Biden said what?
He is being accused of sexual assault, but he comes out strongly in favor of believing the woman and limiting the ability of the fellow to know and counter her claims.
It seems too crazy to be believed, but there is an explanation.
MeToo is on the ropes. Biden is throwing them a lifeline. They are throwing him one right back.
Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced changes in Federal guidelines on Title IX, as regards accusations of sexual misconduct in college settings. The new rules give the accused (usually male) the ability to know the accusations being made, call witnesses and question the accuser, and generally be accorded due process. They allow the accuser to withdraw the accusation. The rules say the accusations must be "clear and convincing." DeVos said, "This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process."
Joe Biden responded, "It is wrong. And it will be put to a quick end in January 2021 because as president, I'll be right where I always have been throughout my career--on the side of survivors, who deserve to have their voices heard, their claims taken seriously and investigated, and their rights upheld."
This scrambles everything. The major political players have either reversed course or are apparently arguing against their own interests.
Joe Biden says to believe the woman accuser, and in cases of this kind he must not disrespect the woman by being skeptical of her--even as he is getting accused by Tara Reade.
The Wall Street Journal, no friend to Biden, editorializes that Biden should be grateful to the new Trump rule, because it that rule gives students the opportunity that Biden is himself taking now in denying Reade's accusations. "The new rule says college tribunals must give the accuser and accused the chance to present and challenge evidence and to cross-examine witnesses. Both will receive the same written notice about allegations, and both will enjoy the same right to appeal. Such basic fairness has been missing on campus for years."
Fox News, which denounced as non-credible Blasey-Ford's accusations of Brett Kavanaugh and complained of his lack of due process, has been doing repeated stories about the now-believable Reade accusations against Biden, now assuredly a rapist. But now, the Trump-is-right lodestar says that men should have due process after all, and this announcement requires yet another 180 degree turn.
The Trump campaign itself is at cross purposes. Their message trolling to the Sanders-oriented Facebook groups was Biden-the-rapist, believe the woman, but now the Trump administration itself is saying men can defend themselves. A campaign spokesperson wrote: "Before Tara Reade's assault accusations, Biden was unwavering in a presumption of guilt for the accused including Brett Kavanaugh. That presumption of guilt included the disastrous Title IX regulators under the Obama-Biden administration, making it more difficult on college campuses for the accused to receive a fair hearing and their due process rights. Does Joe still stand by his presumption of guilt for the accused. . . ?"
Democratic women who believed Blasey Ford now say they believe Biden, yet they generally also support the existing accuser-friendly Title IX regulations.
What's going on?
Biden is doubling down. He is proving his bonafides to women. Indeed, he is even choosing them to the disadvantage of men generally and black men in particular, the group historically most disadvantaged by questionable accusations, and most in need of due process. Within the tribalism in the Democratic coalition the interests of women clash with the interests of the more amorphous value of "civil liberties" and abstract rights of the accused. The tribe wins over ideology.
Biden is also signaling. He is on the side of woman, and therefore believe-the-woman, even when it is obviously and directly against his interest. It is a kind of bluff or display. He is baring his throat to women, showing that he fully accepts their power and hopes that they will believe him, even though--especially though--he accepts the notion that women are to be believed. Presumably only a man utterly confident of his own innocence would do this.
Or someone utterly convinced that he needs their undivided support and is willing to do anything to maintain it.
The accusations of Tara Reade endangered the MeToo movement. The reluctance of Democrats simply to abandon Biden revealed the hypocrisy, of both parties, that underlies use of delayed accusations against political opponents. Democrats believed Blasey Ford; Republicans believed Tara Reade. It was a litmus test of partisanship, not sexual assault and credibility, and that undermined its legitimacy as a moral force. The MeToo standards are an affront to a bipartisan American notion of justice and due process. Both sides know this but attempt to close their eyes to the affront when it is in their partisan interest.
Biden is throwing MeToo a lifeline and they are throwing one back. Biden is asserting that the MeToo basic premise is correct even when accused.
In return, women stick with Biden.
Or someone utterly convinced that he needs their undivided support and is willing to do anything to maintain it.
In return, women stick with Biden.
4 comments:
The new MeToo hashtag will be #BelieveAllDemocrats.
LIke most charges of sexual assault against women, Tara Reade's complaint against Joe Biden is all but impossible to verify. For centuries, men have been in full power and have disbelieved every and all such charges, no matter who or what the circumstances. Women simply were the "weaker" sex, and obliged to stay in the kitchen and not complain about mistreatment. At this juncture of time, however, any accusation, no matter against who, is given a tremendous amount of credibility. However, the context of its appearance gives rise to a great deal of speculation. In the White House we have an acknowleged "womanizer" and perhaps the greatests misogynist of all time. He trades in his wives when they begin to accrue some mileage (just like an automobile) and publicly humiliates them by consorting with porno stars whose silence he buys, and then he has the temerity to boast about his "exploits". Suddenly, from the far past emerges an unproveable incident, conveniently brought forth to besmirch the reputation of a man who possessed an unsullied reputation through several decades in the public spotlight. Convenient? Coincidence? In a trice, Trump's numerous sexual antics are somehow negagated because his opponent is also a sexual pervert? Is the presidency to be decided on the basis of which of these men is the most egregious pervert?
As I stated previously, Tara Reade's claims, like so many, are unproveable.
That is exactly why such charges, in today's climate of believeability can be so damaging. Perhaps Tara Reade didn't believe her alleged escapade was important enough to shame a man who served as our vice-president for eight years but only important enough to smear him if he ran for president.
Where were you during those 8 years, Tara?
Bob Warren
This could have been an excellent piece, Peter. But once again your partisan framing gets in the way of objectivity. Along with the fact that you do not respond to critics, nor publish honest criticism of your work, I can only assume you are paying good money to advertise your blog and generate pro-Democrat propaganda for Southern Oregonians. Too bad. You could be helpful in bridging our partisan divide.
Cheers.
Too bad whoever "Save America" is posted anonymously. I often publish comments that are critical of Democrats and write them myself. If I failed to publish some of your comments perhaps it was because they included profanity, or were written in the writing style of Curt Ankerberg, or included gratuitous insults against commenters on this blog.
Write comprehensive arguments, avoid profanity, and avoid sounding like Curt Ankerberg and you can probably have your comments published. It helps if you use a real name, or to be more exact, your own real name.
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