title:  Tennessee Family Values GOP Leader Loses Job After Years Of Unsolicited Sexts To Young Women
text: The Tennessee House of Representatives needs to find a new majority whip after their last one was exposed of having repeatedly sexually harassed young women while he trumpeted  family values  from his political office.State Rep. Jeremy Durham formally announced he would be stepping down from his leadership role (but not giving up his seat in the legislature) after an investigation by the Tennessean found that he had repeatedly sent sexual texts to at least three women, oftentimes late at night.One woman in her mid-20s, who worked in various capacities at the statehouse, said during the 2013 legislative session, Durham repeatedly sent text messages and Facebook messages, sometimes late into the night.One text message, after 10 p.m., says he misses her.In another text, at about 1:30 a.m., Durham asks her for pictures.Another of Durham s victims reported that the politician sent her  dozens  of texts in a similar vein. In fact, he seemed so persistent that it s a wonder he had time to work in between bouts of sexual harassment.A text from Durham, sent at about 1 a.m., asks the woman for pictures. For me, I was just trying to engage professionally, from one professional to another. And he crossed the line: You don t text and constantly message on Facebook and ask to meet up at bars in the evening,  the woman said. He would come up with these ideas and I would just be like,  Are you crazy?   All three women said they did not make formal complaints against Durham because they feared what he and his fellow politicians might do when they found out. When one victim finally did alert leaders in the Tennessee legislature, it became clear that their fears were well founded. Rather than immediately attempt to get to the bottom of it, the politicians quickly convened with lawyers and concluded that the best course of action was to silence her. When a colleague floated the idea of letting the victim address the Republican caucus, they dismissed it out of hand. I think the general response was that it would be a bad precedent, just to get somebody who shows up at a caucus meeting and goes after a member, without going through a formal process,  McCormick said.The  formal process  wound up accomplishing nothing. It took the explosive report in the Tennessean to kickstart Durham s downfall.This isn t Durham s first run in with scandal. Just two years ago, the Republican rising star was turned in by a pharmacist for trying to forge a drug prescription. When police arrived, Durham had a meltdown that was   in all its glory   caught on tape. (A grand jury later refused to indict him. Shocking.)Right on cue, Durham blamed the  liberal media  for his latest problems. Having been let off the hook before, it s looking as if Durham is expecting to weather this storm as well. He may have miscalculated. Adding to the bizarre spectacle happening in the Tennessee GOP, Durham appears to have been stripped of his post while he was busy watching football. When reporters called his house to ask about his resignation, it was all news to him. I m talking it over with my family but have not made a decision. Nothing should ve gone out. Watching Broncos game at the moment. Family values conservative getting caught doing anything but valuing families has become a painfully common hypocrisy for the Republican Party. While politicians of all stripes have moral failings, conservatives have long propped themselves up on the idea that they are ethically superior than their liberal counterparts. The concept, ludicrous on its face, has only become more absurd with every scandal.Feature image via WSMV Channel 4 screenshot