Posted on 03/27/2020 5:44:24 AM PDT by Renkluaf
When it comes to #MeToo sexual misconduct issues, former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's presumptive 2020 presidential nominee, has made it no secret where he stands: automatically believe women. "For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you've got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she's talking about is real," said Biden during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who faced accusations that as a teenager he had assaulted a woman at a party. As vice president, Biden played an important role in the Obama administration's efforts to compel colleges and universities to take sexual violence more seriously—and to adopt policies that limited the due process rights and presumption of innocence for the accused. In recent years, his rhetoric on these issues has been in lockstep with #MeToo activists. Despite his public pronunciations on the subject of never touching women without their explicit verbal consent, Biden has previously faced accusations that he was too handsy with people. But now the former vice president is facing a much more serious accusation of sexual assault, from an alleged former staffer named Tara Reade.
It remains to be seen whether the mainstream media will assign Reade's story as much credibility and importance as that of Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who accused Kavanaugh; they certainly have not done so yet. In any case, supporters of Biden—as well as the candidate himself—should take this opportunity to reflect on whether automatic belief is a useful or practical approach for handling decades' old claims of misconduct.
Reade describes herself as a "California-based victim rights advocate and activist" in her interview with the journalist Katie Halper, who has helped bring this accusation to light. Reade says she worked for Biden in the early 1990s and asserts that she was unambiguously assaulted by him in 1993. According to Reade, he began kissing her without her permission, pushed her against a wall, reached under her skirt, and penetrated her with his fingers. "He said 'come on man, I heard you liked me,'" Reade recalled to Halper in the interview. "For me, it was like, everything shattered. I looked up to him, he was like my father's age, he was this champion of women's rights, in my eyes. I couldn't believe it was happening. It was surreal." Reade had already complained to her bosses about sexual harassment in Biden's office—she said a supervisor had once asked her to serve drinks at an event because she had attractive legs—but had shared the more serious accusation against Biden with a few close confidants. She said she once tried to talk to a supervisor about what had happened, but this person shut her down before she could tell the whole story. She also said she filled out an official form detailing her assault, but does not know what became of it. A year ago, Reade—who supported the campaigns of Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.)—attempted to come forward with stories of sexual harassment in Biden's offices. As detailed in an Intercept piece, she reached out to Time's Up, a project of the National Women's Law Center that provides support to alleged #MeToo victims. Time's Up declined to assist Reade; the organization's official excuse was that a feud with a national political candidate could jeopardize their status as a 501(c)(3) non-partisan group. But as The Intercept also notes: The public relations firm that works on behalf of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund is SKDKnickerbocker, whose managing director, Anita Dunn, is the top adviser to Biden's presidential campaign. A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment. The SKDK spokesperson assigned to Time's Up referred questions back to the NWLC. The mainstream media has given Reade little attention. She was interviewed on Hill.TV by Krystall Ball and Saagar Enjeti (whose populist impulses often put them at odds with the establishments of both parties), but The New York Times, Washington Post, and CNN have all declined to cover the story thus far.
Where are Senators Booker and Harris? They sure came out against about Kavanaugh without any proof of wrong doing.
Now, young women are accusing Biden of abuse.
Again, I think it’s important to note that this shyt show is almost exclusively a dhimmicrat operation. The pubbies are on the side cheering them on but it’s dem v. dem.
“I’m seriously wondering if they were just offering up Joe because they knew Trump could not be beat...”
This was essentially Rush Limbaugh’s theory when Joe suddenly became “unstoppable” after nearly crashing and burning in the early primaries. Rush felt that the Democrat establishment had decided it would be safer to lose 2020 with Joe, keep their cushy positions and gravy train intact and prepare for 2024 than to risk Bernie winning and kicking them all out.
Well now, how do you feel, Klobachar and Buttigieg, after obeying orders from high to drop out of the race before Super Tuesday? And how will you feel when someone who didn’t spend a dime on a campaign, a la Cuomo, just waltzes in and has the nomination given to him? Will Cuomo honor the promises made to Klobuchar and Buttigieg to get them to drop out? Pass the popcorn!
I’m still rooting for Avenatti.
Exactly right.
Biden was a sacrificial lamb, because a few short months ago, Trump couldn’t be beaten.
Everything has changed. This gal, who made her claim years ago, got a late night call from a DNC operative.
That is the Democrat oath. I can’t remember.
Bernie Sanders is still in the race. If the DNC dumps Biden and anoints Cuomo as their nominee, how will Bernie’s supporters react?
methinks Cuomo is a shoo-in
Not an English major, I'm guessing.
Regards,
2020 election will be called “The Battle of Queens, NY”!
Sort of like the Hildabeast and her 9,000 FBI files.
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