Sexual allegations: the Democrats, Biden, and Kavanaugh
The blatant and politically opportunistic hypocrisy of the Democrats is easily revealed by comparing their position regarding the Kavanaugh sexual accusations versus the Biden sexual accusations.
The Republicans have been relatively consistent in saying about both: take a look at the evidence, and let’s see.
The Democrats shrieked that Christine Blasey Ford was completely believable and that Kavanaugh was unfit for office because of his obvious guilt, but with Biden – crickets. The difference is so stark that it would be funny if it weren’t very very sad and extraordinarily dangerous.
I don’t know if Biden’s accuser is telling the truth, but I do know that her charges are far more credible – and relevant – than those of Christine Blasey Ford. That word “credible” means believable, and it’s been a favorite of Democrats whenever an accusation is lobbed against a Republican in public life. Now, not so much.
In fact:
Every Democrat in the Senate has refused to acknowledge the sexual assault allegations against 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden that were brought forward by a former staffer, even after new evidence lends credibility to the alleged assault.
The Daily Caller contacted every Democrat in the Senate, asking them if they would even consider the allegations by Biden’s accuser, Tara Reade, who has accused the then-senator of kissing her, touching her and penetrating her with his fingers without her consent in 1993. Each Senate office was given 24 hours to respond but not one did…
Every one of the senators contacted, besides Manchin, voted against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, due to sexual assault allegations.
Why is Reade more credible than Ford was? Here are five reasons, but the obvious ones are that Reade apparently told various people about it at the time it occurred or not too long after the time, and the fact that (unlike Ford, who could not prove she’d ever even met Kavanaugh) Reade knew Biden and had worked for him. What’s more, Kavanaugh was a high school student at the time of his alleged actions and Biden was a fully adult US senator.
But as Ace points out, when the MSM does cover the Reade/Biden story, it’s the usual “Republicans pounce” angle.
The press and the Democratic politicians have been on a mission, and they don’t care about truth or consistency or any of the causes they profess to care about. That includes sexual harassment. The only thing that matters is politics, power, and winning. The rest is just posing, for “the masses” whom they profess to love but for whom they actually have contempt. They believe the public is just that gullible, just that lacking in long-term memory, and just that stupid.
[ADDENDUM: (Hat tip: Ace). Tara Reade might be getting close to her own WalkAway moment. It almost seems that until this point she believed that her allegations might be treated fairly. But disillusionment has set in.
See also this for what Reade has to say about the MSM’s and the Democrats’ hypocrisy;
“I’ve basically had no substantive support from women’s groups that are considered liberal or Democratic. I’ve had no support from any Democratic candidate, although I’ve reached out. And I’ve received either slanted reporting that ended up being talking points for Biden’s campaign or silence from the mainstream media. So that’s my contention and my concern.”
The Biden accuser expressed hope that “the next kind of case” like hers will be approached in a “more educated way and with emotional intelligence.”
Oh Tara, Tara, Tara. Accusations such as yours will continue to be treated in an utterly political manner.
Oh, and as for the Democrats’ approach to someone like Al Franken (whom I defended because I didn’t think his offense was more than a stupid joke), the only reason the Democrats turned on him was that politically it cost them nothing, since he would be replaced by another Democrat. And the Democrats will turn on Biden if and when they figure they have someone to replace him who might have a chance of beating Trump, and a method by which to kick Biden out. The Reade accusations could someday become that mechanism, but not until then.]
Reading your last paragraph, I thought about how very far you’ve come since the first steps in your change story, back around 2005.
And I hear an echo from that long-ago time, “You’ve come a long way, Baby!”
Hillary endorsed Biden today.
It’s appropriate that she did it at the peak of the penetration allegations.
Just like Tammy Wynette: HRC’s gonna stand by her man.
Later for Juanita, Gennifer, Paula, Monica and Tara.
“They believe the public is just that gullible, just that lacking in long-term memory, and just that stupid.” – Neo
And, they seem to be correct about a good portion of it, including some of my own family – sad to say.
https://www.redstate.com/nick-arama/2020/04/28/joe-biden-announces-hillary-clinton-as-special-guest-with-likely-endorsement-americans-let-him-know-what-they-think-and-its-not-good/
“Hillary Clinton waiting to endorse Joe Biden until the sexual assault allegation against him was backed up with an on the record contemporaneously corroborating witness is just too on brand,” Washington Examiner columnist Tiana Lowe pointed out.
https://www.redstate.com/elizabeth-vaughn/2020/04/28/tara-reade-calls-on-biden-to-release-senate-personnel-records/
Any complaint is long since shredded, along with Obama’s college grades.
Reade is a professed Democrat. Do you think she is getting a double bonus here: publicity for #Me Too causes, as well as a back door attagirl from the DNC who have certainly realized that Biden is an unsalable candidate who needs to be replaced somehow.
“They believe the public is just that gullible, just that lacking in long-term memory, and just that stupid.”
They’re wrong. That the public doesn’t immediately react the way you might want them to doesn’t mean they’re gullible, ignorant, or stupid. You can directly connect the Democrats and liberals letting Bill Clinton get away with it to not just one but two Republicans being elected President, including one whom you literally can’t even imagine him getting nominated WITHOUT Clinton getting a pass.
I don’t know exactly how the public will eventually react to the gross intellectual and ethical corruption on display in the Biden/Kavanaugh comparison, but I suspect the folks on the Left aren’t going to like it when it plays out.
Mike
https://twitchy.com/samj-3930/2020/04/28/nailed-it-mary-katharine-ham-has-the-perfect-analogy-for-the-medias-double-standard-when-covering-biden-allegations/
“The double standard is so egregious as to be performance art at this point.” MKH
If the political world were sane, I’d say that 27-year-old allegations which were never reported to police are too old to affect current decisions. However, the Kavanaugh circus showed us just how insane and unjust the left is. Plus: Not only was Biden “a fully adult US senator” at the time of this alleged event, it was just two years after he tried to destroy Clarence Thomas at his confirmation hearings with unsubstantiated and far less serious allegations.
The five reasons Reade’s allegations are more credible than Blasey-Ford’s are good, but I would add a sixth: Joe Biden has a well documented history of disregard for women and examples of inappropriate behavior.
Nothing is proved, yet, but the allegations are serious and should be investigated. The hypocrisy of the Left and Democrats is appalling, though not surprising.
“Tara Reade might be getting close to her own WalkAway moment.”
I confess that I take a certain amount of perverse pleasure in watching Democrats squirm when they get thrown under the bus for “the greater good”.
It’s the seriousness of the charges.
An interesting post which shows a kind of innocence on the part of Ms Reade.
Until now, I had just assumed that she was an “insurance policy” to be put into play at the appropriate time to remove Joe Biden from the nomination.
Take him out too soon and Bernie can credibly demand the spot.
Scott Robinson and JimNorCal,
I suspect something similar. I doubt Ms. Reade is in on it fully, but the timing of this makes one wonder if there isn’t a faction of the DNC pushing this now. Although I can’t see why Hillary would endorse today. Even if it’s a wing of the party who hates her, and she’s not in on the play, Hillary is very saavy. She had nothing to gain by endorsing now.
Unless she becomes Biden’s V.P. pick and then the hammer comes down…
The Brett Kavanaugh character assassination was the worst thing I’ve seen since the Clarence Thomas character assassination. There were so many egregious, reprehensible aspects to it, beginning with Feinstein’s timing of releasing the accusation.
And the amazing thing about the accusation itself, aside from it not making sense and having no corroboration, not even from the accuser: it really wasn’t anything at all. A teen-aged boy who had too much to drink tackled a teen-aged girl, who may have also been drinking, on to a bed in front of a friend, who had also been drinking, then the friend jumped on the bed and the two boys wrestled each other then got up and ran from the room laughing?
Look, being a teen-ager is awkward and awkward things happen when teens are drinking (and when they’re sober). But if that is the most frightening thing that ever happened to a person, that person has led an absurdly sheltered life. Even if true, and it does not seem like it was, or at least, Brett Kavanaugh was neither of the wrestlers, what kind of person would hold up a senate hearing to announce such a thing? Every teen-ager who had a beer while playing co-ed Twister has stranger tales to tell.
One can understand why Blasey-Ford’s father apologized to Kavanaugh’s father after the hearing. What a travesty.
“An interesting post which shows a kind of innocence on the part of Ms Reade.”
The Democratic Party and liberals in general are chock full of white people who are either ignorant or in denial about what’s been happening to their political party/movement. And yes, the racial adjective is important.
Mike
I saw a clip of the Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton thing today. She looks better than she has in a long time, what we could see of her. Looks like she’s lost some weight, hair done attractively. (So much for quarantine.) I wonder if she thinks there’s a way she can end up running again?
“I wonder if she thinks there’s a way she can end up running again?”
In “Lord of the Rings” did Gollum ever give up thinking there was a way he could wear the ring?
Michelle O doesn’t want the VP slot … but Crooked HR Clinton sure does. Still, I don’t think she’ll get the nod; tho it’s not clear who is a better/ more electable female choice for Biden. I don’t think Biden tops the ticket at the end.
Biden has too much history. It’s disgusting that those Dems who call Trump “creepy” will choose to not believe these very very credible allegations.
There are some finger / panty (pantyhose) issues with the allegation. It’s unlikely to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt — but it totally fits the pattern of powerful men acting like predators and getting away with it. That’s part of what #MeToo is supposed to be about.
There should be much better records kept of sexual harassment claims – but also better control of State Dept. emails, yet it’s not hard for Dems to violate rules.
That’s part of why Dems don’t mind having lots of rules — rules are for the little people. Like Tara Reade. And Kavanaugh. But not for Dems; not Top Dems.
Biden has cemented himself to choosing a woman.
There’s a raft of them “campaigning” to be His Girl…
You just saw the opening bid from Team Hillary.
faux-Gov Abrams has been hard at work for some time now but I don’t believe she’s a serious contender.
Gillibrand is casting her bread on the waters as is Whitmer the Hun.
Meanwhile, all the female also-rans are silently circling the bleeding body of Gropey Joe. Mrs O? I don’t believe she wants the job.
And I still don’t think Biden makes it through the convention. He was there & convenient to rid the Ds of Bernie, but there’s someone else out there being primed to fill that slot & I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a two-fer…a complete ticket waiting to be announced once Joe is sidelined.
The Democratic Party looks like a slow motion train wreck right now.
Who knows? Maybe they can pull a rabbit out of their hat… But, right at this moment, I don’t see their constituency being enthusiastic come November.
Jim & Rufus – I need somebody to explain in words of simple syllables just how the DNC benefits from taking Biden out with Reade’s accusations, instead of just letting him withdraw for health reasons, or simply ignoring him in the WH after the election, which they were going to do anyway.
It’s an ugly method to unnecessarily decapitate him, is causing fissures in their own party, and totally sidelines any more attacks on Trump’s alleged misogyny and womanizing ways.
What is Reade getting out of this late accusation?
Some people believe her now, but they would have then too — if she had gone to the press and the GOP rather than her own Party functionaries (or maybe not; the press has always covered for wayward Democrats, and the GOP can close ranks around its bipartisan clan pretty well). But why NOW, when she doesn’t seem to have any significant personal stake in the matter that she didn’t have in the intervening decades?
Why wasn’t it important to expose Biden’s rapist proclivities when he was a candidate for VP (“a heartbeat away from the Presidency”), but it is now when he is on track to self destruct anyway?
And BTW, what is it with this not-unique penchant of women not wanting to embarrass sexual predators “out of respect” for them? (Her mom’s call to Larry King.)
I’m willing to go with somebody manipulating her behind the scenes for some nefarious reason, but I can’t see any Democrat benefiting from taking Biden down in this particular fashion.
I’m getting a lot of Game of Thrones vibes in these plots, but none of them make any sense to me.
A lot of us don’t think sexual allegations that old should bear much weight regardless of party. But after the hatchet job on Kavanaugh, that RTF delineated so well, the Dems have to have their feet held to the fire of their cynical hypocrisy.
There is more evidence against Joe Biden at this point than there ever was against Roy Moore. I am far from convinced that the evidence against either man is convincing enough to believe them guilty, but when you contrast the two the level of credibility given by the media is astonishing:
Like Roy Moore, it can be established that Joe Biden met his accuser at least once, but in Joe Biden’s case his accuser worked with him over a period of time.
Like Roy Moore, people can be found who today say that they were told by the accuser about it at the time. But in Joe Biden’s case one of those people called Larry King at the time, and that video exists today.
Like Roy Moore, people today are found who say that he engaged in creepy behavior over years, mostly decades ago, none of which rose to the level of sexual assault. But in Joe Biden’s case that behavior is documented in photographs well up into very recent times.
Unlike Roy Moore (and Brett Kavanaugh) the accusation is not yet echoed by others with far less substantial claims, accusations which the media gleefully repeats without even trying to vet; neither Gloria Allred nor her daughter are representing anyone. But give it time….
In re Moore, there were three accusers. He has been a very obtrusive public figure in Alabama for half a generation and been embroiled again and again in public controversies, and none of them had ever said a word up to that point. One was proven to have doctored the document which supposedly proved she’s been associated with him. Another told a tale of approaches, secret phone calls, and assignations which would have had to begin with a public prosecutor propositioning an adolescent at the courthouse during working hours and would have all had to have taken place over a 12 day period in 1979.
AesopFan,
Occam’s Razor says it’s likely not a conspiracy, but if it is, here’s how it could fit with your questions:
Tara Reade was assaulted by Biden. She sought recourse through proper channels and found herself without a job and persona non grata in D.C. Her career goal was to work in politics in D.C. and now that’s over before she could barely get started. She blames Joe Biden for this. Not the dems, not D.C. or Washington politics (she is still a Dem and has stated she was disappointed she could not get further work in D.C.).
Some Dems don’t want Biden to be the nominee. Bernie supporters, for example. Bernie has backing within the party. AOC for example.
Ms. Reade sees Biden coming to the lead in the primaries and she gets furious. She can’t stand the guy and doesn’t want him to be the candidate, so she starts making the rounds with her story. Her goal is to knock Biden out so another candidate will get the nod. The establishment DNC, Pelosi, Schumer, most in the MSM… don’t want Bernie to be the candidate so they stifle Reade and continue to back Joe. Joe becomes the nominee.
Now Reade is in a tough spot. She was abused by Biden and treated unfairly when she brought her complaint to her superiors in her job. Her life was turned upside down and Joe’s star continued to rise (hell hath no fury, etc.). AOC and others like her are in a tough spot. AOC’s candidate was shiv’ved just like in ’16 and her star will fade without Bernie (hell hath no fury, etc.). And there are non-Bernie supporters in the DNC who see Biden’s star fading due to adult on-set dementia.
Suddenly some folks in the DNC who were not interested in Reade’s story six months ago see it as a chance to stop the impending train wreck of a Biden run (and possibly revive Bernie’s campaign). It’s not ideal, but it can work and, barring Joe stepping aside on his own, it’s the best option they have.
Really now, did any sentient carbon based life form actually expect that Biden’s accuser would be given the same treatment as that given Kavanaugh ?
Biden could have viciously raped Reade in front of 20 witnesses and the demokrats and media would ignore all of that , Hillary would still support him, and far worse, half of the voters in the USA would vote for Biden.
It is this latter point that is really frightening.
Tara needs to realized that she is expected to sacrifice herself (her body, her dignity) for the sake of the PARTY. Very similar to what the Communist party expects. The INDIVIDUAL is not important.
She still says she will vote for Democrats so she obviously does not understand.
“The rest is just posing, for ‘the masses’ whom they profess to love but for whom they actually have contempt. They believe the public is just that gullible, just that lacking in long-term memory, and just that stupid.”
Very true, but I’m becoming more and more convinced that the public IS just that gullible. See how difficult it is to turn people away from mainstream news sources, even when they blatantly insult their audience’s intelligence every day. See how easy it is to get people to jump on a bandwagon and refusing to use their own faculties of reason.
The Biden campaign has issued talking points, claiming that the New York Times did a “thorough investigation” of this matter and “it didn’t happen.” Democrats are now repeating this. (1) The NYT did NOT do an investigation, merely a vague pro-Biden puff piece, before corroborating witnesses surfaced; and (2) half the country no longer believes the NYT.
I’m also VERY interested in just why Reade was fired by the Senator? Any records?
If Joe becomes the nominee, I’m sure Trump will be using the treatment of Reade by the media as a way of showing how the Dems don’t care about women as individuals, as real people – they only care about their own idea of “Woman”. That’s why so many creeps and creepy men are Dems — their willingness to support abortion means they get laid more easily and expect women to let their fingers do the roamin’.
I agree with your entire analysis, Neo. I would just add: Democrats not only lost nothing by throwing Franken under the bus, they gained a bit of moral high ground (however undeserved) in their crusade against Roy Moore.
Reade’s allegations will only gain traction if Democrats decide Biden’s gaffes and bizarre behavior (likely early stage dementia) is too much of risk and swap him out for Cuomo. If so, this story will be the perfect excuse to dump him. It will suddenly get a endless press coverage for about a week, with a formal Biden denial, followed by a few days of hemming and hawing until Biden withdraws, is replaced by Cuomo, who is nominated by acclamation. Then it will be long forgotten
Rufus, your speculation may or may not be correct but it is certainly plausible!
Aesop, Rufus already responded well, but I can’t stop myself from summing up 🙂
Tara’s motive may be that she’s a Bernie fan and wants revenge on Joe. The timing on this could be chosen to boost Bernie before the nom is settled.
Dems won’t be hurt if this takes down Joe, anymore than the Dems were hurt by the takedown of Franken. MSM will cover for them
Dems don’t NEED this issue if Joe is willing to step down for health, on demand
But IF Joe won’t step down this is the hammer. It will be a quick and painless end
As pointed out above, Biden’s records as a Senator are locked up, but Ms Reade has asked them to be unsealed. That’s an interesting fact and a potentially useful talking point.
I don’t know that this is related to the Reade allegations, but there is a major power struggle for control of the DNC. The “squad” and some others are not cut from the same cloth as Dems like Pelosi, Schumer and Biden. The latter three expect everyone to get in line when the party issues an edict, but the former group wants control of the party and they want it NOW!
And it is obvious the members of the Squad and some others have backing from wealthy, clever, determined and organized puppeteers behind the scenes.
Let’s not forget how Obama’s first election donation fund was rigged to allow untraceable donations from overseas actors, and there was evidence that big money flowed into his campaign from outside the U.S. We know Soros has spent a lot of money getting local District Attorneys elected. There is some organized, anti-U.S. skullduggery going on for sure. I don’t think Biden, Hillary, Pelosi and Schumer are controlling as much as they believe they do.
I find it amusing that Reade was expecting support from the Democrats. Remember that when Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment the National Organization of Women, all big lefties, was demonstrating in the streets for months against Thomas. But when Bill Clinton was having his Monica Lewinski problem, the president of NOW volunteered to take Monica’s place as Clintons chief of staff.
Now the NYT says its reporting reached no conclusion on whether the Reade allegation is true. If even the Times is back pedaling, Biden might be in trouble.
Ray,
Monica Lewinsky was never Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff.
Never underestimate the depravity of the deep state/deep DNC and the methods they will use to get their way ( see Trump ). Some of them realize that Biden is actually loosing his faculties and is destined to lose and has to be replaced in a manner that allows someone to save the day. But not Bernie.
And they can’t admit that Biden is actually thus flawed.
Biden will never willing step aside. He wants it too bad as Neo has described his life long ambition has been to become president.
Tara Reid becomes their weapon to accomplish this feat. Biden can now be cast aside for the sake of “me too” (brownie points) and a politically correct replacement installed. My best guess is that person will be Hillary. Again.
GeoffreyB: “Monica Lewinsky was never Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff.”
Correct. It was a long time ago but perhaps the NOW leader was offering to take Ms Lewinsky’s place on the Presidential Kneepads in front of Bill Clinton’s “staff”.
That offer may have come from a New York Times reporter though … passage of time … fading memories … and all that.
“My best guess is that person will be Hillary.“
If there was even any thought of pushing Biden out, he wouldn’t have just gotten public endorsements from Hillary and Pelosi. It’s not like those two couldn’t have waited another week or a month.
No, it is pretty clear the plan is just to push on through with a probably senile, possible rapist, never-all-that-popular white guy as the Democratic nominee. There is no secret scheme otherwise.
The old “there are two kinds of people in the world” cliche has never been more appropriate. There are people who think everything was fine before a Trump and if we just get rid of Trump, everything will be fine again. Then there are the rest of us. Biden is the candidate of the former.
Mike
GeoffreyB, JimNC — “Chief of Staff!” Get it?
So — if the ouster of Biden via the Reade allegations is the DNC playbook, then the voters have to learn something about the controversy so they can be suitably relieved when Mystery Candidate X swoops in to save the day.
Looks like the Democrat rank-in-file (that’s a pun too) did not get the memo, because they want to disappear a news anchor for running the play.
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/495448-firechrishayes-trends-after-msnbc-host-covers-biden-sexual-assault-allegations
MBunge may have stated the actual operative plan, in which case Chris Hayes, and the NY Mag writer, are the ones who didn’t get the memo.
What a mess.
Everyone in favor of a Constitutional amendment adding a maximum age for presidential candidates to the current minimum, raise your hand.
(If you are thinking “but we would have lost The Donald to an age limit,” maybe he just would have run sooner.)
I also think there ought to be a statute of limitations going forward on these incessant late-breaking #MeToo allegations — file a police report if you are assaulted. Period.