I believe any woman or man who believes they have been harassed, let alone molested, should have the right to come forward and have that charge evaluated by neutral parties, and if found to be valid whomever the molester, whatever their rank or station, they should be tried and found guilty. On those grounds alone Trump should never have been chosen as a candidate let alone elected as President.
That said I think Tara Reade's charges are absurd on several levels. When I was in government I had several occasions to interact with Biden, personally, and with his staff. In contrast to so many Congress members, Biden was considered notable for never having had a word breathed about inappropriate behavior; quite the contrary his love and fidelity for his wife were remarked upon.
But more than that is the description Reade makes about her molestation. The idea that a senior senator would press a staffer up against the wall in a public senate office building corridor, pull up her skirt, pull down her panties and thrust his fingers into her vagina is only plausible to someone who has never been in those corridors. They are filled with staffers, reporters, film crews, other congresspeople, and hundreds of Americans who come to see their senator. Those corridors are about as public as a space can get.
When Tara Reade first made her assault allegation against Joe Biden, I thought the charge was more likely to be true than false. To be clear, I had no intention of changing my vote. The allegation came too late to reopen the nominating process without doing violence to the expressed will of the electorate. And I’ve always believed the primary criteria for voting on a candidate is their policy impact (which is why I wrote a column in 2018 defending Republicans who still supported Roy Moore over Doug Jones). But I did feel bad about voting for a candidate I suspected had done something terrible.
Tara Reade Credit: AP Photo/Donald Thompson
Since then, however, three detailed reports — by Vox’s Laura McGann, PBS NewsHour, and Politico’s Natasha Korecki — have delved into Reade’s allegations. Neither reaches a definitive conclusion. But all of them on balance add a lot of grounds for skepticism. At this point, Reade’s allegation seems to me to be more likely to be false than true.
McGann’s story recounts her yearlong effort to report on and corroborate Reade’s claims. The […]
Really? She’s a victim? Maybe we should keep the pre-sentencing out of it until this has been investigated. A woman is to believed no more than the other side.
This is more rediculous and hypocritical smear that the republicans are famous for. Biden is a seasoned politician, married, it is absurd that he would jeopardize everything in such a way.
Believe the victim.
Really? She’s a victim? Maybe we should keep the pre-sentencing out of it until this has been investigated. A woman is to believed no more than the other side.
This is more rediculous and hypocritical smear that the republicans are famous for. Biden is a seasoned politician, married, it is absurd that he would jeopardize everything in such a way.