Senate floor leader says there will be consequences for Sen. Dahm's VP 'joke'
TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Since her political career began, Vice President Kamala Harris has been accused of using sexual favors to launch and advance her career. Not only is it not true, but it's a criticism many women in public positions face.
"Every single female that I know of in that Capitol has a story similar to tell, including myself," said District 43 Republican Senator Jessica Garvin.
Garvin telling KFOR in Oklahoma City that she was stunned by her colleague's comments, but also not surprised by the content.
"Whether it was during my campaign or when I first got into office, we have these accusations made about us all the time," she said.
Republican Broken Arrow Senator Nathan Dahm was advertising his new bill to ban paper straws when he made a comment about the vice president in his press release. I asked him what he meant.
"You can't use a paper straw for a milkshake, but maybe Kamala Harris could because of her vast experience, maybe she could get that accomplished," Dahm told us on Friday.
Within hours of posting our interview, the Senate Pro Tempore, Republican Greg Treat, called Dahm's comments misogynistic, disrespectful, and immature.
Senate floor leader, Republican Kim David, agrees.
"Being someone who has dealt with this pretty much my entire professional career, it's not something we take lightly," said David.
David says this will not be brushed under the rug. Right now, it's being dealt with internally. But with some calling for Dahm's resignation or censure, we wanted to know what the consequences will be.
"Generally, with an internal, that means I'm not free to speak about how it is being dealt with, but I do want people to know that the Pro Tempore is taking a strong stand on this," David said.
Garvin says she doesn't want this one event or others like it to get in the way of women in any workplace.
"I don't want this to be about the fact that I'm the woman and I'm the victim here. I want it to be about expressing to people, especially women, that they shouldn't let comments like this be discouraging to them in that it doesn't make them want to run for office," said Garvin.
It may have started with paper straws, but this is a conversation only gaining momentum as more and more women share their own experiences facing this same rhetoric.