Some freeper coworkers were just asking me if Biden lied about his wife

[woodsprite]

getting killed by a drunk driver. I told them to show me a quote, that everything I had heard was 'allegedly', 'may have been', 'never charged', 'didn't pursue'. They came up with Sean Hannity's web site where a blogger sources that Inside Edition episode.

I was googling around to find something to refute them and I found a great LTTE written by a Delaware Public Defender. Thought I'd post the link here since some of you may have a similar comment to refute.

Scroll down to SULLIVAN: IT AIN'T SO, GRAPEVINE. I was wondering what party everybody belonged to back then. I was only 9yo, but I remember it and we drove past the garage where they towed the station wagon.

http://www.delawaregrapevine.com/letter.asp

[yardwork]

1. WHAT????

Sean Hannity is suggesting that Biden's wife wasn't really killed? And the Republicans think that this sort of thing will help them???

[Hamlette]

11. they are saying she was not killed by a drunk driver

apparently, according to my reading of the Sullivan letter, Biden has said she was killed by a drunk or impaired driver and maybe even that the GOP which controlled the state at the time covered it up.

I don't think anyone is denying she was killed in a car accident.

[yardwork]

18. and their point is.....what? That Biden made it up? What is WRONG with these people?

They're sick.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Is that a smear now, to counteract the TRUTH about Palin's fucked-up family?

Bwah!! What, do they think Joe murdered her and stuffed her into the crawlspace or something? :crazy:

[GoesTo11]

Including her husband who was convicted of drunk driving

I don't suppose it needs much comment.

Palin's husband is a drunk driver.
Biden's wife and daughter were killed by a drunk driver.

Joe will be too classy to connect the obvious dots. But I'm not.

[progressivebydesign]

12. Todd Palin was also cited for running a red light a few years ago. n/t

[Life Long Dem]

22. No family values at all. Brittney was brought up better!

This is a travesty!

[Brotherjohn]

3. I knew they were going to try to swift-boat this, scum that they are.

They're probably going to say the pictures of him being sworn in by his surviving kids' bedside were faked, too.

Though I gotta say, people, if we keep harping on Palin's daughter, this does drag the campaign down to such things (makes the rank & file voter see questioning Joe's story seem all that more acceptable).

As some have pointed out here today, there is a danger of getting away from the big issues, like the economy, the war, corruption, etc. Obama himself made this a key point in his speech (they're going to try to make this a big election about little things). That's what they're doing here. We shouldn't take the bait and follow suit.

ON EDIT:
Hear hear for Obama! He's saying just that today!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6903995

[msallied]

16. Then rank and file voters are retarded

To think that these issues are even REMOTELY related. Palin's personal politics are direct referendums on her REAL politics. The tragedy of Joe Biden's first wife and his daughter are not.

[1corona4u]

4. Wow, just wow...

what the fuck is wrong with people? I guess they have noting else. How dare they keep opening up old woulds like this. Slimeball.(Hannity)

[eleny]

5. Thanks for postong this - the letter is excellent

The Republicans don't miss the chance to take the low road of lies to smear our candidates.

[trueblue2007]

6. I know it's gonna be painful

But maybe Biden should remark about this slur. Get it out there now. Don't let the attack dogs drag the memory of his wonderful wife and daughter in the mud.

[1corona4u]

29. He already did, last week....

when Inside Edition did their trash piece...it's on the board somewhere...

[zulchzulu]

7. Give me 30 seconds with one of these motherfuckers

They will be in wheelchairs the rest of their lives.

[panader0]

9. I'll join you.

[progressivebydesign]

14. they won't be able to operate the wheelchairs because I'll rip their arms off.. n/t

[central scrutinizer]

8. I think the point they are trying to make is this:

Take some factoids, shake them up and then connect the dots in a way that matches your world view, and you can come up with something like this. They will then say that this is exactly what is happening with the Palin story.

[WinkyDink]

15. I think their point is: We can lie and smear with impunity. Whattayagonna DO about it?

[BeyondGeography]

10. They'll all want to leave the country when Obama wins

Fuck 'em.

[1corona4u]

13. Good. That's the best thing that could happen.

[Left Is Write]

17. Really? Are these the same people who repeatedly mocked and attacked

celebrities who said they'd leave the country if Bush got elected?

[tandot]

24. Great. I'll personally buy them the plane ticket.

I bet other DUers would chip in.

[InNeedOfUserName]

19. That's not a good source.......

"Its speed limit then was 40 miles per hour or less. Twenty feet of skid marks may prove a vehicle to be speeding, depending on the weight of the vehicle and the conditions of the roadway at the time of the accident. "

40 or less?????? The writer is Guessing!!! I spend a lot of time up in Maine wit lots of 2-lane roads where the speed limit is 50-55.


20 feet of skid mark by truck is 'short'...no antilock brakes back then...and tires were crappy back then also.

[woodsprite]

25. The description of the road and the accident were accurate

from what I remember. It was a 2 lane road, bad visibility, dangerous intersection, and the speed limit was 40mph. He didn't say the truck was going 40mph. Yes, alot of fully loaded container/farm produce trucks travel that road at all rates of speed.

[Life Long Dem]

20. Back in 1972 they didn't even have blood test. and

Biden's "...vehicle was propelled 150 feet from the point of impact."

[DS1]

21. Some coworkers need a punch in the face

Gawd, I hate people

[dancingme]

23. I grew up near Wilmington and I remember

all the news coverage when hsi wife and daughter were killed. There is plenty of Philly and Delaware newspapers and TV coverage.

[InNeedOfUserName]

26. "1972 crash still haunts driver's family...No DUI..."

Long article...

By RACHEL KIPP • The News Journal • September 4, 2008
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080904/NEWS02/809040379&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

:(

[LynneSin]

27. God forbid I comment on an underage pregnant girl or a POW Vietnam vet and I get screamed at.....

but it's ok to question how & why Joe Biden's first wife and daugher were killed in a car accident.

Last time I checked Bristol Palin and John McCain are very well alive but no matter what you do you cannot bring back Neilia and Amy.

THAT is the hypocrisy that absolutely disgusts me.

[bullwinkle428]

28. Let's face it - back in the 1970s, drunk driving was treated like a complete joke!!

It really wasn't until maybe the 1980s, when MADD really started pushing state legislatures to up the penalties and lower the blood-alcohol thresholds, that the general public began to take the topic seriously.

The fact that * was busted for DUI in 1976 simply shows how ABSOULTELY FUCKING SHIT-FACED he had to have been to actually get convicted!

[Jennicut]

30. It seems that there were lots of rumors that the driver may have been drunk

but Joe never pursued it. I guess he figured that wouldn't bring his wife and daughter back. Its terrible that anyone would think he would lie about this. He never went after the driver.

[Barack_America]

31. What does it matter if the driver was drunk?

His wife and child died. They were killed by another driver. I'm sure that the details of the crash were the least of his worries for a long time.

[pnwmom]

32. What a nice guy to take the time to write this thoughtful letter.

I guess there are still a few Republicans with a heart.