Former Vice-President Joe Biden is currently being hailed in much of the mainstream media and on friendly interview shows as the Great Democrat Hope for the 2020 presidential election. However, in stark contrast to the current paeans to Biden, the liberal Huffington Post has tossed cold water on this idea. On November 15, Amanda Terkel wrote on the website that the idea of Biden running for president is really quite horrible due to his very creepy treatment of women.
Terkel first repeats claims that Biden dissed Anita Hill before going on to his general creepiness around women in Joe Biden 2020 Is A Terrible Idea In A Post-Weinstein America:
Biden is the wrong guy to bear the standard of any party purporting to speak for the victims of unaccountable power.
In many ways, Anita Hill launched the movement against sexual harassment in 1991. Then a 35-year-old law professor, she publicly accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of having sexually harassed her when she worked for him. She faced a Senate Judiciary Committee composed entirely of white men. Although the Senate went on to confirm Thomas anyway, women around the country were captivated by her testimony. For the first time on national television, a woman was describing what so many of them faced every day in their jobs.
“I’ve seen movements come and go. And some are quite powerful. I’ve not seen something like this. And I’m hoping that [it will] bring lasting change,” Hill told CNN last week on the progress that has been made since her testimony.
Hill has previously said she doesn’t believe her allegations against Thomas received the consideration they deserved. There were other women who were ready to support her allegations, but they were never allowed to testify before the Judiciary Committee.
Guess who Hill blames for her allegations not receiving "the consideration they deserved?"
The man who could have changed that was Biden, who served as chair of the committee in 1991. In the years since, he has publicly presented himself as Hill’s ally, but she made clear in an interview with HuffPost in 2014 that she believes the senator let her down.
Uh-oh! That denunciation by a Democrat icon is enough for Biden to be considered in a state of heresy and unsuitable for higher office. And if that isn't enough, there is that whole creepiness around women problem:
Today, part of Biden’s schtick is that he’s Uncle Joe. He’s the jovial guy who can go into a bar and connect with anyone there.
During the Obama administration, his ability to glad-hand and connect with people in an entertaining way was on full display every two years when he greeted the new senators and their families as they were sworn in. He’d schmooze and make jokes with little kids and elderly relatives alike.
His behavior also had more patronizing undercurrents. A big part of his act was remarking on the attractiveness of women, young and old. He would comment on how pretty young women were and warn their fathers to keep the guys away.
Many people found this behavior charming. He wasn’t stiff like some politicians. He grabbed people’s hands, put his arm around them and even kissed people on the cheek.
But it’s clear some people were uncomfortable. The teenage daughter of Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), for example, visibly cringed and pulled away when Biden whispered in her ear and kissed her on the head.
In 2015, when Biden put his arms on the wife of Defense Secretary Ash Carter at Carter’s swearing-in ceremony, people noticed how uncomfortable the moment looked.
The HuffPost even included a video in the article titled, 13 awkward moments during the Biden swearing-in:
There are plenty of other examples. New York Magazine even had a slideshow of them called “9 Times Joe Biden Creepily Whispered in Women’s Ears.”
In 2015, conservative columnist Byron York wrote about Biden’s handsy ways, questioning whether his gestures were appropriate.
“Do the incidents add up to anything? Assume that all of Biden’s gestures were entirely innocent, just Joe being Joe,” York wrote. “Still, in today’s society, sexual harassment complaints have been lodged for less. Biden’s behavior gives critics plenty of ammunition and puts supporters in a difficult position. Why is that kind of stuff OK when the vice president does it and cringe-making when it’s the overly-friendly guy in the office?”
Biden has clearly been a champion for women’s rights in his policies. Even advocates who criticized his conduct during the Hill testimony say he is today one of their strongest allies. He has evolved ― but so have his party and the country.
And the newly energized women under the Democratic tent may not want a relic from the pre-woke era to be their standard-bearer.
Which means that even liberal (but creepy) Biden is now taboo in the "post-woke" era.
