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Democrats accused of double standard on Biden, Kavanaugh

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  texan1211  •  4 years ago  •  52 comments

By:   Jonathan Easley (MSN)

Democrats accused of double standard on Biden, Kavanaugh
Democrats and the news media are being accused of a double standard in how they've addressed allegations of sexual assault against Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



Trigger Warning: This article contains information and details about sexual assault and/or violence, which may be upsetting to survivors.

© The Hill Democrats accused of double standard on Biden, Kavanaugh

Resources to help survivors of sexual assault include the National Sex Assault Hotline (800-656-4673), and The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) online hotline.

Democrats and the news media are being accused of a double standard in how they've addressed allegations of sexual assault against former Vice President Joe Biden and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Both Biden and Kavanaugh have faced decades-old charges that first became public at critical junctures in their pursuit of high political office.

Top Democrats who were on the front lines demanding justice for Christine Blasey Ford during the Kavanaugh hearings have rushed to defend Biden, saying they do not believe the allegations made against him by Tara Reade.

And while the news media printed salacious new allegations against Kavanaugh before vetting the accusers or their claims, media outlets have approached Reade's allegations with extreme caution.

Critics in both parties say Democrats and the news media set the standard of "believing all women" during the Kavanaugh hearings but have not met that standard in dealing with Biden.

"There is a clear double standard between how the media and Democrats treated Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's allegations versus Tara Reade's allegations," said Mike Davis, who led the Senate effort to confirm Kavanaugh.

"It was stunning to see Democrats say they believed Joe Biden even before he'd spoken a word about this," he added. "And the media instantly and breathlessly reported on all of the allegations against Justice Kavanaugh, which resulted in three criminal referrals against accusers for conspiracy to lie to Congress."

In 2018, top Democrats reacted with fury at the allegations made by Blasey Ford, demanding Kavanaugh remove himself from consideration to the Supreme Court.

They walked with the protesters on Capitol Hill, fundraised off the hearings and used the issue to energize the liberal base ahead of the 2018 midterms, in which Democrats won back the House.

Privately, some Democrats are now lamenting the standard they set in 2018, saying it has backfired now that Biden has been accused.

"We set up a standard we can't live by. No one likes to discuss it but it's the reality," said one Democratic strategist who requested anonymity to talk candidly. "It looks terrible for him and for the party. You can't say you believe women and then take it all back because it doesn't apply to you."

Blasey Ford accused Kavanaugh of assaulting her in the early 1980s when they were both in high school. Reade accused Biden of assaulting her in the early 1990s when she worked in his Senate office.

Biden and Kavanaugh have both strenuously denied the allegations against them.

In her interview with Biden on MSNBC on Friday, Mika Brzezinski read Biden's words about Blasey Ford back to him.

In 2018, Biden said that if a woman comes forward "in the glaring lights of focus," you've got to "start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she is talking about is real."

Brzezinksi also singled out Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams as Democratic women who said Blasey Ford must be believed but are now defending Biden against Reade's allegations.

"Are women to be believed unless it pertains to you?" Brzezinksi asked Biden.

Biden responded that women should be "given the benefit of the doubt" and should "should start off with the presumption they're telling the truth."

"Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts," he said. "And the facts in this case do not exist. They never happened, and there's so many inconsistencies in what has been said in this case. So yes, look at the facts and I assure you it did not happen, period. Period."

Survivor advocates say Republicans are mischaracterizing the response to the Kavanaugh allegations, arguing that the effort was always to ensure that Blasey Ford's accusations were fully investigated by the FBI before his Senate confirmation vote.

"The idea that Democrats just reflexively believed Christine Blasey Ford is a completely revisionist version of events," said Robyn Swirling, founder of Works In Progress, which aims to reduce sexual violence in the workplace. "Democrats called for an FBI investigation, which was obstructed and never thoroughly conducted. All allegations — whether against a Democrat or a Republican — should be treated by Democrats and Republicans alike as equally serious matters. Survivors are not political pawns, and shouldn't be used as such to score political points or pursue electoral agendas."

The news media's coverage of Kavanaugh is getting new scrutiny amid the allegations against Biden.

The Kavanaugh hearing was the biggest political story of 2018, with media outlets scouring his yearbook, hounding former classmates and printing claims from women other than Blasey Ford in an effort to establish a pattern of misbehavior.

Several of the additional claims crumbled under scrutiny, including an allegation of gang rape made by Julie Swetnick, who was represented by Michael Avenatti. That allegation resulted in a criminal referral for conspiracy to lie to Congress.

By contrast, several major media outlets printed their first stories addressing the Reade allegations about three weeks after Reade first made the claims on March 25. All three stories dropped within a few hours of one another on Easter Sunday.

Biden conducted about two dozen interviews with media outlets between March 25 and April 30, including one with MSNBC's "Morning Joe," and he was not asked once about the allegations until the May 1 interview with Brzezinksi.

Until this week, Reade's allegations had mostly been pushed forward by partisan media on the left and right.

Reade will go on Fox News Sunday this weekend to address her claims. She told New York Times media critic Ben Smith that she wanted to avoid going on Fox News out of fear it would make her allegations appear political. But she said bookers from other cable and broadcast outlets are not calling her.

"Absolutely there's been a disparity in the way the media has approached these two cases," said Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor who specializes in political communications. "The burden of proof has not been the same. And granted, right now you have COVID-19 as the story that is always going to be the lead, but you'd think after that you'd see more about Reade's allegations. It just hasn't been a big story."

Trump and Republicans are furious, alleging hypocrisy on the part of Democrats and the media. Trump has himself been accused of assault or misconduct by 23 women, all of which he has denied.

"I look at the double standard," Trump said Friday. "You look at Biden and nobody even wants to bring up the subject."

MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace said it's a double standard for Republicans to try and create an "equal playing field" between Trump and Biden, when Trump has been accused by many more women.

"The right isn't running an intellectually honest operation to get to the bottom of whether Tara Reade was victimized," Wallace said. "The right is running a smear campaign against Joe Biden."

The Trump campaign released a new digital ad accusing Democrats of hypocrisy on the issue. The National Republican Congressional Committee released scores of press releases on Friday highlighting remarks from vulnerable Democrats who demanded Kavanaugh step aside but have been quiet about the allegations against Biden.

"It's a bit of a Pandora's Box we opened on this one," said one Democratic fundraiser. "A perfect trap and we stepped right into it."

Resources to help survivors of sexual assault include the National Sex Assault Hotline (800-656-4673), and The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) online hotline.

Read More Microsoft may earn an Affiliate Commission if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


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Texan1211
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Texan1211    4 years ago

even though he is mentioned in the article, Trump is NOT the topic here.

The topic is the double standard being employed by Democrats and the media.

If you seed an article, anything within that article is on-topic.  If you wish to declare Trump off-topic, you must do so in an article that does not mention and even quote him - sandy

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
1.1  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Texan1211 @1    4 years ago

With hard core liberal Democrats nowadays it is more a matter of do as I say not as I do!

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
1.1.2  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  XDm9mm @1.1.1    4 years ago

Good point.

 
 
 
Ozzwald
Professor Quiet
1.1.3  Ozzwald  replied to  Ed-NavDoc @1.1    4 years ago
With hard core liberal Democrats nowadays it is more a matter of do as I say not as I do!

The trouble with these hard core right wingers, is you are so busy trying to get on the "trash Biden" bandwagon, that sometimes you don't wait for the facts.

Tara Reade is already walking back the sexual assault claim.

Reade: 'I didn't use sexual harassment' in Biden complaint

"I remember talking about him wanting me to serve drinks because he liked my legs and thought I was pretty and it made me uncomfortable," Reade said in an interview Friday with The Associated Press. "I know that I was too scared to write about the sexual assault."

Reade said she described her issues with Biden but "the main word I used — and I know I didn't use sexual harassment — I used 'uncomfortable.' And I remember 'retaliation.'"

Went from sexual assault to him making her feel "uncomfortable".  While "sexual harassment" may still apply (and should be investigated), that is still in the he said/she said realm of complaints.

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
2  Sean Treacy    4 years ago

Biden conducted about two dozen interviews with media outlets between March 25 and April 30, including one with MSNBC's "Morning Joe," and he was not asked once about the allegations until the May 1 interview with Brzezinksi.

That's the unreal part. Not even the ususal softball questions the media uses to help Democrats deal with scandal. 

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
3  Tessylo    4 years ago

republicans and the gop talking about double standards.  

jrSmiley_91_smiley_image.gif

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
3.1  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  Tessylo @3    4 years ago

Democrats have standards??

jrSmiley_10_smiley_image.gif

LOL!

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
3.1.1  XXJefferson51  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1    4 years ago

Only when it comes to double standards. Otherwise they have none at all.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Principal
3.1.2  Tessylo  replied to  XXJefferson51 @3.1.1    4 years ago

The usual projection.  

 
 
 
Gazoo
Junior Silent
4  Gazoo    4 years ago

“In 2018, Biden said that if a woman comes forward "in the glaring lights of focus," you've got to "start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she is talking about is real."”

that really came back to bite him in the ass, didn’t it? 

i am surprised brzezinsky asked him the questions she did. It makes me wonder if the dems and their propaganda arm (media) realize their candidate has dementia and are looking to use this to oust him as their nominee.

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
5  Jasper2529    4 years ago
Critics in both parties say Democrats and the news media set the standard of "believing all women" during the Kavanaugh hearings but have not met that standard in dealing with Biden.

"We set up a standard we can't live by. No one likes to discuss it but it's the reality," said one Democratic strategist who requested anonymity to talk candidly. "It looks terrible for him and for the party. You can't say you believe women and then take it all back because it doesn't apply to you."

"It's a bit of a Pandora's Box we opened on this one," said one Democratic fundraiser. "A perfect trap and we stepped right into it."

And there we have it.

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
6  Thomas    4 years ago

I like how you attempt to compartmentalize this to just Kavanaugh and Biden, Good luck with that. From the article:

"There is a clear double standard between how the media and Democrats treated Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's allegations versus Tara Reade's allegations," said Mike Davis, who led the Senate effort to confirm Kavanaugh. "It was stunning to see Democrats say they believed Joe Biden even before he'd spoken a word about this," he added. "And the media instantly and breathlessly reported on all of the allegations against Justice Kavanaugh, which resulted in three criminal referrals against accusers for conspiracy to lie to Congress."

When Mike Davis tweeted (As reported in Rolling Stone, et.al.):

But the notion that the Republicans weighing Kavanaugh’s nomination are acting in good faith, or actually open to disqualifying information about the nominee, was undermined Wednesday night when Mike Davis, the judiciary committee’s Chief Counsel for Nominations, tweeted: “Unfazed and Determined. We will confirm Judge Kavanaugh.”

The republicans who are pushing the double standard narrative are themselves guilty of the exact same thing. What is worse, the whole narrative on either side ignores the central fact that there is an allegation and concentrates on who it is about, when the who it is about should be two people: Tara Reade and Joseph Biden. I would contend that, were there the names of two everyday Americans inserted in their place, neither party would give a shit. Ponder on that for awhile and think how that makes you and the parties look.

Also From the Article (emphasis mine):

"The idea that Democrats just reflexively believed Christine Blasey Ford is a completely revisionist version of events," said Robyn Swirling, founder of Works In Progress, which aims to reduce sexual violence in the workplace. "Democrats called for an FBI investigation, which was obstructed and never thoroughly conducted. All allegations — whether against a Democrat or a Republican — should be treated by Democrats and Republicans alike as equally serious matters. Survivors are not political pawns, and shouldn't be used as such to score political points or pursue electoral agendas."

Think on that.

Further, if you don't want Chump mentioned in your responses, don't post an article where he is mentioned in context.

Trump and Republicans are furious, alleging hypocrisy on the part of Democrats and the media. Trump has himself been accused of assault or misconduct by 23 women, all of which he has denied. "I look at the double standard," Trump said Friday. "You look at Biden and nobody even wants to bring up the subject."

This whole issue has Chump in the background for the way in which he has belittled the fact based media for reporting the truth while bolstering false narrative media by lying about demonstrably provable things. So it is no wonder that the media outlets are quiet on this:She has made her accusations and Biden has responded, both were covered. Since the chance is small that this issue is going to be resolved soon and the election is not until November, this case, though important, is not going to lead the news cycle because there is a larger and arguably more important story in the coronavirus.

As for me, I think that all the people who stress a big "D" or "R" in front of their names are the problem, because for the largest part, they have put their party before their country. 

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
6.2  bugsy  replied to  Thomas @6    4 years ago

Who is Chump?

You say Chump, then cite a portion of the article that mentions Trump and Republicans. Nothing about this "Chump".

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
6.2.1  Thomas  replied to  bugsy @6.2    4 years ago

Don't be coy, Bugsy.

He Who Must not Be Named

The POTUS, or more correctly, the Narcissistic, womanizing hedonist who currently occupies the White House.

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
6.2.2  bugsy  replied to  Thomas @6.2.1    4 years ago
He Who Must not Be Named

Heck, to liberals, neither Trump nor Obama can be mentioned by name by conservatives on here because it automatically causes a trigger of feelings....and insults

 
 
 
Freewill
Junior Quiet
6.3  Freewill  replied to  Thomas @6    4 years ago

Thomas,

We all know that in the year leading up to the 2016 election there was most certainly a media frenzy to bring the allegations of Trump's accusers front and center, well before anything was proven and even after most of those cases were settled.  The Kavanaugh issue was handled much the same way by the media and even Biden chimed in with his statements that we must "presume what she is talking about is real" in such cases, even before all the facts were known.  This is the truth and it can easily be demonstrated by looking at the many hundreds of headlines and articles published at that time. 

The issue here is that no such media frenzy over the allegations has happen in the Biden case, and nobody is claiming that we must "presume what she is talking about is real" as Biden did, and the media and political action groups did in the case against Kavanaugh; a VERY similar allegation of serious misconduct that happened 25-30 years ago.  Granted, there are more pressing matters headlining the news at this time.   However, these facts about the media coverage and the reaction from certain groups are demonstrably true.   

So to the extent that one has reacted the same way in each case, there is no hypocrisy in simply bringing this matter to light.  For example, at the time I felt that some of the allegations against Trump might be politically motivated, but the way in which he handled them, and the manner in which some were dismissed/settled, did not set well with me.  This became one of the primary reasons I left the Republican Party after he won the primary and I did not vote for him in the general election.  

Likewise, the allegation against Kavanaugh seemed suspiciously timed to me, but I was willing to listen to the facts and accept that the chips would fall where they may based on the facts.  And they did.  I thought his reaction, while heated at times did not for the most part cast aspersion on his accuser like Trump's and to a certain extent Biden's responses.  I thought of the three, Kavanaugh handled the allegations and the heavy media scrutiny a bit more honestly.

Likewise, with the allegations against Biden (there are more than one) I find the primary one from miss Reade to be suspiciously timed.  But in listening to her story and the corroboration of it by those whom she told about it back at the time, I feel there is as much reason for this story to be as widely covered as the Trump and Kavanaugh stories were covered.  And the way that Biden has reacted thus far, especially the insistence on blocking potential sources (like the UD records) as to discovery of the records pertaining Ms. Reade's complaints of misconduct at the time, are eerily similar to the way Trump reacted to some of his accusers and requests for his records.  

In all three cases, I approached them with an "innocent until proven guilty" mentality, including this one involving Biden. Obviously that is fair.  But I also believe that the media scrutiny, and certainly the #MeToo type outrage, ought to be fair in each case as well.  This has nothing to do with my political leanings, but may have everything to do with that of the media and these political action type groups. So for those who see it the way I do, there is no hypocrisy or double standard other than that being pointed out in the headline of this article and knowable from simple observation of the coverage, or non-coverage, as the case may be.

Having said that, I agree with just about everything else you said, including the following with a slight exception.

I would contend that, were there the names of two everyday Americans inserted in their place, neither party would give a shit. Ponder on that for awhile and think how that makes you and the parties look.

I would contend that, were the name Trump inserted where Biden's is in Ms. Reade's allegations, this would be a much bigger story and we would see outrage from the same groups who were outraged at the earlier Trump and Kavanaugh allegations. To deny this is silly, we all know it is true whether we like it or not.

But your point is well taken, if the alleged perpetrator were anyone but a political figure, neither party would care and there would be little media coverage to speak of, not to mention that the chances are much greater that some of the allegations would be further investigated and the perp might do jail time.  Which is good, as the most important person in these scenarios, the victim, might actually get some justice. It irritates me to think that most of these cases involving politicians are tried only in the court of public opinion and rarely if ever in a court of law.

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
6.3.1  Thomas  replied to  Freewill @6.3    4 years ago

When everyone has blood on their hands, none can grip the sword of righteousness.

The issue to me is this: All of the hype that will no doubt be generated by the allegations will be beside the point. As is this article. We sit here and postulate on whether this party or that is immoral, corrupt; whether this news outlet said this or that.... It is all navel gazing of the worst variety. Any headline relating to the allegations should read: Reade vs. Biden followed by some actual news about the question "Did he do it, yes or no?"  The rest is spurious babble designed to speciously separate and divide the people into more manageable factions, the specialty of modern politics.

 
 
 
Freewill
Junior Quiet
6.3.2  Freewill  replied to  Thomas @6.3.1    4 years ago
All of the hype that will no doubt be generated by the allegations will be beside the point

Not if the only "point" is the difference in the level of hype generated by the allegations.  For example, let's assume that the level of mainstream media coverage and public outrage (not just from the partisan spin mills) should more or less approximate what it has been in the Biden case (innocent until proven guilty).   But we know that was not the case for Trump and Kavanaugh, by simple observation.

Any headline relating to the allegations should read: Reade vs. Biden followed by some actual news about the question "Did he do it, yes or no?" 

Indeed.  And so should have the headlines in the Trump and Kavanaugh cases.

But I agree that had the "hype" been handled equitably, or there was no "hype" in the first place, then this article and everything we have discussed would not exist except maybe in the dark corners of the partisan spin mills.  Not worthy of discussion.

The rest is spurious babble designed to speciously separate and divide the people into more manageable factions, the specialty of modern politics.  

Exactly!  And that is precisely the point of pointing out what the mainstream media, our primary source of information, has done so that hopefully in the future they will just report the facts sans the political spin.  Same with the social action groups.  If they are truly concerned about the alleged victims (which I agree is the more important matter here), then they should be equally concerned regardless of the political tilt of the alleged perpetrator.  If we really want to stop the political separation and division then we need to point out how silly it has become, and return the focus to what is important, the equal treatment of every case and justice for the victims were the allegations to be proved true and actionable in a court of law.  

When everyone has blood on their hands, none can grip the sword of righteousness.

Yep!

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
6.3.3  Thomas  replied to  Freewill @6.3.2    4 years ago
Not if the only "point" is the difference in the level of hype generated by the allegations.

That is my precise point. 

All of this arguing is for one purpose: To make us distrust the people who actually went out and got a degree in journalism. They are the ones who put in the hard work of learning to properly vet their sources, trace down the leads, and find out the factual story, as opposed to believing some schmuck sitting in his basement spouting conspiracy theories at his laptop camera. (Not saying that that schmuck can't be right, but it is highly unlikely and the burden of proof should be more stringent because he is an unknown quantity.)

Hell, a lot of people now get their news from Facebook! You might as well put a stamp on it that says," All similarities to actual events, real or imagined, are purely coincidental."

 
 
 
Freewill
Junior Quiet
6.3.5  Freewill  replied to  Thomas @6.3.3    4 years ago
All of this arguing is for one purpose: To make us distrust the people who actually went out and got a degree in journalism.

I beg to differ my friend.  This one particular argument is posed for one reason only: Because the people who actually went out and got a degree in journalism treated very similar allegations very differently simply because of who the targets of those allegations were.  If there is any distrust of these "journalists", they brought it on themselves. I have often said that journalism died when "news" became "views".  As the expert in the seeded MSN.com article states:

"Absolutely there's been a disparity in the way the media has approached these two cases," said Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor who specializes in political communications. "The burden of proof has not been the same. And granted, right now you have COVID-19 as the story that is always going to be the lead, but you'd think after that you'd see more about Reade's allegations. It just hasn't been a big story."

I certainly agree with you on the folly of collecting one's news from Facebook, although even network news these days looks more and more like social media rumor/spin mills depending on which one frequents. My daughter is a journalism major in college and even her professors are appalled at what has become of their field. Perhaps the young crop of up and coming journalists can bring some integrity back to the field.

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
6.3.6  Thomas  replied to  Freewill @6.3.5    4 years ago

I understand your point: The level of outrage, real or imagined, is lower for Biden than for Kavanaugh. That is accepted. That is not what I have been blathering about. 

Media is not monolithic, it is granular, with those grains getting finer the closer the lens comes. The same would go for most organizations, political parties and such. There is a tendency among us humans, however, to ignore these differences, to not see the individuals, to lump a bunch of stuff into one and stick a label on it. I know that I am guilty of this trait. "There! That is done," I think, "Now I can move on to more important matters." For some applications, this is fine. The granularity might be deceiving and all of the grains may be similar. Or not. We actually have to look at the grains to see if they are the same or not, at least occasionally. 

It has been an interesting exchange. Thank you for looking at the granularity.

I will stop babbling now.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
6.3.8  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Thomas @6.3.3    4 years ago

Problem is that in many cases, responsible journalism has been replaced with irresponsible political activism.

 
 
 
Freewill
Junior Quiet
6.3.9  Freewill  replied to  Thomas @6.3.6    4 years ago

       “ I will stop babbling now.”

Not babbling at all my friend.  Discussing.  Exchanging thoughts.  I very much enjoyed it, appreciated it, and learned from it.  I like to think that is what I am here for. 

On any topic of discussion there are multiple angles of approach and apertures of lens.  A good discussion I think is one where both the granular and bigger picture aspects are weighed and considered. 

Thank you for the discussion and I look forward to our next.

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
7  Jasper2529    4 years ago
Top Democrats who were on the front lines demanding justice for Christine Blasey Ford during the Kavanaugh hearings have rushed to defend Biden, saying they do not believe the allegations made against him by Tara Reade.

3wncff.jpg

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
7.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  Jasper2529 @7    4 years ago

And don't forget, Biden says to look in the National Archives, NOT at his Senate records over at the University of Delaware. Why do I get the feeling that his staff has gone through both!

What they might find is a broad complaint about feeling uncomfortable:

"Reade described the report after the AP discovered additional transcripts and notes from its interviews with Reade last year in which she says she “chickened out” after going to the Senate personnel office. The AP interviewed Reade in 2019 after she accused Biden of uncomfortable and inappropriate touching. She did not raise allegations of sexual assault against Biden until this year, around the time he became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee."

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
7.1.1  bugsy  replied to  Vic Eldred @7.1    4 years ago

Oh, you can bet on it. Otherwise, he would never had given the OK for any search.

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
7.1.2  Jasper2529  replied to  Vic Eldred @7.1    4 years ago
And don't forget, Biden says to look in the National Archives, NOT at his Senate records over at the University of Delaware.

Yes -- Only his own personal Senate files. As Jason Chaffetz said, Biden hasn't suggested that anyone should research the Senate's Ethics Committee files.

Why do I get the feeling that his staff has gone through both!

I'm sure that Biden's personal Senate and University of Delaware records were scrubbed a long time ago!

 
 
 
XXJefferson51
Senior Guide
9  XXJefferson51    4 years ago

08-clinton-values-li-600-600x429.jpg

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
10  Tacos!    4 years ago

It's not just a matter of caring a little about one situation and not as much about the other. These people practically lit themselves on fire and ran down the street for weeks over Kavanaugh, but when it's Biden, we're just going to pretend it's not even happening. It's the extreme differences in the responses that is so amazing.

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
11  bugsy    4 years ago

I don't think Republicans as a whole are saying they believe Ms Reade, as her accusations do come at a sketchy time, but what they are saying is that they would like Democrats and the media (all the same) to respond to these accusations as rigorously as they did with Kavanaugh and Trump.

Since Democrats and the media (all the same) basically swept the story under the rug by not reporting on it and not asking any questions in over 2 dozen interviews, they have proven the the "believe all women" and #metoo movements are nothing but BS.

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
11.1  bugsy  replied to  bugsy @11    4 years ago

If it turns out Ms Reade was either not telling the truth or changes her story, she needs to be held accountable the same way Ford and the other "accusers" of Kavanaugh were with their false accusations.

Hint...nothing happened to any of them

 
 
 
KDMichigan
Junior Participates
11.2  KDMichigan  replied to  bugsy @11    4 years ago

That is exactly what I said the other day. I don't think this dragging shit up from 30 years ago should get the time of day, But where is the outrage that was exhibited with Kavanaugh? The thing is the TDS sufferers only way to address it is the 'But Trump' defense. And you can bet your bottom dollar that a month from now if a prominent Republican figure has the same claims made against them it will be all the rage, Hell look at the TDS overflow onto VP Pence, because golly gee wiz he didn't wear a mask.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
11.2.1  Vic Eldred  replied to  KDMichigan @11.2    4 years ago
But where is the outrage that was exhibited with Kavanaugh?

Didn't Kavanaugh predict it would all come back to haunt democrats? It didn't take long. Now they all have to expose themselves for what they are as they rally round Biden!

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
11.2.2  bugsy  replied to  Vic Eldred @11.2.1    4 years ago

Even if everything Reade said was a lie, she outed the left for who they are and what the "believe all women" and #metoo movement really means.

It's all bullshit.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
11.2.3  Vic Eldred  replied to  bugsy @11.2.2    4 years ago
Even if everything Reade said was a lie, she outed the left for who they are and what the "believe all women" and #metoo movement really means.

Yes Sir, You've got it!

 
 
 
bugsy
Professor Participates
12  bugsy    4 years ago

Credit to another poster on another site...

"All women should be believed. Unless you were fingered by Joe Biden, groped by Corey Booker, beaten by Kieth Ellison, raped by Bill Clinton, or killed by Ted Kennedy".

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
13  Vic Eldred    4 years ago

Kavanaugh's warning:

"I understand the passions of the moment, but I would say to those senators, your words have meaning. Millions of Americans listen carefully to you. Given comments like those, is it any surprise that people have been willing to do anything to make any physical threat against my family, to send any violent e-mail to my wife, to make any kind of allegation against me and against my friends. To blow me up and take me down.

You sowed the wind. For decades to come, I fear that the whole country will reap the whirlwind."


 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
14  Vic Eldred    4 years ago

This just in :

"At least two additional sources have claimed that former Senate staffer   Tara Reade   told them about aspects of her sexual harassment and assault claims against   former Vice President Joe Biden , according to a new report.

The Associated Press revealed Saturday that its reporting uncovered two sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and who added to the already-mixed bag of individuals either corroborating or casting doubt on Reade's claims.

One friend, who said they knew Reade in 1993, said she told them about the alleged assault when it happened, according to The AP. The second friend met Reade more than a decade after the alleged incident and confirmed that Reade had a conversation with them in 2007 or 2008 about allegedly experiencing sexual harassment from Biden while working in his Senate office.

Reade claimed she told three of Biden's other staff members about harassment, although none of them reportedly said they remembered hearing those allegations from her. However, two other individuals, including a former neighbor of Reade's, corroborated her sexual-assault allegation in a report released earlier this week.

In addition to the two sources reported Saturday by The Associated Press, that makes at least four people who have corroborated Reade's allegations of either sexual assault or harassment against Biden."




 
 
 
squiggy
Junior Silent
15  squiggy    4 years ago

can-we-see-those.jpg

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
16  Buzz of the Orient    4 years ago

The accusations were as invalid for Kavanaugh as they are for Biden.  As if women didn't have hormones back in those days jrSmiley_80_smiley_image.gif - what a fucking ( oh, that could be the ideal adjective for this garbage ) joke. I have to laugh at the sanctimonious assholes who are using it for political attacks. Guess what, created attack ads don't always work - I've seen them backfire when decent people realize what bullshit they are. 

 
 
 
Texan1211
Professor Principal
16.1  seeder  Texan1211  replied to  Buzz of the Orient @16    4 years ago

How's about we all just agree that when accusations are made by anyone against anyone else, without any evidence that could be used in a court of law, we simply dismiss them out of hand?

And encourage real victims to come forward immediately and seek justice.

My purpose in seeding this was to highlight the difference between how Biden is being treated by the press and how Kavanaugh was treated.

And please don't insult me by saying they are being treated the same.

Yes, I know BOTH parties are hypocritical when it comes to a bunch of stuff. Deficits, sexual allegations, taxes, etc. Both parties tend to blow a gasket over what the other does but doesn't mind it when they themselves do it.

And now it appears that the media has largely adopted the same habits.

 
 
 
Dragon
Freshman Silent
16.1.1  Dragon  replied to  Texan1211 @16.1    4 years ago

What press are you referring to. The right wing press is treating him like the left wing press treated Kavanaugh. Just one example, Fox has several articles foremost on their site all putting Biden in a negative light it has been constant for days. Fox has been hammering Biden for days as have all the right wing pundits. 

What is happening now, more than ever is everything is view through partisan lenses, doesn't matter what the topic is. It takes a lot of reading of all viewpoints to get even a iota of rational thought. 

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
16.1.2  Tacos!  replied to  Dragon @16.1.1    4 years ago
The right wing press is treating him like the left wing press treated Kavanaugh.

Oh, I don't think it's that bad even there. He wasn't just someone who did a bad thing, he was a predator unfit to hold any position. With Kavanaugh, our democracy was at risk. Women would be chattel for generations, subject to the rapey, abusive, frat boy objectification of women that he personified. He was an icon for everything that was ever wrong with the treatment of women in the history of human kind.

Our response needed to be comprehensive and unrestrained. There needed to be multiple investigations of everything Kavanaugh had ever done and anyone who ever knew him. There was a conspiracy afoot to institutionalize casual rape and he was going to be its champion.

And on and on . . . 

I don't think the most negative coverage of Biden - even at Fox - has begun to approach what we saw with Kavanaugh.

 
 

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