Written By:
Bill - Date published:
11:23 am, May 9th, 2020 - 50 comments
Categories: crime, International, Joe Biden, journalism, Media, politicans, us politics -
Tags: #MeToo, Biden, nomination, sexual assault, tara reade
I guess Joe Biden will try to hang in there. But with Megyn Kelly’s interview of Tara Reade about to hit the airwaves, and a court document from the 90s surfacing in which her then husband explicitly references Tara’s experience of sexual harassment within Joe Biden’s office in their divorce documents…
Those documents are on screen at the 5 min mark in the following video link.
Joe Biden is only the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. He can be replaced. Shouldn’t credible charges of sexual assault serve as automatic disqualification when running for public office?
And what of the #metoo movement? It seems, at least by those in Washington who have previously underwritten and boosted the #metoo movement, that erring on the side of women coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment or assault has only to happen within acceptable political contexts.
Tara Reade has far more corroborating evidence than some previous women the #metoo movement has championed, and yet for some reason (hint – political expediency) the #metoo movement has thrown Tara Reade under the proverbial bus – predictable and sickening.
Anyway, hopefully by November, US voters won’t be presented with the awful choice of having one of two alleged rapists/harassment junkies for President.
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Just go, Joe.
But don't forget, it's Tara Reade who isn't credible. đ
And what of the #metoo movement? It seems, at least by those in Washington who have previously underwritten and boosted the #metoo movement, that erring on the side of women coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment or assault has only to happen within acceptable political contexts.
They were partisan and disingenuous almost from the beginning.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/05/psycho-milt-reckons-its-quite-okay-for.html
They were partisan and disingenuous almost from the beginning
Yes, arguably that’s the case. Though I'm sure you could have given the example of Ahed Tamimi without linking to an interminably long internet exchange between yourself and others, aye?
No doubt the divas would have delivered a weepy eulogy in support of THIS woman….
https://www.reddit.com/r/Palestine/comments/7o3xkc/what_happened_when_a_jewish_settler_slapped_an/?ref=share&ref_source=embed&utm_content=title&utm_medium=post_embed&utm_name=55252e0d962c45f4befea1754824f6a7&utm_source=embedly&utm_term=7o3xkc
If he did do it, he wouldn't remember doing it anyway, given his memory lapses that are verging on dementia.
"Joe Biden is only the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. He can be replaced. Shouldn’t credible charges of sexual assault serve as automatic disqualification when running for public office "
I remember the firestorm with Bill Clinton's bid in 1992 but he went on too accept the nomination.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/clinton.htm
Bill these days it is now seen as no surprise if a nominee has had a jaded past when it come too infidelities , in fact after Clinton i always thought it was a prerequisite for the job.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43536745
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations
Infidelities, between consenting adults, are the private business of the people involved.
Assault and harassment, however.
Indeed.
Following the threads that run off or to this story is a bit disquieting.
When the NYT eventually reported on it, they allowed the Biden team to edit their piece and remove reference to all of Joe Biden's inappropriate touching and what not. And did they inform their readership that the story had been edited after being published? No.
Put in the context of networks burying stories like the Epstein allegations, I guess the 40+ day time lag between Tara Reade giving interviews to Katie Halper and The Hill among others, and networks suddenly scrambling to get an interview, shouldn't come as any surprise.
And those women within the Democratic caucus who have used the #metoo movement to go after Kavanaugh and Trump, now at best falling silent, and in some cases explicitly backing Joe Biden over Tara Reade in spite of Joe Biden's 'checkered' past…ugh.
For all the hullabaloo of recent years, is Tara Reade being treated at all better than Anita Hill, IMF head Strauss-Kahn's victim, Bill Clinton's accusers….?
It seems to me, that 'do not question authority' or any figure who's "part of the club" was and remains a basic foundation for far too many.
Yep deep pockets often help with those " infidelities " but as we all know justice is so frequently purchased by those in high positions.
Mat. Sexually assaulting or sexually harassing someone isn't on the same planet let alone in the same ball park as being unfaithful.
Totally agree Bill.
Any type of assault is totally unacceptable.
You can expect this kind of dirty politics from the right wing, but it's self sabotage of the stupidest order, fuelled by hypocrisy and sour grapes from left partisans when their heroes Tulsi or Bernie didn't get nominated.
This is the same playbook used against Assange.
Do the many crimes by Trump mean nothing? Is 80,000 dead Americans from Covid19 not enough? Do his endless sexual assaults and bribes and corruptions not count? Does his latest excuse of blaming China for an "act of war" not ring any alarm bells?
Any condemnation of Biden from the media rings very hollow and makes me sick while the orange menace is still threatening the world.
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/5/8/1943639/-Biden-Might-Just-Be-the-Best-Candidate-We-Could-Have-Chosen
You appear to be confused.
I mean, you can't be seriously suggesting that there be a free for all or a free pass given just because "guy with orange hair"…can you?!
Not sure what the charge of hypocrisy is based on. A sexual predator seeking high office is a sexual predator seeking high office regardless of their hair colour, no? Surely the hypocrisy sits with those who, when presented with credible allegations, would pick and choose between worthy sexual predators and unworthy sexual predators?
I view these "credible" allegations with a large dose of cynicism, noting the circumstances and timing of their publication, and wondering why now, after all these years? And how convenient that it torpedoes the Democrat campaign.
A balanced piece in the New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/a-fair-examination-of-tara-reades-allegation-can-strengthen-the-metoo-movement
Her claims have been backed up by 2 members of her family, and an old neighbour I think. They even found a 25 year old phone call from her mother that backs her story up.
The corroboration is pretty strong.
On the flipside the evidence that she is infact a Russian troll is about… nil.
If the best we can do is trial by media, then the only result will be a quagmire of hearsay with no legal force.
mmm…2 members of her family…no bias there then. Can we hear the phone call please?
There's the call her mother made to the Larry King show in the 90s. (It's available for you to listen to).There's the court papers of her ex husband from the 90s. (Linked in the post) There are the people (friends and neighbours) who remember her telling them in the 90s. (Interviews available)
I find it interesting that one of those neighbours backs Tara's story and says she'll vote for Biden if he's the nominee…
Here's the phone call from her mother made to Larry King Live just after the alleged assault happened.
https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1253808940573429761
Her story was corroborated by her brother, and two friends when the story came out. Her mother has died and so can't corroborate the story, but the recording of the call her mother made on Larry King Live was found. After her story came out, her neighbour at the time and a staffer from the job she got after being fired from Joe Biden's office independently came forward to corroborate her story, and just recently court documents from that time have been found where her ex-husband talked about the incident in court.
She also says she filed a complaint with a congressional personnel office at the time, but those files are sealed until Joe Biden retires and his office has refused to request that they be released.
His office say this is all completely untrue and that Joe Biden has never behaved improperly with any woman.
Tara Reade was one of eight women who came forward last year to accuse Joe Biden of inappropriate conduct with women.
Tara Reade also came forward earlier when the #MeToo movement was at it’s height. She went to the Time’s Up legal defense fund who told her that they couldn’t help because Joe Biden was a candidate for federal office and being involved with actions against him would threaten their their status as a non-profit. The lead partner of the law firm that worked with Time’s Up is also Joe Biden’s legal counsel.
I see this morning that the idea coming from the "blue check" brigade on twitter is to cast aspersions on her choice of lawyer – choice of interviewer (Kelly) and on (some of) the journalists who have reported her story.
Apparently everyone's a Trump stooge đ
They've eased back recently on their crazed allegations that everything is controlled by Russia. Now it's the masterminds (?) of the Trump "organization" (if such a shitshow can be so termed).
Well of course Tara Reade should have consulted you as to the 'circumstances and timing of their publication' such that you would be satisfied that … well what ever that is.
I'm inclined to assume you're blaming the victim.
doubting someone's story isn't victim blaming.
A balanced piece in the New Yorker.
??????!!!???
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7G6ciJUMuAk/SoD9uG78PTI/AAAAAAAAANI/6BtwSHhMZoY/s1600-h/not+sure+if+serious.jpg
And so it continues …
You forgot a dated link to your own blog spot this time /sarc
Am I not allowed to express skepticism about one of the most partisan and untrustworthy faux-liberal sites in the U.S.?
I think anyone with an I.Q. above room temperature could work out your intent, so no need for the /sarc tag.
"He can be replaced"
It would take Obama's intervention again. Probably a quiet word to Joe over the phone. Biden then cites 'health reasons', pledges his delegates to one of the other primary contenders (not Sanders obviously) and it gets done and dusted at the convention. The calculation would have to be that this is less damaging than letting Biden continue. It seems more likely that they'll keep Biden and just hope that the COVID-19 fiasco gets so bad that voters will overlook virtually anything to get rid of Trump. In this they may be right – though the morality of effectively hoping for lots of people to die has to questionable.
Quite possibly. One area Joe would excel relative to other candidates is in repairing the civil service and presidency since he has the VP experience. Obviously Obama could give advice on that, but it's going to be a difficult 4 years..
I think this will have zero effect on Joe Biden's campaign.
And I think he will win the election.
Joe Biden hosted a virtual campaign rally in Tampa. It didn’t go great.
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/05/07/joe-biden-hosted-a-virtual-campaign-rally-in-tampa-it-didnt-go-great/
So just how would he be replaced, and by whom?
Certainly not by the numero uno Russiagate fantasist ….
Unhelpful as always, moz.
The way I see it, it can go one of two ways:
Biden quits for some reason, and there's a contested convention (even if a virtual convention) between half a dozen hopefuls who reactivate their campaigns. The party warfare continues until december, like last time.
or
Biden remains, but someone reactivates their campaign and gets pummelled at the convention. Shenanigans are called, maybe party warfare begins.
I don't see a clear way of removing Biden, and there's no obvious replacement who could match his support at the convention.
He must be so disappointed he can't kiss babies during the campaign, to get that old "Oh look, he's a real politician!" reaction.
Incredibly, he may win by default. In this scenario, Trump gets defeated by covid-19 combined with polarisation. Focus on the latter effect:
"Right now, most voters feel very strongly about Trump. We can see this in polls which ask voters whether they have a strongly favorable, somewhat favorable, somewhat unfavorable or strongly unfavorable view of him. If you average polls from late March onward from Grinnell College/Selzer and Company, Fox News and Monmouth University, 27% of voters have a very favorable view of Trump and 42% have a very unfavorable view of him."
"All told, 69% of voters have either a strongly favorable or unfavorable view of the President. That 69% is the largest at this point in an election cycle since pollsters started asking this type of question in 1980." https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/09/politics/trump-favorable-vs-unfavorable-opinion/index.html
"Now, compare Trump's numbers to Biden's this year in the same polls. A relatively low (compared to Trump) 46% say they have a strongly favorable or unfavorable opinion of Biden. Broken down, that includes 18% very favorable and 28% very unfavorable. In other words, voters are 23 points less likely to have a more strongly held position of Biden than they are of Trump."
Bland is good. Democrats know that. But the non-aligned third of the electorate are more likely to go with Biden's blandness than Trump's polarising – especially factoring in how his fumbling on covid-19 has alienated many. So Biden is looking more likely to win as the lesser of two evils. Thus the emerging death-star strike… https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/07/trump-campaign-manager-brad-parscale-death-star
Aside from the possible scenario pointed to by AB, the convention chooses the nominee. The vote from the primary (according to some Democratic folks) is "taken on advisement". And Biden is not currently the nominee.
I believe there were contingency plans in a previous primary season to parachute Cuomo in at the Convention and have him be the nominee. (You'd have to look up the details).
For what it's worth, his name has been popping up again.
No allegation of sexual assualt made to police – ever.
No allegaton of sexual assault on her as an employee made either – not even of harrassment.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/02/tara-reade-joe-biden-accusation-sexual-assault-report
Apparently she filed a police complaint earlier this year:
Make what you will of her not naming Biden as her attacker.
editing timed out …
Nothing when Clinton was under impeachment over relations with an employee/intern) and Biden voted on the matter in the Senate.
Nothing when Biden ran with Obama in 2008 and again 2012.
Nothing until 2019 – interview with AP, not published because they could not verify., made in the era of Me Too.
There is the knowledge of family, friendS and husband the Larry King phone-in to substantiate her claims at the time.
The issue is brand. The GOP family values man and support from conservative voters. The Democrat and the well-being of workers and support for womens rights.
In an era where the GOP have Trump as a candidate (and the conservative voters support him because he picks pro life Catholics to the Supreme Court, appeals to their white race nation supremacism, and their end-time Advent of God delusion by supporting Zionism), why not run a person who has betrayed the trust of workers and women in his personal life, but who will serve their cause as POTUS?
Unless there are others coming forward …
Yeah joe is appropriate with his behaviour 100%
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/joe-biden-allegations-women-2020-campaign-2019-6?r=US&IR=T
p.s. this is from 2019 by the way.
From 2019 …
Funny you have attacked joe from the left Bill, and some on the left deem that as not appropriate. How odd, mind you those same people have a tendency to attack trump from the right, so what the hell is going on?
It has also been very sad to watch the conspiracy theory nuts go to town on this.
Sad, and a little frightening for the future.
Bill don't you see Biden is the perfect nominee for the Est Dems and their liberal media propaganda arm…ie; he is a whore of a politician who is more than happy to sell himself to the highest bidder, treats woman like objects so holds up a long tradition in Democratic leaders, is a aggressive American exceptionalist…+ more…so they are getting what they wanted and strangely at the same from our view what they deserve.
But then again Cuomo would fill those shoes quite nicely as well I am sure…
Or that popular Gavin Newsom. I think Cuomo has been positioned for it though
He was never the real candidate and was always going to resign just before the convention, now delayed until August 8th (US time).
When he steps down there is a very good chance that nobody wants to run to be front and center of this freak show…or we could see the fracturing of the democratic party, or an election where the result is similar to Bush/Gore and not known for some time. .
Tick, tick, tick..
The case against Biden was made back in 2019
Beto O'Rourke
Pete Buttigieg
Sen. Bernie Sanders
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/beto-orourke-us-can-do-far-better-joe-biden-2019-6
Yet in the race Bidenâs promises to bring compromise and civility back to Washington and his vague or more conservative stances on key policy issues led to the “Beltway” insiders easy victory.
The revealed preference of rank 'n' file Democrats is that they don't find the case *against* Biden's style of moderation to be compelling.
For what it's worth, I tend toward the view that the hyper-partisan environment which exists in the US today means that the it doesn't really matter that much who the candidate is at the top of the ticket, whether they be moderate or extreme within their own party.
One has to wonder why "Sleepy Joe" aged 77 is the presumptive candidate for the Democrat party. I recall reading that one of his major claims to fame is shilling for the credit card companies.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/11/biden-bankruptcy-president/
But aside from that, the complainant about Joe's alleged sexual impropriety is the author of the following praise for Mr Putin. Perhaps someone should check what colour the sky is on her planet?
"President Putin’s genius is his judo ability to conserve his own energy and let the opponents flail, using up their energy, while he gains position. Currently, President Putin has a higher approval rating in America then the American President, particularly with women. President Putin has an alluring combination of strength with gentleness. His sensuous image projects his love for life, the embodiment of grace while facing adversity. It is evident that he loves his country, his people and his job. Although his job may seem like in the words of writer, Elizabeth Gilbert on genius, “ trying to swallow the sun.” This is a whole lot to deal with for one mere mortal… President Putin’s obvious reverence for women, children and animals, and his ability with sports is intoxicating to American women. Especially since the bloated, American President is so negative, denigrating and dismissive of anyone but himself as he stumbles even playing golf (which is not a real sport anyway but a past time, sorry golfers)."
https://medium.com/@shewrites94/why-a-liberal-democrat-supports-vladimir-putin-f54ca2a3a405
The sky could be green on "her planet", and she could have a sexual fetish for chandeliers and a laundry list of stuff stuck to her that you, gnomic, would consider ridiculous, repulsive or even mad.
But casting aspersions on her lifestyle or character or whatever else is superfluous to the one question being tabled – Did Joe Biden sexually assault her by way of digital penetration?
Everything else is smash.
Biden was caught plagiarising Neil Kinnoch's speeches when he ran for US president in 1988.