There seem to be many misconceptions &
misinformation/disinformation surrounding Tara Reade. Many, like the terrible & terribly
unfunny Bill Maher, want to know why she waited until now to make the
allegations. To begin with, as recent cases show, it isn’t uncommon for victims to wait
years to come forward. Moreover, Reade did bring up this allegation previously but dropped it
because of concerns for her daughter. She brought it up
again when Biden announced that he was running for president, even sending letters
to Kamala Harris, who ignored her, & Elizabeth Warren, who sent her a form
letter. She reached out to mainstream
media sources, which basically stonewalled her.
She contacted Times Up, which originally pledged its support, but upon
realizing the charges were against Joe Biden, quickly backpedaled—not surprisingly,
given its connection to Biden.
In most cases, especially when so much time has passed, there
is no conclusive evidence of sexual assault, but there is corroboration from
her brother, a friend, & a neighbor that Reade made these same accusations in
the 1990s. Her mother’s on-air phone
call to Larry King 27 years ago, while not specific, implies some sort of
harassment. Also, Reade’s ex-husband’s
legal response in their divorce alludes to claims of harassment on her job as
causing issues in their relationship. While Biden staff members—hardly
non-partisan, by the way—may not remember the specific charges, some have confirmed
that Reade was abruptly demoted, though they don’t know why.
To say, as many Democratic partisans are wont to do, there
has never been even a hint of sexual misconduct by Biden is patently
false. There are a number of women who
have complained about Biden’s touching, kissing, sniffing, etc. making them feel
extremely uncomfortable. There is, in
fact, a lot of video evidence of such behavior.
Unless the DNC’s expunged the entire internet, even a cursory search
will most likely result in examples of Biden’s creepy, inappropriate behavior.
Others claim they’re suspicious because Reade has changed
her story, but rather than change, she has added explicit details, none of which
contradict her earlier allegations of sexual harassment. As for erratic, suspicious behavior, Biden claimed
that Reade’s files, if there were any, would be with the National Archives,
which he asked the media to search, even though it wouldn’t find anything. Ironically, Biden declined to give media
access to his papers at the University of Delaware--now suddenly closed until several years after his public service is over--insisting it wouldn’t find anything &
it would be a waste of time. As it turns out, the waste of time would have been
searching the National Archives, which says it doesn’t keep those kinds of records, yet
another example of Biden’s long, well-documented history of dishonesty.
While ultimately no one except Biden & Reade knows if the allegations
are true, they certainly seem credible. A
rational observer would probably expect, if nothing else, those Democrats who
say they support women’s rights would want to make their voices heard &
pressure the DNC to nominate a more suitable candidate, one not accused of a
sex crime. Instead, these so-called
progressives twist & turn with perverted pretzel logic to defend a candidate,
who, even if the allegations are never substantiated, is deeply flawed, all the while
accusing, in blind obedience & irony, those who defend Reade of being partisan. One woman on Facebook went as far as calling
Reade a “piece of shit broad” before making various erroneous claims in support of Biden, yet such statements
aren’t partisan or sexist because, well, you know, Trump.
For the record, I don’t support Trump or Biden, who is, at best, a lateral move. Both are corrupt,
warmongering, corporatist scum, whose biggest disagreement is over party, not
policy. This election cycle illustrates once again, perhaps more starkly than ever, the existential need of growing strong alternative political parties.
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