"I'm saying unequivocally it never, never happened. And it didn't. It never happened."
Joe Biden, regarding the allegations of Tara Reade
With that, Joe Biden gave Democrats what they needed.
What is happening with Democrats is no more complicated than the song made famous by Tammy Wynette:
Stand by your man
Give him two arms to cling to
And something warm to come to
When nights are cold and lonely
Stand by your man,
And show the world you love him
Keep giving all the love you can
Stand by your man
Donald Trump and Joe Biden have different brands but the coalitions they lead have similar needs, the success of their candidate.
Trump's brand is not damaged by allegations of sexual misbehavior. He has a Hugh Hefner Playboy Magazine tabloid image, the lifelong sexual swashbuckler who hooked up with models and beauty pageant contestants. Democrats tried to shame him. The lout! It didn't matter, because it didn't change his brand, and his team just does not care. Trump gives his evangelical supporters anti-abortion judges, and they aren't going to kill that golden goose.
Biden's brand is the near opposite. Biden is, by comparison, the good-guy. He returns us to normality. He is supposedly the electable one. Biden became eligible for the nomination by fully embracing the "respect women" story and by having authored the Violence Against Women Act. Democrats are the party of women and MeToo has become its voice. Believe the women, they say. Biden was on board. Women supported him.
Biden, like Kavanaugh, is being accused of sexual misbehavior from several decades prior by a now middle-age woman revealing something from long before, something which she mentioned privately and without details to one or two people, but which now she describes in detail. In both cases the accusations align with their current political orientation, Christine Blasey Ford being Democrat in opposition to Kavanaugh and Tara Reade now being a Bernie Sanders supporter.
 |
| That was then. This is now. |
One might imagine Democrats to be trapped by their history and fear of being called hypocritical. They had savaged Kavanaugh and leaped to believe Blasey Ford. Surely they have not choice but do believe Reade and attack Biden.
No.
The operating rule here is the same now for Democrats as it was for Republicans who backed Kavanaugh. Same, same, same. Democrats inclined to support Biden will support Biden. He is the quarterback for their team. They have a basis for believing Biden. He denies it. The charges are old, unprovable, denied by Biden's staff. Biden's surrogates--but not Biden himself--will question and undermine Reade's credibility and point out how her story has changed.
Meanwhile, Fox News will play the role formerly played by MSNBC, and treat the allegations as almost certainly credible, and will mention Tara Reade in nearly every reference to Biden. The sexual predator, Biden! The vulnerable victim, Tara Reade!
Won't Fox realize their own hypocrisy, running 180 degrees opposite their position on Kavanaugh? It won't be acknowledged. Their story will be Democratic hypocrisy.
Won't Fox realize their own hypocrisy, running 180 degrees opposite their position on Kavanaugh? It won't be acknowledged. Their story will be Democratic hypocrisy.
Tara Reade hurts Biden. It may force him to choose Gillibrand as his vice presidential running mate, since she is the female senator most associated with sudden-death for subjects of accusations. She would be his inoculation. Prior to Tara Reade he need not make special effort to shore up support of suburban women and instead could choose a VP with an eye to support among blacks or Midwestern swing states. Now he may need to backtrack.
Worse, it will give Bernie Sanders supporters another excuse for voting third party. Facebook groups oriented toward Sanders are awash with female writers calling Biden a rapist and liar. They did not need an excuse, but this is one to cite.
Biden's fate is playing out over the next few days. If prominent Democratic women back Biden publicly then he will move forward. Biden is exposed and vulnerable. If two or three female Democratic senators publicly call for him to withdraw, and say they believe Reade, it will start a bandwagon. I don't expect it. Biden got lucky. By announcing that he would pick a female VP running mate he gave good reason for prominent female senators to lie low. They might be the one he picks.
[Note to commenters: Substantial comments that are signed are more likely to be published than short, nasty anonymous ones.
Commenters are asked not to plagiarize articles from news sources and submit them as comments. I do not post them.
I have begun once again receiving comments signed by Curt Ankerberg, the perennial failed candidate. I delete some of them because I suspect they are spoofed but put up the ones I think likely to be genuine.]
[Note to commenters: Substantial comments that are signed are more likely to be published than short, nasty anonymous ones.
Commenters are asked not to plagiarize articles from news sources and submit them as comments. I do not post them.
I have begun once again receiving comments signed by Curt Ankerberg, the perennial failed candidate. I delete some of them because I suspect they are spoofed but put up the ones I think likely to be genuine.]
5 comments:
The VP is not being "what abouted" with respect to Trump, which would not be effective, but Kavanaugh. It's not the candidate himself that's being attacked, but his supporters. Biden's record is unblemished. Let's get one thing straight. Politicians touch. The pat on the arm, the sideways hug, etc. are how they establish the power dynamic and express empathetic bonding. It's not a basis for sexual harassment, unless there is clear intent, and in Biden's case it's a long stretch. If he's guilty of anything it's probably being too needy.
The cases are similar in many respects with one, to my thinking, major difference. There was a witness to the Kavenaugh allegation who declined all requests for his testimony. He even went so far as to hide out from the press. That is intriguing and tilts the speculation towards guilt.
Anyway, politically, I think this will backfire on the GOP operatives who are masterminding it. The accuser will at some point have to do a major interview to be credible. From what I've seen I would be surprised to see her to this...on Hannity?
The hypocritical accusatiion of sexual misconduct against Joe Biden simply illustrates that Republicans strategists do not want this election to be decided on the merits of job performance. There is no question whatsoever in respect Trump's checkered history with women so why not throw some mud against the wall and see if it sticks? I'll wager that Tara Reade stands to benefit from this tawdry business far less than the lengthy list of Trump bimbos who were paid by Trump's bagman, Michael Cohen, to remain silent. There are a multitude of issues upon which Joe Biden could be attacked but the Republicans seem to like being in the gutter with the lying, egomaniac whose overall ignorance is exposed everytime he opens his mouth. I suspect these antics will all backfire on the Republicans as the truth inevitably seeps through the lies. Just tell it like it is Joe, and you will be OK.
Bob Warren
I am a candidate for county commissioner in Jackson County, Oregon. I am a Republican reformer.
I am ANTI- Trump. Trump is a pervert and most Republicans will vote for a disgusting pervert like Trump, just because he has an R after his name. I won't.
I am opposed to the local media, all of whom are corrupt. Bill Meyer on KMED is a fat bozo. He discriminates against me, and his show is a total sellout to his advertisers. If you listen to that show you are both stupid and misinformed.
Same with the Mail Tribune.
I read this blog even though I sometimes disagree with it, especially when Sage talks about my tax problems. I had an excuse. I was ill.
One Curt Ankerberg for county commissioner.
Biden, on May 1 2020 denied that he ever sexually assaulted Reade. I tend to believe him. He was too affectionate at times, but has learned to back off of that behavior. This is the only accusation of any serious sexual touching. The rest of the women only mention overly affectionate touching of face or head area. The Washington Post says that this issue will not get resolved. I agree.
Trump came out today in actual defense of Biden. Said he should fight it. That is one reason why I think that this will pass over time. While we must always give a woman a complete and full hearing about her accusation, in this case so much is questionable that it is basically unbelievable.
People, especially men, know that they are a heartbeat away from such accusations by someone who is out to get them for some reason. There may be in fact a backlash of sympathy for Biden. The lesson of Al Franken must be remembered. He did things that I just expected men to do back in those days. All of the little things that look like making a pass. Times have changed, and many voters will recognize this.
And we so badly need him to win! Trump must go!
Reade's accusation is much more credible than Ford's against Kavanaugh was. The fact that Reade worked for him and her mother was on the Larry King show talking about it makes it much more solid. Both sides blame the other for hypocrisy, but try to see it from the middle. Kavanaugh was savaged, though there was never any evidence. Uncle Joe gets a free pass. What happened to #metoo? It would be better for the women of our country if we just had an objective standard for vetting accusations such as these and didn't play politics with this issue.
Post a Comment