President: grabbing pussies, convicted of rape, all duly reported in the media. One attempt at accountability required years of additional litigation to force Trump to comply. And yet, he is firmly planted once again in the Oval Office, rewarded for his unapologetic abuse.
For many women, the details of these stories make us unable to move in time and space. Our brains seize up. There are no adequate words to express the outrage and despair we feel.
For some, these stories are #metoo moments that bring up painful memories. For every woman, it is a reminder that at any time, it could be us.
Violence against women has been a running theme in America for 250 years. The daily violence and discrimination that women and LGBTQIA+ people still face every day is a symptom of the lack of morality, humanity, and integrity in our culture and our politics. Perpetrators get to be people with futures; victims are repeatedly denied their humanity.
There is no magic potion that will convince would-be perpetrators to respect the humanity of those they would harm and keep their hands to themselves. A society that viewed women as equals and minorities as worthy of a bright future would go a long way towards that type of cultural accountability. But looking at how our President, his cabinet, and Congressional leaders handle injustice, it is no surprise that we’re still treating the victims as the problem.
Where accountability becomes impeachment
As an organization led by women, we know our push for accountability is not limited to the scope of the work we have focused on for the last eighteen months: the impeachment, conviction, and removal of Trump and his regime. Article 2, Section 4 is the remedy for a tyrant like Trump, but accountability is needed on every playing field. It should be the expectation, not the exception.
The truth is that there is no accountability for crimes committed by the powerful in America, because many Americans don’t see them as crimes.
We need to fix that.
Right now, we’re seeing unprecedented levels of corruption in our government. Trump has personally made more than two billion dollars since his reelection. His family and his Republican allies have also profited generously, as well as business magnates who’ve aligned themselves with the executive branch to curry favor. Meanwhile, Democratic members of Congress continue to trade stocks despite conflicts of interest based on their committee assignments. They allow corrupt members to continue to caucus with them. And they accept funds from corporations and political action committees such as AIPAC who expect certain votes and policy in return.
This dereliction of our leadership goes well beyond corruption, of course. They’re on television and in courts, lying to our faces, baldly and obviously. They’re asking a country we’re (sort of) at war with to bomb the United States. They attempted to overturn a free and fair election, and speak openly about doing it again. They’re arresting people for misdemeanors and renditioning them to foreign dictatorships, while they commit felonies by the dozen. The U.S. government is using paramilitary forces like ICE to murder people in broad daylight, on camera.
And no one in Congress has the courage to step in and say, “Enough!” No one has the courage to rally a Congressional caucus and fight back en masse.
We know that the onslaught of corruption and violence is overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to even begin. We are desensitized to it now, and that’s a very dangerous place to be. Because when we stop taking these criminal acts seriously–when we stop believing that we can do something about them–that’s when our government leaders get away with murder. Literally
So: we need to talk about accountability. And what’s possible if we stop looking away and start tackling the fires in front of us.
The American people are in desperate need of justice and responsibility, and we simply do not see leadership in any party who are up to the task. This is why we are running the Courage Candidates. They refuse to let these crimes slide and they will hold this administration accountable.
What we need is for all criminals—from our treasonous government leaders to the Epstein enablers to the Cornell 7 to the Arizona rapists—to face real charges and consequences. And this work begins at the top. The President is supposed to execute the Constitutional laws of our democracy. Before Congress abdicated all its power to the executive branch, the President’s most influential job was to wrap himself in the American flag and be a statesman, setting the tone for our policies and precedents. And now? The President rants and raves, Congress cowers, and the American people suffer.
Congress must uphold its oath to the Constitution, which means the impeachment, conviction, and removal of all leaders who continue to commit crimes while in office, starting with the President.
After that? Trials for all cronies and accomplices.
What’s possible is not determined by what we’ve already accomplished. It’s determined only by what we are willing to try. We have faced a lot of shrugs and eyerolls over the last eighteen months, told repeatedly that “it’s not possible to impeach.” And our singular, steadfast response is this: “Your cowardice is showing.”
Courage looks like fighting on every playing field
We need accountability and change for the structures that have enabled so many to repeatedly escape justice. And we are absolutely ready to oust every member of Congress who refuses to fight any battle unless they know it will win (and that’s most of them).
This isn’t football. They cannot continue to punt the ball down the field. These are our lives and our livelihood. Our safety and our collective psyche. It sounds dramatic because it is.
We need political leaders who are ready to lace up their cleats and get on the field. Don their protective padding, call the play, and line up for the game. We need them to battle even if they’ll lose. Because what message does it send to the American people if our leaders cannot unite behind the simple concept that unrepentant criminals should not lead this nation? It tells the frat bros at Cornell that they’ll get away with it, too. It gives rapists in Arizona permission to seize control of a woman’s body just because they can. And most heartbreakingly, it tells the victims of Jeffrey Epstein that battling for them is just too hard, too tedious, and might not result in a win, so why bother?
We deserve better. We deserve fighters.
At Courage for Democracy, we’re willing to support any political leader who is ready to put humanity first and fight like hell. We don’t calculate campaign viability before we welcome them as Courage Candidates. We don’t peek at their bank account. We don’t assess other endorsements to make sure it’s “safe” to jump on board. We simply measure whether they have the courage to meet this moment.
This is our tactic because we need them to fight when they don’t know if they’ll win. Right now, the American people don’t see anyone trying to hold the criminal leader class accountable. Until they do, they’ll keep listening to the pundits who tell them that accountability isn’t possible, and that none of their crimes were that bad anyway.
Worse, if we don’t push for accountability then we’re telling victims everywhere that they aren’t important enough for us to fight for them. This is a disgrace on all fronts.
Right now, we see acquiescence, compromise, and surrender in advance. We hear that it’s important to let Trump “save face,” to find issues we can work on together, to “contextualize [impeachment] within the whole sphere of things we’ve got to deal with,” according to Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland).
First of all, that’s not what the American people want to see. In a Sept 2026 poll by Liberal Currents, 33% of Democrats surveyed said they wanted to see a focus on affordability, but 44% wanted accountability to be a top priority: 15% to reverse and repair Trump policies, 9% to restore democratic institutions and the rule of law, 9% to end wars and rebuild alliances and 8% to prosecute the Trump administration. Only 3% want the Democrats to prioritize “bipartisanship and unity.”
What the Democratic base is saying boils down to this: we don’t want Democrats to make compromises about crimes, or about human rights. You are the opposition party. Do some opposing. Promising to work with your opposition only makes sense if you are both working towards the same goal. Right now, we need you to stand ten toes down on your principles and fight.
In today’s political environment, bipartisanship is a lie: You cannot have common cause with people who are clearly acting in bad faith. If unity is so important, join the people. They are currently demanding the removal of the President from office. They are also demanding Medicare for All and an end to Citizens United. There’s your agenda.
Congress, if you represent the American people, get to work.
We know, of course, that the current Congress is unresponsive to the American public. That’s why we are supporting the Courage Candidates. They have promised to hold Trump and his cronies accountable, treat the source of the rot, and get Congress back to doing their jobs for the people of the United States. It’s not a sure panacea, or a train ticket to some utopian future, but it’s sure as hell better than what Democrats are trying now.
What we need is Courage for Democracy. So we’re going to keep going, despite the horrors. We’re fighting for justice on every playing field, and we think the American people deserve it.
