Pretty sure most reading this are already somewhat aware that Biden has apparently been called out by Lucy Flores, a former Nevada assembly woman, for alleged non-consensual kissing, touching.
It’s also being reported elsewhere that Biden is known for being, ahem, a ‘hands-on’ kinda guy. Not that he always meant to violate women in each or any of these cases, but it’s clear that he has at least made one woman feel uncomfortable with his past behavior and there may be more.
In the age of #metoo, how much trouble is Joe in? Can he address it head-on with contrition or will this simply add to his woes, which already started with his handling of the Anita Hill hearings?
In a world where the “pussy grabber” got elected how could these accusations be said to end Biden’s bid? It might lead to his not running, but I doubt we’re there yet.
I don’t think it will make a substantial impact on any potential campaign nor should it. This isn’t a sexual assault and quite honestly I don’t understand her motive in making a big deal of this some 5 years later. Is she saying he’s some kind of monster not fit to hold public office? For holding her shoulders and giving her a friendly peck on the back of her head? Inappropriate? Yes. But rendering him unsuitable as a candidate for President? Ridiculous.
I agree that, at least so far, it doesn’t sound like he’s a monster, but Al Franken was chased off for being a little grabby and not remembering incidents the way that women recalled them.
I seem to recall a quote once by LBJ - something about making the sonofabitch defend himself, and how the perception of weakness and being on the defensive can weaken a candidate. That’s probably why Trump doesn’t apologize, and that’s why Ralph Northam refused to step down despite repeated attempts to do so.
She could be promoting herself, but more likely she is trying to suck up to other candidates, possible already coordinating with one of them. That is how the game of dirty politics is played, first the surrogates try to stir up a storm, then candidates can pretend they had no choice but attack their opponents because it has become a major issue.
It sounds like he was at a rally to upport her, and he came up behind her and massaged her shoulders and kissed her on the back of the haed. Old school paternalistic “I got ya, baby.”
Sorry Joe, you have to make good on this or you’re out. Sure he didn’t grab her by the pussy, but he’s not a Republican either. If he doesn’t come clean and make good, he’s got to step out of the way. And that sucks, because he was the only Democrat that I had full confidence in with regards to kicking Trump’s ass.
Biden has been a politician a long time and has always been a literal gladhandler, to all. The standards that call awareness to the fact that some who never voice any objection actually may find such touch to be offensive (rather than as a form of connection) are in comparison recent.
Touching after objection has been voiced would be disqualifying. Being unaware of what was in someone’s head that was never shared and not realizing that some had those unvoiced discomforts? Likely not.
I get Ms. Flores’ point. I also think that holding all past behavior to a standard that did not previously exist, that disqualifying based on things that at the time they occurred would not generally have been realized to be transgressive, would not only be silly, but would turn us into a circular firing squad.
bobot what in your mind would count as coming clean and making good. He very likely honestly does not remember the specifics of the interaction as she had said nothing and was likely very gracious to him for his support. That’s the gist of his response by way of surrogate.
I think it is safe to assume that the kiss on the back of the head happened and that that sort of touch was just so normal politicking to him that asking him to remember it is unrealistic. Given that what response would satisfy? Serious question.
The Democratic side at least now declares such touch as off limits but a long time pol has functioned before now as well.
The Democratic Primaries are a totally different beast to the Republican Primaries or the General Election.
What I find interesting is that Biden has been known for this sort of behavior for years but only now, with the Democratic Primaries on the horizon, is he getting called out in the MSM. The MSM and his fellow Democratic politicians didn’t give a damn about the issue when he was Vice President.
He can’t leave her unsupported now. It may appear that she is lying about this. Is he cool with that? If he really doesn’t remember, then he himself has to say publicly that: “Hell, that sounds like something I would have done. But I see why it wasn’t cool, and I am aware of my actions as a result.”
I could buy that. Then they have to get together and agree that it’s done.
Don’t be a frigging ninny. She’s at a press conference and they ask her “what about this Biden story??”. What the hell else is she going to say? This isn’t about Dems going dirty on each other - it’s the Press trying to poke the bee hive.
This is really simple, would you rather have Joe Biden become president or stick with disgraced former president Trump? Unless you want Trump re-elected there is nothing worth discussing here about Biden.
Yes. I knew that something of this sort was going to erupt eventually. In today’s environment, how could it not?
In principle that’s my attitude too, and I’d bet a lot of Democrats feel that way privately. But who would say that on the record?
Have you been paying attention to how younger feminists and progressive activists treat these things? They view any unwanted touch as serious wrongdoing and an unwanted kiss might as well make the guy Bill Cosby. (See here for one of many examples: “‘Sexual assault’ and ‘sexual violence’ refer to a range of behaviors that are unwanted by the recipient,and include remarks about physical appearance, persistent sexual advances that are undesired by the recipient, threats of force to get someone to engage in sexual behavior, as well as unwanted touching”.) So the way I see this playing out is Biden continues running and maybe 60% of Democrats are in the it-was-a-kiss-no-big-deal camp, while 40% view him as a sex predator. But that 40% are going to be quite noisy.
Of course the Obama administration pressured colleges and universities to adopt expansive definitions of “sexual assault” based on inflated statistics of the frequency of on-campus sex crimes, and among those who were very outspoken on the issue was Joe Biden. Karma’s a bitch.