If Democrats blow up Joe Biden for THIS,

[MelissaB]

get ready for 4 more years of Trump.

There is a big difference between creepy behavior (if that's even what this was) and sexual assault.

This is a targeted, calculated hit on Joe Biden.

Are we really going to eat our own for THIS?

[Desert grandma]

1. I hope not!

This would be the GOP dream. We will give them the next 4 years if this continues. Stop. People. Just stop.!! Biden has the experience that can restore the stature of the US on the world stage. If he were to choose a female or a minority for his VP, I think he would win. Remember the rust belt??? Biden can get that vote. I don't know that any of our other candidates can.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. The meal is being prepared as we speak.

This is going to set a very bad precedent.

This must stop, and stop now.

[Trenzalore]

3. The precedent was set with Franken

Frankly the GOP has a missile to aim at any democratic politician male or female after they folded and crucified Franken so quickly.

[BannonsLiver]

14. Franken was the trial balloon

A lot of people fell for it. That’s why we’ll see some version of that for every Dem candidate who is a threat to win the nomination.

[Trenzalore]

18. Right now some people are under the false belief women candidates will be immune

That will not be the case at all

[BannonsLiver]

21. I think that's a fair assessment

[democratisphere]

30. What a price to pay; the loss of Al Franken done in by Dems.

[BannonsLiver]

34. Yep. The KGOP approves.

[Demsrule86]

4. Exactly right...mark my words.

[WeekiWater]

5. I think it's really up to Biden if this blows him up or not.

He isn't even currently running. He has known this is going to be one of his obstacles. He isn't being caught off guard.

[marylandblue]

10. I agree. He needs to take control of the news cycle.

It's a blip if he can change the subject, but major damage if these stories drip out one by one until it becomes fixed in the voters' minds.

[LuvLoogie]

6. It's bull. Most Dems know it's bull.

I'd say there is a significant overlap of people fretting over Joe and those who would have had Avenatti run because of his "authenticity" and willingness to "fight fire with fire."

[handmade34]

7. it wasn't creepy behavior

as I've heard it described… at the most it was an inadvertent invasion of personal space and Flores should have shared that with Biden then and if not then and still had concerns now... she should have communicated with him about her feelings

[customerserviceguy]

8. I agree, partially

the hands on the shoulders thing, even if it was from behind, was probably OK. But the kiss, often described as long, even if the location on the head has changed slightly between versions, is at least borderline creepy.

If Flores is the only one who comes forward, then this story is old news in two weeks or less. But if more such stories emerge, well, it's going to get difficult for Biden.

[Gothmog]

49. Joe Biden is a honestly decent human being

Link to tweet

Decorum seemed far from Biden’s mind when he went off-schedule to stop by the Cabinet Room on June 10, 2013. He slung an arm around my husband, who was about to be nominated by President Barack Obama as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; he hugged my in-laws, whom he had never met; and then he homed in on my kindergartner. The vice president sat down and whispered to my anxious kid about the small Schleich knight he was clutching. My son relaxed, and slumped back into Biden’s lap. At that point, an aide interrupted to say that Biden was overdue for a meeting with Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi. Still, he refused to rush. He called over my daughter and his photographer for this photo:

Why am I telling another “Biden being Biden” story? Because I believe that the character of the person who occupies the Oval Office is of the utmost importance, and because I believe that Biden, far from a bad man, is an unusually good one.....

Biden’s disregard of this protocol is telling. He enters a room, just as he enters a debate about union rights or domestic violence, with a predisposition to lend an ear to the least powerful.

Judging from the reaction to the recent spate of Biden stories, time is up on avuncular attention, now interpreted as at best pernicious paternalism and at worst septuagenarian sexual harassment. In the cultural revolution under way in America, men like Biden are invited to offer their head if their prior actions deviated from the new norms.

No doubt, character counts. I, for one, admire Biden’s deviant decency.

[redstatebluegirl]

9. One of the current candidates are terrified of Biden.

I will leave it at that. They and their supporters are pulling out all of the stops to push him out before he even gets in.

[Blue_true]

12. That is the pure shame of it all. They don't care if Trumps stays in office if they can't

get their choice nominated by democrats.

[democratisphere]

31. You nailed it with THIS statement.

[Cha]

57. Here is an article by Ben Cohen on that.. a former

BS supporter..

Link to tweet

[NurseJackie]

11. There are some who honestly believe that they must "destroy the party to rebuild it"...

There are some who honestly believe that they must "destroy the party to rebuild it" and I believe that this may be part of the plan. It's very Sarandonesque. Anyone who pays attention to the "Justice Democrats" and "Our Revolution" and "BNC" (and anyone who's associated with Cenk Uygur) it's very obvious that there's no love-lost for the Democratic party and in the name of purity (or what they think passes as purity) they're willing to cripple, hobble and/or "destroy" the party in order to remake/rebuild it.

Even if it means four more years of Trump. Even if people suffer.

It's what Susan Sarandon wanted. Just LOOK at how giddy and animated she is...
... she can barely contain her excitement at the horrors that await us.

[BlueFlorida]

15. +1,000,000

And three of Bernie's top campaign aides promoted voting for Jill Stein. Bernie never told them not to do that. Go figure.

[sarabelle]

17. Why didn't these people aim to destroy the Republican Party? It's still not to late.

Run for the GOP is you don't like the Democrats.

[peggysue2]

43. Some people feel . . .

Sounds downright Trumpian. Strange, no?

[NurseJackie]

44. I've thought the same thing many times.

It's disgusting. Unforgivable.

[Gothmog]

50. Arghh

[SidDithers]

13. Or maybe elect a woman...nt

Sid

[Trenzalore]

19. If you think a woman candidate is immune

You are mistaken

[nolabear]

38. Ain't that the truth.

There are a lot of people who’ve forgotten what Hillary went through. What she was called. Accused of. Held up to be. I’ll happily vote for a woman but it’ll becwar.

[PunkinPi]

22. +1,000,000 nt

[MineralMan]

36. I'm all for it. Which woman, though?

I like Kamala Harris best, and think she'd be a great VP for a one-term Biden. However, I don't think she could win the general election for President in 2020. In fact, I doubt that any of the current women running could. We're going to need a very savvy, veteran politician to win next November. So far, the only one I see is Biden. Sanders doesn't fit that bill, and lost in the primaries last time, to boot.

[UniteFightBack]

16. I think that everybody knows about Joe's affectionate nature that some deem as creepy. BAKED IN. nt

[keithbvadu2]

20. Surely Gillibrand has an opinion on this.

Surely Gillibrand has an opinion on this.

[brooklynite]

24. Gillibrand supports Lucy Flores...

...as does Elizabeth Warren, Julian Castro, John Delaney, Jay Inslee, John Hickenlooper and Amy Klobuchar. But of course, only Gillibrand has an ulterior motive in her support, right?

[brooklynite]

23. A comparison to Trump is not warranted...

First, if Biden were the nominee, you would have a point, but he's not. We have 15 other candidates who don't have the same complaint hanging over them.

Second, it doesn't MATTER if Trump did something worse. The question is: what is the acceptable threshold of behavior?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

52. Seems quite logical and sensible.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Duppers]

25. Exactly!

[Renew Deal]

26. It is what it is

This stuff was out there and everyone knew it.

[Blues Heron]

27. Biden's been a little mildly "off" since his brain surgery

I wonder if it affected a region of the brain that governs impulse control/appropriatness.

[watoos]

32. Your post is a joke, right?

[PatSeg]

37. What???

Yeah, I don't think so and I certainly wouldn't want to give republicans any ideas. I remember what they tried to imply about Hillary's health in 2016.

[namahage]

51. Republicans already tried that.

Or, should I say, Freepers...some "doctor" even came by and pushed that theory a few days back.

Needless to say, the doc is munching on some well-deserved pizza.

[Cha]

56. lol..

[PatSeg]

58. Yep

There's no depths too low for republicans to go and no attacks too ridiculous for them to entertain. If they can't find some obscure garbage to blow up out of proportion, they'll just make stuff up. Clearly they are never going to change. If anything they have gotten worse, so it us who have to change our reactions.

On a positive note, they tend to only go after candidates that they perceive as a threat.

[AlexSFCA]

28. It's just the beginning, wait till he actually runs

I fully expect non stop rw media weaponized by fake stories and doctored photos, etc. I hope the country is prepeared. They’ll try to fight Joe with anything, Anita Hill, Iraq vote, women, etc.

[Funtatlaguy]

29. The meme has been set against him: "Creepy Joe"

Joes opponents (both Dem and GOP) want this to keep him from running.
We shall see how much he wants to fight this soon.

[PatSeg]

40. Someone just used "Creepy Joe"

on a thread in a progressive group on Facebook. I immediately thought, "troll" and it appears I was probably right.

On a more positive note, and there really is one, this faux controversy seems to be good for Joe. I've never seen so many people jump to his defense before. I think sane, rational people have had enough of politicians using the #MeToo movement to unjustly attack political opponents.

Now people are defending Joe and in the process, they are also pointing out his many strengths. Can't buy that kind of publicity.

[watoos]

33. This will only hurt Joe in the primary.

This should not keep Joe from running. This attack on Joe is designed to keep him from running or to make him lose the primary. If Joe really wants to run this should not stop him.

If he wins our primary, this sexual narrative disappears in the general election. No way will Republicans want to run on a sexual pervert issue when the king of sexual perversion is their candidate.

This is just about the primary.

[Little Star]

39. Agree.

[PatSeg]

41. Good point

[Sugarcoated]

42. None of my Trumper friends on FB are touching it

Two of my Bernie supporting friends, unfortunately are...doing Trump and Putin's work for them

[RLG]

35. Everybody is getting hit.

The problem is will this continue throughout the whole campaign.

It'll get worse before it gets better, unfortunately.

[marlakay]

45. To me it's all about whether people can still

Hug each other in public or whether you have to ask each time.

Joes intention may be good but some people don’t see it like that they just don’t like touch.

I found that out with a new girlfriend as I tend to hug my friends hello and goodbye. She stiffened up and I immediately never did it again, but I noticed as we got closer friends she asked me to hug as we left last time.

[Cha]

46. KICK!

[Gothmog]

47. I like this statement by Joe Biden

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

48. Washington Post-Opinion: After his video, Biden may come out even stronger

Link to tweet

By late Wednesday afternoon, his video tweet had received more than 66,000 likes.

It’s not clear this was even necessary. Other than journalists, it was hard to find anyone who honestly thought “Biden is a hugger” was news; it surely wasn’t new. Even Republicans had come to his rescue. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), in a reminder of the old Lindsey Graham, remarked, “I just want to say Joe Biden is my friend, and I know him very well, and whatever he did it may have been inappropriate but it was not driven by malice or misconduct.” Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) also vouched for him, as has Meghan McCain.

Biden conveyed in his message why he touches people — to soothe, empathize and encourage. In saying that he would resist the notion that politics has to be “antiseptic,” he showed that he’s in public service not for glory but to help others. In short, he helped voters remember the positive qualities he’s well known for, which even political opponents attest to.

[Gothmog]

53. In Defense of Joe Biden: A Hug When I Needed One

Link to tweet

At age 33, I had been a life-long Republican. I worked for, what many might describe as the “dark side and/or Darth Vaders of politics”, including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Sarah Palin. I was conservative in my upbringing, values, and beliefs. I stayed true to those feelings yet still found myself drawn to Joe Biden. Our affable, blunder-prone, yet seemingly oh-so-real Vice President.....

I was anxious, sad, and seriously swollen with emotion but was able to get a chance to meet the Vice President. Many of the local Democrats remarked “what are YOU doing here?” when I showed up in line at his photo opportunity. I explained my affection for VP Biden because of what I had been through, and no one blinked an eye, everyone understood. He was a good man. No matter your party.

When my turn came up to have my brief meet-and-greet and photo taken with Vice President Biden, I was nervous. Why AM I here?? But immediately, he knew my story (his staff had briefed him) and he brought me in for a long, big hug. It was exactly what I needed. We discussed Beau and my father. We talked about the recent loss of my mother — he understood family tragedy. He was close, nose to nose at times and hand in hand, but it was in that personal touch that I KNEW he was a human. Not a Vice President, or a politician, or someone that was giving a speech later that night. He was a real person, who had been through real things. Just like me. We must’ve talked for five minutes — far more than the paying Democrat contributors got! — but it was so genuine, no one would complain. Especially Mr. Biden, communicating and comparing stories with me was clearly a highlight for him amidst his political duties. I left with a giant smile on my face, the first in days, and was uplifted for a long time after. I met my hero, and he was exactly what I had expected him to be.

My point in telling this story is that, while Vice President Biden has a very personal and affectionate way about him, it is only because he loves people. He loves people’s stories. Man, woman, child. Father, mother, son, daughter, spouse. He knows people are hurting and can relate and offer genuine support. And human touch is the most basic form of relaying that. There is no ulterior motive — he just wants to get close to everyone. Because he cares about their stories. And is human. And THAT is what matters most and crosses all party lines.

[John Fante]

54. Nice post.

I can easily see this back-firing on the right-wingers and fake progressives.

[Cha]

55. Thank you for Jeannie Etchart's story, Goth..