Joe Biden, Feminist

[medicswife]

In January 2000, when the Supreme Court assembled to hear oral arguments attacking a pivotal section of the Violence Against Women Act, Joseph Biden was front and center. VAWA legally protects women from domestic abuse and gender-based violence, and Biden has proclaimed it the "most important legislative accomplishment" of his Senate career. But, long before the law had reached a congressional vote, Chief Justice William Rehnquist had attacked the "Civil Rights for Women" section, with which Biden sought to define gender-motivated crimes as bias or hate crimes.

As Rehnquist prepared to open the morning's first argument, Biden did not sit somberly. Rather, the senator swiveled in his seat (conspicuous to most of us in the court's press section), smiling cheerily and talking with nearby allies, including numerous female attorneys who had helped him shape the bill. Although Biden had no official role, he sought to signal that--in what he described that day as a "titanic struggle"--neither he nor the women around him would go quietly in defeat.

The rest of the article is here: http://www.tnr.com/toc/story.html?id=685a4524-9702-49c0...

It's a long article, but so far good enough I wanted to link to it from here. :)

[Jennicut]

1. Funny that the MSM labeled Palin a feminist when Biden has done more for women

Ironic and moronic.

[gateley]

2. K&R -- Agree - great article! Thanks!! nt

[Captain Hilts]

3. I like Joe, a LOT, but he was a Clarence Thomas enabler. nt

[jillan]

6. There is one part of that story that no one ever mentions - and it really pisses me off.

There was a co-worker of Anita Hill's that wanted to testify that Anita was bragging to him that she was dating Thomas Hill, so basically the co-worker was going to question Anita's credibility.
That person never testified.

[Muttocracy]

7. I'm curious what you think of this take on it

in another TNR article today (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x7094564)

"Women's groups remain angry at Biden to this day. If the supporting witnesses had testified, they believe, he would have been defeated. But this is wishful thinking. "In the end, the feminists who cheered Hill on made a terrible miscalculation," Gitenstein writes. "According to polling by The New York Times, most women sided with Thomas, not Hill."

Biden calculated that he couldn't defeat Thomas by violating his privacy, and that Democrats could have won more votes by fighting him on the merits. "The groups never understood the strategy we used on Bork: to break off the moderate Republicans and hold the Southern Democrats by focusing on privacy," Gitenstein says. In other words, Biden understood that he couldn't continue to build a case based on Thomas's threat to privacy if the Democrats' own conduct showed how little they valued Thomas's privacy."

[PatSeg]

9. So few people really understand what happened

but your post helps a lot. The whole thing was more complex than a lot of people realize.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

4. Meanwhile, Palin charged rape victims for rape kits.

Who's the feminist now?

[jillan]

5. Biden has done so much for women's rights around the world.

I'm glad this is getting out to the public.

[Muttocracy]

8. afternoon kick. nt

[PatSeg]

10. The link didn't work

;(

[Muttocracy]

11. I think it's this one:

http://www.tnr.com/toc/story.html?id=685a4524-9702-49c0-b062-7d9ecd21a854

[PatSeg]

12. Thanks!

[renate]

13. proud to give this rec #5 for Joe--love that guy! n/t