Hillary Clinton endorsed Joe Biden yesterday. I actually forgot that Hillary had not endorsed Biden before, but she made a point of not endorsing anyone in the Democratic primary, and she waited longer than Barack Obama to endorse Biden. As far as I know, Biden and Hillary have been friends for years and while they might have had some political disagreements over the years, she will be a full-throated supporter and surrogate for Biden. Here’s the email I got from Hillary yesterday (subject heading: “My Friend Joe”):
Today I am proud to endorse my friend Joe Biden for President of the United States.
I’ve known Joe for many years and across a number of settings: making hard decisions about war and peace in the Situation Room as Vice President under President Obama, building coalitions and getting things done as a Senator, and sharing quiet moments with his constituents. Wherever he goes, Joe’s the same person. He’s passionate about standing up for families and working to make their lives better.
More than ever, these tumultuous times reveal how desperately we need level-headed, solutions-oriented leadership. We need someone who listens to scientists, who acts with kindness and compassion, and who recognizes that America can and must lead the world in responding to this pandemic.
The world today looks very different than the one so many of us fought for in 2016. Like many of you, I’m concerned — not only about our current health crisis, but about the deep-seated problems in our democracy that it lays bare, from inequity in our health care system to the high-wire act demanded of too many working parents.
When I think about who I want leading us through this challenging time, there is no question: Joe Biden has the bold ideas, the smart plans, and most of all, the character to tackle this crisis and any others that come our way.
I am proud to call him a friend and colleague, and I will be even prouder to call him President of the United States.
[From Hillary Clinton’s campaign email]
That email was interspersed with “donate here” buttons and pleas. Biden actually had a surge in fundraising in the past two months, and he ended up getting $46.7 million in donations in March. I think the April numbers will probably be even bigger, because that’s when Biden really consolidated the nomination with endorsements from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Barack Obama and now Hillary.
I’ve seen a subset of “feminist writers who supported Bernie Sanders” arguing that Biden’s nomination has been tainted by the allegations made by Tara Reade, a former Biden staffer in the 1990s and most recently a Bernie Sanders staffer and supporter. There are people arguing that Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and whoever Biden chooses as his VP will have to “answer” endless questions about Reade’s allegations, because apparently we’re still holding the women AROUND men responsible for everything. All I’ll say is that Biden is an adult man. He can answer those questions himself, he doesn’t need to use prominent Democratic women as human shields, nor should the media do that for him.
In episode 47 of the Gossip with Celebitchy podcast I said that Biden needs to speak in greater detail about how he’s learned to keep his hands to himself. (That discussion starts at minute 16.) I believe the women who came out last year to talk about how Biden made them uncomfortable by hugging them, smelling their hair, grabbing their knee, etc. His apology at the time was insufficient, and I am a Democrat who would appreciate a more substantive apology and explanation.
As for Tara Reade… there’s nothing I can say here which will calm the sh-tstorm. I’ve read several articles about Reade’s allegations and how her story has changed a lot just over the past three years. I’m also deeply uncomfortable with the way her story is being amplified by Russian operatives, Bernie-or-Bust operatives and Republican operatives (same difference). Within the last 24 hours, we also learned that Reade and her family have been coached for some time by Current Affairs journalist Nate Robinson, who is a prominent anti-Biden, pro-Sanders guy.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.
Yes, he needs to give a more thorough explanation of how he has changed in light of the statements from those women. It is not the responsibility of Hillary or Kamala or any other woman to answer for it.
As for Tara Reade, she filed a police report. Nobody should comment until the police have completed their review
She didn’t even name Biden in the official police report. Worthwhile to note you can be liable if you falsify a report. Statute of limitations has also passed. So many red flags.
“Odd moment” is putting it mildly. I have had endless discussions about the Tara Reade allegations in one of my group chats with some women friends. One friend’s daughter is beside herself with rage at us for “dismissing” the allegations, which we definitely are not. In fact we are agonizing over it. Even if they are true, the fact remains he is our only chance of getting Trump out of office. I don’t know what else to say.
Don Junior is especially good at beating this drum, with seemingly no self awareness considering the much more credible allegations against his dad and I can’t even begin to describe my loathing for him and the right’s glee in always, always playing dirty.
Don Junior also seems to have no job whatsoever. Who IS running Trump Corp because he clearly isn’t? It was revealed last week that the campaign pays Kim Guilfoyle to be his girlfriend. And he seems to spend no time whatsoever with any of his five children. I want to know how Vanessa got out so completely and quietly and managed to get all five kids out too. He’s total sleaze.
I was thinking about his ex-wife recently, too. I remember people saying they were only getting a divorce for financial reasons but she seems to be long gone. Talk about dodging a bullet.
And haha about Guilfoyle, what a shocker.
His job seems to be spreading right wing talking points and smearing Democrats like a petulant, petty punk. I honestly can’t think of a bigger disgrace or a worse Trump.
I’ve never believed the relationship between DJr and KG was anything but a fabrication for PR purposes.
It’s the 90’s all over again. After the 90’s, the third waive feminists gave a lot of lectures. They weren’t there, but they woulda they woulda they woulda. They had and have no clue that Hillary was 100% correct when she spoke about the vast right wing conspiracy. I mean, now it’s right out in the open.
I don’t believe the allegations. But if I did believe the allegations, I’d still vote for him. Because this is an extensional crisis.
The mission is Trump.
Well sexual harassment and rape continue to be woven into the fabric of American life.
I’ve always supported the Democratic Party, now more than ever ( I am working for them at a state level in this election cycle), but I definitely don’t feel like the party is addressing this well. At all.
Blanket denials are not helpful when frankly it’s obvious Biden has a problem here. In general and in particular. It hurts. It feels like a betrayal of my support.
He does have a problem, he’s handsy, he doesn’t respect personal space, I frankly can’t stand him. But I don’t think he raped her. I think this woman is another Kathleen Wiley. I went down the rat hole in the 90’s and again the aughts. The women lied on Bill. Ken Starr came close to prosecuting Wiley for perjury. KEN STARR. He refused to use her testimony.
So, this is not my first rodeo. It’s a painful replay and they will use every feminist word we ever spoke against us, it’s a game to them. If I believed the allegations it’d be harder, but I don’t believe them. And if I did believe them, and it was harder, I’d still waive them off, because Trump is killing people and has been all along. once we allowed the babies in cages we lost our soul as a country, and the bill has come due. Trump is the mission. And that’s all I care about.
‘once we allowed the babies in cages we lost our soul as a country’
That happened with the slaughter of Native Americans and the refusal to give their land back.
Considering what is in the White House and serving on the Supreme Court, it makes me ask, “Is that all you got?” The Republicans scraped the bottom of the barrel with their picks so I really don’t know what other accusations they can find out there that the Republicans aren’t guilty of. The stuff against Biden’s son didn’t stick because Trump’s kids make that stuff look like a Monopoly game. Now they found this woman to say Biden did stuff to her thinking that no one will remember all the accusations against Trump. Whatever. I’m staying the course. I like presidents who don’t try to kill their citizens.
I’m not reading the Tara Reade allegations, not because I think she’s a liar, but because I live in a swing state, and guys, the outlook is pretty grim about the reality of how we have to vote. If you have the privilege of being in a state where you don’t have to worry about him not getting elected, go for it, but you better show up for those down ballot elections. We wouldn’t be in half as bad a position if they had in 2016.
We would have been so much better off had neither Biden OR Sanders run. I am still devastated over the loss. We coulda had Kamala. We could had Warren. Hell if we had to have a white dude, we coulda had BETO.
But the white male ego tells them they’re hot till they’re put in the ground. These two doddering old farts really messed the primary, which was full of exciting young political talent. Now I have to refight the 90’s, and I can do that, but I didn’t need to do that. None of us needed this.
Yes, but people still had a chance and a choice to vote for the young political talent, and didn’t.
This is what I keep coming back to. I didn’t want Biden to run but for whatever reason, people seem to think Biden is the guy who can beat Trump.
Polls, I guess. I never saw it.
Yeah but Trump has seen Biden as the biggest threat, too. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gone to Ukraine for some dirt.
I’m furious that our choices are a man who definitely assaulted women or a man who might’ve assaulted a woman. It’s disgusting, and I’m still deeply, deeply upset that my choice, Warren, was so swiftly knocked out of the race. But Americans voted, and they wanted Joe. The party wants Joe. I don’t know what to say, other than Trump CANNOT win. I don’t like Joe, but he’s not going to turn into an evil dictator who tells the American public he didn’t say what he said yesterday, inject bleach, and 2+2=5. So while I’m angry Joe is the candidate, it won’t be hard for me to vote for him. He was the “safe” blue choice for a lot of folks, I guess. Once he’s in office, THEN we can worry about getting someone younger and more progressive.
If I could be assured he wouldn’t run for a 2nd term I’d feel a lot better about it, but I think he will. These guys don’t give up power willingly. I would love to see him bring in a great VP, and an entire cabinet team of dem stars, so we are set up going forward. That I do think he’ll do, but it will be for naught if he wants a 2nd term. He’s an interim solution, not long term. But I doubt he sees himself that way.
I was glad to see Hillary’s endorsement, and I hope it leads to a surge in donations. Trump continues to amass a huge warchest, so every dollar is critical. I don’t read anything into the timing of her announcement; the campaign is spacing out influencial endorsers to raise funds.
Great choice, but one of the two alleged sex offenders running is a known incompetent narcissist with policies aimed primarily at increasing his own wealth, and the other alleged sex offender has policies aimed at helping the whole country not just himself, and is presumably more competent and level-headed. It’s a lousy choice, but one of those two choices is clearly better than the other.
Great electoral system you have though, America. In most countries, the major party candidates are picked by people who actually know them and the riff-raff are weeded out behind the scenes.
I almost always believe women, but there are so many red flags around Tara’s story and the media’s framing is bizarre.
For example, headlines like “Tara Reade’s Mother Called Larry King about Sexual Assault” which sounds d*mning…but in the bottom of the article the transcript states that Tara’s mother goes “she respects the senator (Biden) and doesn’t want to hurt him or go to the press”. I’m sorry, I know victims act in different ways but that is a VERY odd way for the mother, not the victim, to talk about her daughter’s alleged rapist. Furthermore, it aligns with the initial claim he touched her neck—which the article fails to mention. In fact, much of the coverage fails to mention the initial claim which lines up with the evidence versus her new claim of rape. The brother changed his story, too, even after Tara told a journalist from WaPo or NYT he would confirm the sexual assault. He initially said he hear about the neck touching, and then called back and said “oh yeah, he r*ped her.” The one person, besides the brother, who was willing to go on the record even said she “forgot” until Tara called her. I’m sorry, but again I can’t not imagine forgetting someone telling me they were raped by a prominent senator who was later VP and then President and had to be “reminded” of the rape. Also, she didn’t remember the time, date, or place but then Ryan Grim (who is extremely anti-Biden) called a journalist and said it was a corridor in a Capitol building. It’s just…very hard for me to believe a rape would occur in public, not even an office, in the Capitol building, and again it shows the changing story. Not to mention the blogs, which again most reporters don’t cover where she writes about how America can learn from Putin and how women are in love with him for being “sensuous,” or that she initially accused Warren and Harris’s campaign of knowing about the assault because she went to them and doing nothing.
I don’t like Biden but I’ll vote for him, and I think politically (even if I don’t like him) he’s nowhere near as bad as some make him out to be. He’s done some good in the world. I absolutely believe he’s overly touchy, a product of his time in part but also the arrogance of men who think it’s fine to be touchy and call women “sweetcheeks” and that sort of thing, but this rape thing is very hard for me to believe considering all the red flags of the story.
And I think it reveals an uncomfortable truth: in MeToo era we often don’t discuss a victim, or alleged victim’s, life because we realize there’s no “perfect victim” but if someone has an extremely checkered history and their story changes multiple times…it does need to be brought up by the press and it’s not attacking the victim to examine those facets. And I say this as someone who was assaulted myself.