Linda Hirshman: "I Believe Tara Reade. I'm Voting for Joe Biden Anyway."

[jcmaine72]

Let’s be clear: I believe Tara Reade. I believed Anita Hill, too. Remember the buttons? I wore one. What’s the constant here? Joe Biden, then the bumbling head of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Long before Ms. Reade, before the reports of the rubbing and the sniffing, I interviewed an adviser to Ms. Hill, who said she’d tried to warn Mr. Biden of what was happening in the Thomas hearings — how unchecked Republicans were smearing an upright woman’s character. But “the United States Senate was still very much a boys’ club” back then, the adviser told me, and there was no getting through to him. Democratic primary voters knew all about Mr. Biden’s membership in that boys’ club when there was still time to pick someone else. Alas.

So what’s a girl to do now? Discounting Ms. Reade’s accusation and, one after another, denigrating her corroborating witnesses, calling for endless new evidence, avowing that you “hear” her, is nonsense. We are now up to four corroborating witnesses — including one contemporary corroborating witness, unearthed by Rich McHugh, who was Ronan Farrow’s producer at NBC News during the Harvey Weinstein #MeToo reporting — and one “Larry King Live” tape.

So stop playing gotcha with the female supporters of Mr. Biden or the #MeToo movement, making them lie to the camera — or perhaps to themselves — about doubting her to justify their votes.

I’ll take one for the team. I believe Ms. Reade, and I’ll vote for Mr. Biden this fall.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/06/opinion/tara-reade-joe-biden-vote.html

Pretty much this. After all, what choice do we have? Trump must be stopped at all costs. The fate of the entire planet hangs in the balance.

[Drunken Irishman]

1. Tara Reade is a liar.

And this headline is appalling. Linda Hirshman should be embarrassed for it.

You ask what choice we have? Easy - investigate Reade and give me a reason to believe her continually evolving stories.

She has lied multiple times about her claim. She has gotten her brother to lie multiple times about her claim. Frankly, she is a proven liar and this story is fucking disgusting.

We will not win this election if we continue to slime Biden as a rapist and say, "what other choice do we have?"

It's either Biden didn't rape Tara Reade (which he didn't) or he did and we lose.

Because we will lose this election with this bullshit narrative of calling Biden a rapist but someone who's not as bad as Trump.

[Eliot Rosewater]

2. Yep, she is lying absolutely. He did the same thing Al Franken did, nothing.

Well unless being a faithful husband and good guy for their entire adult lives is bad.

[Drunken Irishman]

3. Yup and if the left thinks this narrative is going to win Biden the election, they're fucking stupid

Sitting there stating you believe the Democratic nominee is a rapist, but you're gonna vote for him anyway because the alternative is worse, is fucking suicide.

Even the GOP wasn't that fucking dumb to say, "we believe Trump is a rapist but we need him in office!"

My God I wonder if the left even has any sense left?

[SoonerPride]

4. I don't believe Tara Reade and I'm voting for Biden

[JI7]

5. what does she believe about from tara Reid , how about the woman who said

Reid committed fraud against her ?

[gratuitous]

10. That's kinda where I come down

If Hirshman wants to believe Reade, that's all well and good. But what about Reade's story does Hirshman believe? I'm inclined to believe that Biden ran his finger alongside Reade's neck. Biden has a history of being a touchy-feely kind of guy, and guys like that cross the line, often unwittingly. I quit being a touchy-feely kind of guy after reading enough sexual harassment lawsuits and complaints to see that a big fat hairy guy like me was far better off keeping my hands to myself.

But the story where Biden forced Reade up against a wall and fingered her? Nope, I don't buy that for a second, and if it was part of Biden's character, Reade wouldn't be the only one talking about it. Biden's been in public life long enough that any proclivity toward assault would have come out by now. While it often takes one courageous victim who just won't be ignored, once their story is out there, others follow. I couldn't believe the initial story about Bill Cosby. But when victim after victim began coming forward, the truth of allegations became irresistible. The initial story about Harvey Weinstein was easier to believe, but he wasn't in any danger of prosecution until the story became stories and the incidents, complete with dates, times, and places began filling in.

We don't have that with Joe Biden, Christine O'Donnell's niece notwithstanding.

[JI7]

6. "I believe Joe Biden was at the 2008 Gridiron"

that makes me feel so pure and morally superior.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. Self-Serving, Self-Important Nonsense

There is not an iota of logic in that whole piece.
Lots of self congratulatory rhetoric and willfully turgid prose.
A disappointing waste of words.

[Funtatlaguy]

8. I don't believe her, but would vote for Biden even if I did.

I’d vote for ANYONE over Trump. Anyone.

[LakeArenal]

9. Tara Reade is a liar.

There’s no way to prove a negative.

[LisaL]

11. Give me a break.

I don't believe the story for a millisecond.

[oasis]

12. I'm not buying Hirshman's subtle dig. I doubt she'll bother to vote.

[Walleye]

13. Outrage about smearing Anita Hill, but ok with smearing Joe Biden🤬

[LizBeth]

14. I do not know if I believe Reade and this. This is a smoldering anger I carry with this nominee and

yes, we knew "very much a boys’ club” and there was still time to pick someone else. Alas. One reason a woman VP a must.

[Iggo]

15. I don't. But that's not the issue. Trump is the issue. And I'm voting for the other guy.

No matter who.

[meadowlander]

16. You have a choice between a man with one accuser and a man with twenty six who has been caught on

tape admitting that he "grabs women by the pussy".

Not voting is a vote for the second one.

It's not rocket science.

Whether he did it or not is irrelevant to the question of whether or not you should vote for him. These are the only two options that the system has produced.

[maxsolomon]

17. This is a stretch:

"Democratic primary voters knew all about Mr. Biden’s membership in that boys’ club when there was still time to pick someone else."

Go on down to S. Carolina and survey Dem Primary Voters. I'd wager <50% know who Tara Reade is, and it's likely that same amount know who Anita Hill is.

Most voters don't follow the minutiae. They know he was Obama's VP. End of story.

[ucrdem]

18. 4 witnesses to what exactly?

And I've already heard "8 women" so tomorrow there will be more. This is Franken II and completely ridiculous. Thanks NY Times.

[HotTeaBag]

19. I do too, and so will I.

Something happened between Reade and Biden that falls somewhere on the spectrum of 'nothing at all' on one end and 'sexual assault' on the other.

We'll probably never know exactly what it was, but my guess is it's somewhere in the middle.

[jcmaine72]

20. Linda Hirshman was just being honest.

She's just expressing what nearly everyone who wants to see this travesty of a presidency end feels but would never admit publicly, including many here who are angrily shaking their fists at Ms Hirshman.

Let's face facts: There isn't a single person here who wouldn't vote for Biden over Trump under any circumstances, including me. This is a war we're in. America's future is at stake. There's always collateral damage in war. Anyone who states otherwise isn't being honest.

It's Joe or Trump. The choice is clear and simple. Nothing else matters.

[HarlanPepper]

26. Horseshit.

[Hav]

21. Or you could still use your critical thinking skills

You don't have to believe everyone, that is wrong and idiotic. Assess the available information. Don't just blindly believe such a serious charge from a proven liar who constantly changes her story and then just brush the rape charge you chose to believe away as if it's nothing. That makes a mockery of both sides. Reade is absolutely not credible. But if she was telling the truth, saying I believe you but I'll support your abuser is a sick joke, it's completely worthless.

And why is such a moronic and disgusting bs brought here? Considering some other recent threads that almost seem designed to feed the Biden haters and fuel resentment, it really feels as if some increased ratfucking is going on here.

[JI7]

22. agree, pushing this as if it's true while hiding behind " i will vote for him"

which i doubt they will do.

the main purpose is of course to spread the negativity and attacks on biden in order to help trump.

the OP totally dismisses any facts and evidence surrounding this case and reminds me of right wingers on gun control, climate change, the recent pandemic.

[BGBD]

23. Corroborating whitnesses?

Who? Not one of them were told of anything until years later and not one of them remember her actually telling them this story. They all had to be "reminded" of having been told about it. They were also coached by far left media figures. Kind of funny that the only people who have been able to come up with a witness are these same far left media people who want to install Bernie as the nominee.

Oh, and they claimed they had like 6 corroborating witnesses for the Christine O' Donnell accusation that was proven to be an obvious lie within an hour. So, what kind of scrutiny are they actually putting into this?

[videohead5]

24. Her biggest lie other than Biden assaulting her

Is about the complaint she says she filed with the senate personnel office. If she had filed a complaint there would have been a hearing on it but no one remembers a thing about it.

[HarlanPepper]

25. Amazing anyone believes that nutty hag.