Discussion: Why Does Creepy Uncle Joe Biden Get A Pass From Liberals?

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#223

Alana has a convincing case for her claim that Biden is guilty of sexism and sexual harassment and that we liberals are guilty of giving him a pass on those offenses.

First, we have Alana’s evidence of the coverup:

he has never been accused of harassment or assault

Never, not even by political opponents. We liberals do good coverup.

Second, we have Alana’s evidence – two photographs! – of Biden’s sexism and sexual harassment:

In photo #1, we see Biden head/face nuzzling an elderly woman (I hope I get these photo URLs correct):

In photo #2, we see Biden casually reaching out and placing a hand on a young woman:

With such clear evidence, we liberals must reflect on the part we have played in allowing the monsters among us to act with impunity, merely because it is politically convenient to do so. I ask all of you to join me in swearing NO MORE COVERUPS. We must purge our ranks.

This is not mere sloganeering on my part. I am urging action, and I urge all you you join me in my first act, which will be to demand…

…that TPM writer Alana Levinson cease to use the accusations of sexism to cover up Biden’s real and awful secret. As Alana well knows, because the pictures are out there, Biden is a lecherous pedophile.

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#224

Yeah, the defensive response from the editors is really unbecoming. Kinda shows they’re just playing at the journalism thing.

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#225

Good job. I have always felt that what makes a liberal different from a conservative is our willingness to question our own behavior.

I am of Joe Biden’s generation, but would never dream of demeaning a black man the way Biden demeans women. Our age does not excuse us from the need to treat all people with respect. No one, especially no one in a position of authority, should ever force unwanted contact on a woman, or a child.

Joe Biden has done good work in the past on women’s issues, but equality will always remain elusive as long as his behavior is accepted as “harmless” or “boys will be boys.” It is time boys grew up.

#226

The author provided no examples of Biden doing this. Do you have any?

Also, “unwanted contact” seems too broad a description, if it is behavior you wish to condemn. I don’t want people bumping into me, but it happens, and it almost always is accidental or unavoidable due to crowding. Can you be more specific?

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#227

The TPM Facebook page is also overflowing with even more sexist liberals shamelessly defending this lecherous old man - sadly, about half of those deluded sexist liberals are women.

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#228

I think you meant facetious. There’s little felicitous about this article.

#229

Most pathetic of all, it looks now like SOMEONE bit at the bait pile on Youtube:

Slow news day? Here, have some fun with this:

#230

Standing ovation! I’m on the lookout for other political websites to hang out on with some of these commenters. I’ve recently found politicalwire.com, which has shorter stories but less of the HuffPo style nonsense. I’ve also been on Raw Story and Thinkprogress.org a lot. I’m sick of the poorly written and researched articles, the hit pieces, and the false equivalence. I still hate the comment system, which is really ironic because I only come here for the comments. I refuse to pay to play on The Hive. I spend less and less time here and can foresee that dwindling to zero in the near future.

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#231

Provide click-bait, it looks like.

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#232

Thanks for posting that.
I was looking for more reactions and I couldn’t find anything. I don’t even think of Facebook anymore so I overlooked the obvious.
So out of 150 posts on it, there were like, 10, that agreed with the article and and 4 of those were from the same person.

At what point do we get to declare that the author and the editor are living in Imaginationland when it comes to “sexist liberals” and “lecherous” Joe Biden?
I think the tally is the whole world versus nine friends kvetching in a Brooklyn Starbucks.

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#233

I didn’t feel like signing in yesterday to add my voice. Thank you, arrrrrj, for saying it better than I probably could. Josh, please take note.

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#234

All through the thread, people asking for examples of where Biden’s conduct was deserving of condemnation get only the sound of crickets in response.

Joe touches everybody, so it isn’t sexism. The touches are not sexual in nature or intent, so it isn’t sexual assault and it is miles away from lechery. He doesn’t hold on until he gets what he wants, so it isn’t forced. There have been no accusations of sexual harassment, so there is no indication that he continues to treat people in a way that makes them uncomfortable or that makes those who work with him feel pressured to allow him to use touch as part of his social interaction.

All that Alana and a very few supporters here and on Facebook are left with is a personal “ick” response. They don’t want some old guy kissing them on the cheek or putting an arm around them, even for entirely non-sexual reasons and even if there is no insistence behind the act. I can sympathize with that, but I won’t condemn it for the reasons in the preceding paragraph.

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#235

Thanks. Yes, @Josh_M, please do take note; contrary to Nona’s self-serving assessment on social media that any dispute with this piece is clearly liberal sexism, there are substantive critiques (of Nona’s own FP contribution most definitely included) from many of us who’ve been here since it was just you, and are rooting for you to make this new phase a success.

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#236

My first reaction to this piece is that it was meant to give more fuel to the conservatives. I love Joe Biden and found this piece really disgusting implying that he is somehow perverted. I see him as a warm and personable person who has always had the average person’s best interests at heart. This article seems to come out of nowhere from someone looking to find criticism of someone they don’t like. Each to his own I suppose, but I find nothing creepy about Biden. I see no sexual connotations in how he acts.

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#237

Oh please. He’s just a faux pas machine. Leave him alone. He’s just being Joey Biden. And find something important to write about for crying out loud.

#238

Has a macro ready with the words “are pleased to announce the engagement of their”, and a note from the editor to lay off the snark.

1 Like
#239

I understand much of the sentiment in the article but the sentence that really bothers me is this: “Firstly, it’s wrong for a man to decide what makes women uncomfortable.” This is in response to an article arguing the opposite point that the author is making. Does the author understand that writing and journalism in general involve putting oneself into the shoes of others? Is she truly making the case that only women are allowed to discuss things that affect women? How far do we extend that? Maybe only the people actually interacting with Biden be allowed to decide if they were uncomfortable rather than the author pushing her viewpoint on them? Or, because she’s a woman, does she get a free pass to speak on behalf of all other women, but a man is not allowed to speculate in any way how they may feel? If there is a black woman, is the author, who is white, allowed to speculate how that black woman might feel? What about a black man? Could the author speculate how he might feel in a situation, or is she forbidden from discussing that topic?

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#240

She writes “I’m a feminist”, feeling safe that the rules of the game are that she can write whatever she wants, whether it is substantiated or not, and if you disagree it means that you are misogynistic. This is actually nothing more than trolling disguised as commentary and it is pretty creepy in its own right. It also stinks of ageism, a charge every bit as substantiated as anything she emitted in this hit piece.

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#241

Absolutely dead on.

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#242

What’s an “engagement editor”?
And healthcare is “a big fucking deal.”
in this era of baby reporters, it would be good to have grown-up editors.

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