Posted on 11/16/2017 9:35:09 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
According to reports that former Vice President Joe Biden is making no attempt whatsoever to deny, the internets favorite uncle is moving closer and closer to a formal 2020 presidential bid. Of course, his vigilance in criticizing the dealings of the Trump administration, increasingly frequent appearances on late night shows, vocal social media presence and, most recently, an appearance at Glamours Women of the Year summit in New York on Monday hardly leave room for doubt, but Politicos report last week made it start to feel real.
And yet, speaking of the womens summit, beneath the former veeps cuddly and progressive exterior, theres room for criticism in terms of what, exactly, his presidential bid would mean for womens rights. After all, Id like to remind you that in a Washingtonian profilealbeit one published decades agoBiden not-so-famously uttered the words, I dont like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I dont think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body. The quote may have quietly faded to irrelevance over the years, but it really shouldnt have, and in either case, it seems more relevant now than ever to the Democratic Partybut more on that later.
Bidens appearance at the aforementioned Glamour summit this week turned a little contentious when an audience member asked Biden about the Senate hearing he chaired for Clarence Thomas 1991 nomination to the Supreme Court, and specifically, about accusations that women whom Thomas allegedly sexually harassed werent adequately protected or given opportunity to speak. At the time of the confirmation hearing, Biden notably told The New York Times he believed it was important to start off with a presumption of giving the person accused the benefit of the doubt.
Biden smooth-talked his way through the question, asserting that hed always believed Anita Hill, Thomas most famous accuser, and praising her bravery for coming forward. But the answer wasnt particularly satisfying, as Biden seemed unwilling to take responsibility for his shortcomings as an ally.
Nonetheless, I admit that questioning Bidens stance on womens rights might seem more than a little out of left field, considering his record that includes writing the Violence Against Women Act while in the Senate, positioning himself at the helm of White House initiatives to fight campus sexual assault, and, speaking of campus sexual assault, his myriad inspiringand, I dont doubt, heartfeltspeeches about the issue. Just this week, he made headlines for teaming up with Lady Gaga to open trauma centers for survivors across the country.
When it comes to his intentions and genuine passion for fighting sexual assault, Im willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, although I support women who continue to question him about how he handledor may have mishandledThomas confirmation hearing until he offers a good answer. Almost every opportunity hes had to bring the issue of campus sexual assault to the spotlight, to give survivors and advocates platforms, hes taken.
Nonetheless, his history re: Anita Hill is concerning, and yet, when it comes to how a Biden 2020 run could hurt women, Anita Hill is just the tip of the iceberg. To be clear, its Bidens stance on abortionat a time when many members of Democratic Party leadership have made it abundantly clear this isnt something they care enough about to push Democratic candidates onthat I find particularly worrying.
Since last he spoke about the issue, Biden, while identifying as pro-choice, supports the Hyde amendment: a law that bans federal funding for abortion with few exceptions (i.e. rape, incest, endangerment of the mother). Support for the law is tantamount to saying that human rights, such as that most fundamental right to bodily autonomy, should only be accorded to the women privileged enough to be able to afford them. Wed be kidding ourselves if we ignored how women quite literally die or severely injure themselves as a result of lack of access to abortion due to the ever increasing legal, geographic or financial barriersthe United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world.
This isnt about respecting conscientious abortion opponentswho, as a gentle reminder, are A-OK with their tax dollars funding wars where thousands of born, living humans are killed. And yet, Biden seemed to think thats what it was about when he wrote in 1994 that those of us who are opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them.
According to Mother Jones, Biden also has a record of supporting a 1982 amendment that would have overturned Roe, and siding with abortion opponents throughout the 1990s and early 2000s to support bans on late-term abortions, which are rare and often needed by women in dire health situations. And I know that, for whatever reason, theres a sort of (very sexist) unspoken rule that we shouldnt talk about her anymore, but I think its worth noting Hillary Clinton voted against the same late-term abortion bans that Biden voted for.
Its deeply unfortunate that Biden hasnt been brought to task about his record of attacking Roe, or supporting policies of reproductive coercion like Hyde, which allows the state to all but force poor women to give birth, and late-term bans that fundamentally misrepresent the grave situations of the women seeking them. In particular, Bidens opposition to public funding for abortion feels idiosyncratic, to say the least, after both Clinton and Sanders, the two Democratic candidates of 2016, both came out opposing the Hyde amendment last year. And my fear is that, now that Democratic starsranging from DNC chair Tom Perez to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to purported progressive icon Bernie Sanders to Rep. Ben Ray Lujá, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman to California Gov. Jerry Brownhave all come out supporting the concept of anti-choice Democrats running for office, Biden will never really be questioned on or pressured to change his stance.
Were living in an age in whichafter the first female presidential nominee of a major political party lost because our country is more broken, racist, and sexist than many of us could have imaginedthe Democratic Party is increasingly trying to distance itself from that scorned term, identity politics, and the appearance of intolerance of conservative views. They still dont understand November 8, 2016, and women and marginalized groups will suffer the consequences. Theyre forgetting that the views theyre making an effort to include are viewpoints that oppress, marginalize, andin cases of abortionjeopardize the lives of real, living people. For the sake of optics and appeasing those who are more interested in preserving ideological diversity than acknowledging that our lawmakers continue to fail marginalized people every day, key Democratic influencers arent going to push Biden to adapt his stance on a key womens right, and frankly, that should be terrify women.
Ive said this before and Ill say it again: compromise on abortion isnt going to win over Republican voters, but you can bet that it will lose principled womens rights supporters. Last Tuesday showed Democrats what their strategy should be: supporting diverse, grassroots campaigns across every office of government.
Specific to Biden, perhaps against my better judgment, I like the manits difficult not toand I believe there could be time for him to correct his stances and take responsibility for where his politics have hurt women in the past. But he is deeply, deeply flawedespecially, ironically, with regard to the record on womens rights that hes so proud of. And if Democratic Party leadership isnt going to call him out on this, then its up to us.
If a picture of Biden being a pervert is equal to a thousand words, how about these pictures? It is time to bring out the obscene/creepy pictures of Biden fondling girls/teenage girls and women of all ages!
Hands UnChristian Creepy Uncle Joe Biden in action:!
Sexual Predator Joe Biden in action!
http://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3604744/posts?page=1
Joe, also, liked to grope male cops!:
https://cdn.newsbusters.org/images/Joe-Biden-wandering-hand.jpg
then just walk away...
Where are the pictures from Joe Bidens Groping Tour ?
“Touch me touch me touch me touch me/ I wanna be dirty...” Yes Susan Sarandon is a world class c**t but it pretty much describes Bite Me.
Joe Biden looks like an incredibly bad candidate, until you look at the other Demoncrat front-runners. Then he starts to look reasonably good. He’s too stupid to be REALLY bad.
This is cr@p. Biden authored VAWA, and has always postured on “women’s rights.”
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