Tara Reade says she'll never vote again, and certainly not for Joe Biden, even if he is the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
“[U]nequivocally, it never, never happened. It didn't. It never happened."
Reade has accused presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of sexually assaulting her—kissing, touching, and penetrating her with his fingers without consent—while she was a staffer working for the then-Democratic senator from Delaware, back in 1993.
On Friday, Biden appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to finally address the growing political brushfire that he has, up until now, pretended to ignore. And, so has much of the media, it seems; until this interview, Biden had yet to face a single question from any of his favorite liberal journalists about the allegations.
During the interview, Biden went as far as to suggest that no one would be able to find the complaint Reade issued back in 1993. According to him, it never existed. “I am absolutely positive that no one I am aware of was ever made aware of a complaint, formal complaint made of or by Tara Reade against me at the time,” Biden said, declaring “unequivocally, it never, never happened. It didn't. It never happened."
Biden suggested the media look through the National Archives to corroborate his account. Of course, do we really believe her original complaint is still in the dusty files of the Senate? Surely, it was removed and shredded decades ago, in anticipation that Reade could someday cause trouble for an ambitious politician like Biden who, despite barely being able to get through an interview these days, still finds inspiration in polls that suggest he could be the next president of the United States. That’s called politics.
And what about all of his personal files that he has donated to the University of Delaware for safekeeping? Biden suggested those documents were untouchable and could possibly even contain “a lot of confidential conversations that I had with the president about a particular issue that I had with the heads of state.”
When the interviewer suggested he authorize a search for the name “Tara Reade” and Biden appeared for a moment to be having a cardiac arrest, before claiming that just couldn’t be done.
Archives have not been kind to Joe Biden, and the Tara Reade allegations, yet another ghost from the past, could haunt his campaign indefinitely.
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Mika Brzezinski interviews Joe Biden on the sexual assault allegations.[/caption]
“THE FACTS IN THIS CASE DO NOT EXIST"
Deciding to really play the role of investigative journalist, “Morning Joe” co-host, Mika Brzezinski, asked the former vice president, “Are women to be believed unless it pertains to you?”
“Look, women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt.”
“Look, women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt,” Biden responded. “If they come forward and say something that they said happened to them, they should start off with the presumption they are telling the truth.” Biden then qualified this by saying, “Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts. And the facts in this case do not exist. They never happened.”
Just before his appearance, Biden released a statement that clarified his position for the first time; he was similarly equivocal: “While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated. One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced. The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.”
"Responsible news organizations should examine and evaluate the full and growing record of inconsistencies in her story, which has changed repeatedly in both small and big ways," he continued.
Biden’s recent acknowledgment that the allegations exist likely comes from mounting pressure from the media that, up until now, had largely given him a complimentary pass. Even prominent liberal figures like Actress Alyssa Milano, who had initially suggested the Reade controversy was just a right-wing diversion, reversed herself, and said that Biden needed to address the issue. (Of course, she assured us, she’s still supporting him. She even went as far as to offer the presidential hopeful public relations advice).
By the time the Washington Post had woken up to the story, Biden could not stay silent any longer.
It is important to remember that when the Reade story first broke, the Biden campaign waited two whole days to deny it—and that Biden himself said nothing. The former vice president continued to say nothing in interviews because the question did not come up, nor did it come up when Biden’s surrogates faced interview questions; the Democratic strategy was to pretend it didn’t exist. Conservative media, on the other hand, continued to fan the flames of the story, gathering more information and crystallizing corroborating evidence.
Eventually, the talking points were no longer enough, and the mild rebuke from the venerable Post convinced liberals and the Biden campaign that action was required.
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Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi.[/caption]
THE PARADE OF DEMOCRATS WHO BELIEVE BIDEN
The parade of prominent Democrats who have come to Biden’s defense can either be viewed with sadness or hilarity—such is the political and moral hypocrisy of these deadpan advocates of party loyalty, who are determined to stand by their man—no matter how obsequious it may appear.
To drive the point home, Fox News recently compiled a clip that featured a parade of Democrats, unabashedly declaring that they ‘believe Biden.’ The clip featured Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who provided this kind of logic: “Vice President has vehemently denied these allegations and I support Vice President Biden.” Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (who has repeatedly claimed that she is really the governor of her state because the election was fixed and the black vote suppressed), also made an appearance. She just gushed: “I believe Joe Biden.” And who can forget the self-styled ‘prosecutor in chief’ herself, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), who had clashed with Biden repeatedly during the Democratic presidential debates—significantly over school busing, which Biden, in his Jim Crow-loving days, opposed. But that’s was all in the past as Harris vehemently insisted, “He’s a lifelong fighter in terms of stopping violence against women.”
https://media.grabien.com/a/streams/0903/6PKKury3pmIzL6UCq7a8SQ/1588416354/903957.mp4
Of course, lest these same women were the ones who vehemently opposed the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court; with unabashed passion, they demanded his rejection along with his head because they “believed” the words of accuser Christine Blasey Ford. All of them were quite prepared to judge Kavanaugh guilty, not only without a trial but without any corroborating evidence.“Without the benefit of an FBI investigation … and without the benefit of corroborating witnesses being able to testify, it’s a sham [confirmation] hearing,” Gillibrand said at the time.
The same disparate treatment can be witnessed by liberal media outlets. In response to a provocation by CNN’s Jake Tapper, Mollie Hemingway, author of Justice on Trial, tweeted: “Reminder that Jake's activist network had 705 stories about Christine Blasey Ford, beginning the moment her story went public, and ZERO (literally ZERO) about Tara Reade.”
The hypocrisy is too much to bear.
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Joe Biden talks to Hillary Clinton.[/caption]
#METOO AS A POLITICAL WEAPON
Last week, Hillary Clinton formally endorsed Biden, joining him on one of his basement deadstreams. Clinton did not mention the allegations against Biden—just as she has never, for a moment considered validating the stories of all those women who have accused her husband of being a common rapist and sexual predator. When accusations aid and abet that pursuit of power, well, that’s another matter entirely—that’s when Hillary thinks women should be believed. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro called Clinton out for this behavior, calling her a “standard bearer, the magnet, the enabler of sexual predators.”
Democrats honestly believe the mainstream media will confirm and disseminate any propaganda necessary to take back the White House.
Biden’s treatment of his #MeToo moment has demonstrated the double-standard of the #MeToo movement itself—at least among establishment Democrats, who have ‘believed women’ only so far as it was a useful tool in their arsenal of political weapons. To Democrats, recalling an unwanted sexual encounter is only a worthy exercise if it sinks the career of your political opponent. But if it’s the party candidate, Joe Biden? Then distract, divert, deny, minimize, justify— or flat out lie.
Of course, even the Democrats have strategists and activists among them who cling to some form of principal. MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had the bright idea that Democrats needed to address the Biden issue—this guy was the party’s presidential candidate after all. In response, #FireChrisHayes began to trend on Twitter.
Democrats honestly believe the mainstream media will confirm and disseminate any propaganda necessary to take back the White House.
Biden has had many faces over the years. Pro-segregationist good old boy. Law and order advocate. Foreign policy hawk. Open borders advocate. Green New Deal spokesman. Defender of women. Accused abuser of women.
His political character, over the decades, has been one of constant reinvention.
Ultimately, though, this is not just about whether Joe Biden sexually assaulted a young aide almost 30 years ago—he may well be completely innocent. It’s about the ready willingness of so many liberal women to embrace his side of the story, without so much as an investigation—just because they find him “electable.”
