Thank you for this. One of the problems with the Me Too movement and social media is that we become frozen in fear. Our fear makes us believe anything about anyone, even people we KNOW really well. Anyone can seem like a monster. But if what she alleges about Biden (the second time) is true — a few things would be true. 1) she would have been emotionally scarred and it would have followed her for life. As a victim myself I know this is true and thus, tweeting such praise of Biden specifically relating to sexual assault is WRONG. 2) He would have a clear pattern of similar behavior, like Weinstein, like Charlie Rose, etc. None of the claims against Biden are anything of this sort. Hitting Biden with this charge allows Trump, for instance, to fight back against the “Biden is decent” campaign and also gives his female voters less of a reason to flip to Biden. If Tara is hoping to “help” Bernie, she is only really ultimately (per Putin) helping Trump because of course Putin would not want Biden to take power.
Why, because Biden was Obama’s Veep, for starters, before you even get to corruption in the Ukraine. Putin well knows those sanctions against the rich in Russia will likely carry over.
I am not one of those people who “believe women” without any reasonable doubt or rule of law. Women are complex creatures. We are not all saints. We lie. This is not just a lie, it’s an ugly, unforgivable smear of a man she obviously greatly admired before it was went bad for her in her own life.
I met Biden in DC in 2008 when my daughter’s fifth grade class visited. I have met such a kind, accessible man — he stood there with us, shook our hands, hugged our kids — and I noticed how warm and friendly he was. Somehow in this generation that is seen as wrong or creepy — I always want to say, was a time when we did touch each other affectionally and that was okay.
This is a terrible low for not just Tara, not just the Bernie movement, but for all of those who were oh so ready to convict Biden, a faithful public servant for 40 years. Sadly, this won’t be the end of it. This election will be very very ugly. Thank you for writing this.
