No, but being a liar makes you a liar, and if someone has an established history of lying for financial gain or to get rid of a financial burden, then we have established a pattern of conduct, which is material to finding out whether or not we should take her claims of “rape” seriously.
There was once some circumstantial evidence that somewhat supported the idea that her claims could be true, and I until recently, I was among those who openly said I wouldn’t be surprised to find out Biden had at some point harassed her somehow.
But the evidence to date has stopped at circumstantial. And now we’re finding out that the accuser herself has an established record of deceit, of deceit for financial gain, and of just being a very difficult person to trust. Accusers have rights. The accused also have rights. But above all else, we have the right to judge who’s telling the truth. It’s not Reade.
By that same token, you weren’t there, either. Just accusing someone of rape doesn’t mean rape occurred. You need evidence to support the claim. I’m seeing a disturbing pattern among some of the “bro-est” of Bernie Bros, which is a tendency to assume that truth and facts are only important to the extent that they support your political leanings. That’s not how a healthy democracy works.
You’re right. We don’t know what happened. The woman making the allegations has changed her story numerous times and has no evidence aside from some friends and family who also changed their stories and shifting claims about a report she may or may not have filed. Her story has numerous holes and question and the best anyone can do to answer them is deflect with some “This is why women don’t report; aren’t you the real monster for asking questions?” remarks.
However, based on that, this woman demands that the presidential nominee step down and people shouldn’t vote for him. Given the lack of evidence she can provide, it’s not “mean” to take whatever information is available in establishing this woman’s credibility before blindly accepting her account as fact.
Yeah, I hope and believe that if it were the other way 'round and Bernie were the target of such a dubious allegation, I’d be equally skeptical. I’m not so sure certain other people who are looking for any excuse to tank Biden would be so consistent.
And BTW, if Biden were to drop out or even die, that doesn’t mean Bernie gets to be the nominee. I feel quite confident it would be someone else (although that would be a nightmare because the Bernie crowd would be even more livid than they are now).
Did you not read the article? The reporters didn’t dig up some records or something. They interviewed people who used to know Reade. Some of those people had rented her a room. Are they not able to speak about that experience? If Reade can publicly recount her “memories” from decades ago, isn’t it only reasonable that others be allowed the same opportunity?
That’s not the only article that challenges her credibility, though, Manwich. There was another investigation by PBS News Hour in which the reporters spoke to more than 70 people who worked with Biden, including a few who remember Reade during her brief time there.
Not one of them supported her claim or even recall a time when she made a claim that was even remotely similar to what she’s saying now. Moreover, they called into question the plausibility that her claim could have even occurred as described. The place where she claims the assault took place is pretty much out in the open and visible to passersby. It just doesn’t add up.
I get that you don’t dig Biden’s vibe, but you can’t turn an allegation into the truth because that’s what you want to believe about him. You need facts and evidence to support an allegation. People listened to Tara Reade. They investigated her claims and her background. They’ve been investigating Biden’s background for years. The evidence doesn’t support what Read is saying.
If you want to attack Biden for his politics, you can do so but it hurts your credibility as a poster if you defend someone like Reade and her apparently baseless attacks on Biden.
My feelings exactly and expressed far better than I could.
I’ve met people like Tara Reade. They’re toxic. You try to help a broken bird and you get bit. There’s always a sob story that’s constantly changing and you wonder if they even know what the truth is.
And yes, her story about the assault is just not believable. It sounds like a scene from a really bad Lifetime movie.
Washington isn’t like Hollywood. You don’t sleep your way to the top. A job like Tara’s is a dead end job that you hold for a year or two as a resume builder and networking opportunity.
They’re always involved in things like mare rescue groups also. I mean, I’m glad those kind of groups exist but they’re magnets for dramatic fabulists. Being a member of an animal rescue group would be, for a woman I was interested in dating or even just being social friends with, not exactly a red flag, but sort of an orange flag.
You know, that’s a good point. When I managed a standardized test center, we had lots of temporary employees and it was always the do gooders that were the hardest to work with. One guy in particular came from some sort of ministry background and he ended up trying to psychoanalyse every single student essay thinking he’d found the next Columbine shooter because the kid wrote a fantasy about being Voldemort. It got ugly, with him demanding I forward multiple papers per day back to the respective school systems. When he didn’t think I was taking it seriously enough, he broke into the office after hours and faxed a multitude of papers at 1 in the am.
Some people are crusaders; others are “crusaders” concealing their sense of victimization.
Reade is your classic “victim,” forever throwing pity parties for herself. I wouldn’t want to suggest that every activist or do-gooder is like her. I’ve known grievance collectors who were anything but do-gooders or humanitarians.
When someone sees himself or herself as a victim, they can justify pretty much all kinds of shit. They never take personal responsibility for anything.
“Your rent was too high”
“My wages were too low - I deserved better”
You can believe those things quite fairly, IMO, but it stops being fair when you start lying and cheating people out of things they’ve earned through their own hard work.
Wow, now Reade’s lawyers are trying a cease and desist order against the animal rescue shelter. Isn’t there a saying about stop digging when you find yourself in a hole?
"These harassing, intimidating and false statements are unlawful and are clearly intended to tarnish and impugn Ms. Reade’s character and reputation,” the letter, signed by attorney Douglas Wigdor, states. “
And hypocrites to boot, being as they are in the harassing, intimidating and false statements * business.:eek:
*
“I find it very ironic that her attorney is trying to bully witnesses when he is claiming that is what’s happening to her in the Joe Biden case,” Hummer’s attorney, Pat Harris told POLITICO. “The last thing in the world that Tara Reade wants to do is meet Lynn Hummer in the courtroom.
The evidence is different in the Kavanaugh case. There were multiple complaints of a similar nature. There were multiple similar complaints against Biden, too, but they consisted of hair sniffing and shoulder rubbing, which I acknowledge is creepy - but it’s not sexual assault.
Reade is the only one who has claimed that sexual assault took place. I admit that for a while I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, but it hasn’t so far. And that’s likely because there is no other shoe, and there wasn’t really a first shoe to begin with.
You apparently haven’t read the investigative reporting that we’ve taken the time to present to skeptics such as yourself. If you’re going to be so cynical that you automatically dismiss everything out of hand, then that brings you closer to troll territory. You’re not adding anything new here.