Democrats: the female accuser is always right.
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| Stormy Daniels tells her story. No matter. |
This is just beginning for Biden. It won't end.
Trump has teflon on issues of women because Trump has his story down pat, and the story fits the Republican brand. It is the opposite for Biden
Trump denies every accusation, indignantly, and insults the woman while doing it. There are literally dozens of accusers. It doesn't hurt him. His team knows that he is their man. Male voters reward him. Married white women do as well, identifying with their husbands' interest in protection from accusation. People can consider that a woman in a position to complain must have been in some way asking for trouble, sending off flirty signals, or being where she shouldn't have been. Republicans believed Kavanaugh.
The Access Hollywood--grab them by the pussy--tape was shocking in its vulgarity but it, didn't finish off Trump. It, too, fit a traditional notion of men as natural sexual adventurers, on the prowl. It was the nature of men--of males--to be constantly sniffing the air for signals of sexual opportunity. That is the nature of the sexes and biology. Guy want sex; good girls said "no" and were clear about their virtue.
Democrats have a constituency of people who reject that notion of blame and compromise. Biden hammers this point in his town halls: respect women, never pressure women, men must behave, no means no. It is Democratic orthodoxy. A corollary of that orthodoxy is that when a woman complains the man must, by definition, have misbehaved, because offense is defined by the woman's sense of boundaries, not the man's. "What happened," is not defined by some objective reality. "What happened" is what the woman perceives. A corollary of that is that any man who objects to the accusation is dishonestly attacking a truth-telling woman, victimizing her once again, disrespecting her sense of boundaries, asserting male privilege.
We see how this works. As Elizabeth Warren asked of Bernie Sanders, "Did you call me a liar on national television?" No win.
We see how this works. As Elizabeth Warren asked of Bernie Sanders, "Did you call me a liar on national television?" No win.
Here it comes:
Below is the Fox News introduction page this morning. Eight of the nine stories are about Tara Reade's accusation.
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| 8 of 9 |
The Trump-GOP-Fox line of attack is visible here:
****Prod Sanders' supporters to shun Biden.
****Fan the flames of feminist suspicions.
****Criticize the media for coddling Biden.
****Criticize Democratic hypocrisy.
Any Democrat would get some version of this. Trump's 2016 election was carried on the back of the demonization of Crooked Hillary. Donald Trump does not want this election to be a referendum on him. It must be a a choice.
Democrats should count on this, incorporate it into their thinking, and plan their campaigns accordingly. By election day Trump and his media allies will have shown Biden to be a dangerous, corrupt, morally compromised person, one who is worse--far, far worse--than Trump on any measure of fitness.
4 comments:
The self-delusion and motivated reasoning of Democrats with regard to Tara Reide is striking. They were totally on board with Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations against Brett Kavanaugh. They called on everyone to #BelieveAllWomen.
But this time it’s different. They twist and turn and bend logic into amazingly complex shapes to avoid holding Joe Biden to the same standard.
Michelle Goldberg, NY Times
Ruth Marcus, Washington Post
I have read all I could find on the allegation. Some of what I've found makes me suspicious.
I have an opinion, but it's beside the point. What does seem evident is that the story of the incident, if one assumes, without any real evidence, "something" happened, has been embellished over time. Regardless, people will come to their own conclusions, and it will now be a part of the discussion going forward.
What we should believe in this case that a person's behavior 27 years ago, whatever motivated it and what the circumstances were are determinate in whether one should support and vote for him now. There is no way to know for certain exactly what happened. They were alone. Whether you "believe the victim" and champion #metoo or demand a fair-minded assessment of the credibility of those who make accusations this is an undisputed fact.
Facts matter. For all intents this is something that is an unknown unless the VP confesses or some other fact evidence emerges. So everyone is making their decision based on speculation of an unknowable. something rational people shouldn't do.
In other words, I have no basis in fact to believe either party, so I'm discarding it as irrelevant and would encourage others to do the same.
Here's my opinion, and that's all it is. Even if this allegation is true, and for the sake of discussion I will assume it is, I would still prefer the VP over Trump because I am taking into consideration all I know about each of them.
One thing I'd dispute is Trump's support from women: "...according to the Fox poll, Trump – who took 41% of the women's vote to Clinton's 54% in 2016 – would lose female voters by bigger margins to Biden who would get 51% of female voters, to Trump's 36%.", though I'd agree he does have strong support from misogynists and male chauvinists.
Rick,
My main point was the double standard.
For generations the protestations of women in respect to sexual harrassment were dismissed by the powers that be, any and all allegations in respect to improper sexual conduct were routinely dismissed and suppressed. The few women bold enough to complain were more often than not subject to unpleasant retribution. There is no question that this double standard, that of a male oriented nation, existed from the time of our nation's inception until the total inanity of male superiority was exposed. When the day of reckoning finally (and inevitably) arrives, the backlash to any injustice is usually
in proportion to the length of time the outrageous behavior has been tolereated. When Tsarist Russia was finally free of the despots that ruled for too many centuries, it resulted in the grisly murders of the Tsar and the formation of a government run by fanatics who, once in power, reacted in many instances in the same manner as their predecessors. Today,now that women freely speak out against male aggression, they are automatically assumed to be telling the truth. A very simple, economical way to blunt the real sexist pig in the room, our thrice married president, Donald Trump, who has publicly consorted with porn stars and publicly humiliated his wife and family, as well as the nation. No one will ever know exactly what occured between Joe Biden and his accuser but the nature and timing of the accusation reek to high heaven. In contrast to Donald Trump's checkered career (I consider his many bankruptcies, where his partners were often left holding the bag as an unethical method of doing business) Joe Biden has served his country well as a longtime member of Congress during which there have never been whispers of any sexual scandals whatsoever. Nor any payoffs to women urging them to "just take the money, go away and keep your mouth shut" deals a la Donald Trump.
Bob Warren
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