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Tara Reade worked for Joe Biden’s senate office back in the early 1990s. Earlier this year, she accused the former VP and presumptive democratic nominee of rape. Many close to Reade have noted that she is a trustworthy person, with no outstanding grudge against Biden or the DNC. In essence, her defenders say, she has no reason to lie.
The Biden campaign has not yet made a specific statement on Reade’s allegations. However, her allegations of assault put democrats in the most awkward conceivable political position. Throughout much of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing, Democrats made a slogan out of “Believe Women.” Reade’s allegations put democrats on the back foot of their own political ideals.
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s credible allegations of assault by Kavanaugh, however, did not dissuade Senate republicans from appointing him.
Many democrats are frustrated by what they see as unfair media attention. Advisors for Biden’s potential VP picks have noted that there’s been serious attention on these allegations. Meanwhile, Trump faces several credible rape allegations that have simply floated out of the news cycle.
For the Trump campaign, the allegations against Biden are a boon. Since democrats fashion their politics around moral stances, catching them in a moral quandary is an effective way to discredit them.
Biden’s critics argue that he’s playing the wrong game by staying in the race in spite of the allegations against him. If democrats truly intend to stand on moral grounds when selecting nominees for public office, they should stick to those morals. They campaigned against Trump and Kavanaugh on the grounds of believing women. That standard should extend to members of their own party, as well.
Many supporters of progressive candidate Bernie Sanders have noted that he has no rape allegations. In fact, if Biden were to suspend his campaign and drop from the democratic primary race, Sanders would become the presumptive nominee. Others have pointed out that Sanders likely stands a better chance of beating Trump in a general election.
Older democrats tend to have positive feelings about Biden. Younger voters have described him as a “walking anti wrinkle cream commercial,” a faker and a political schemer first, and public servant distant second.
A Biden versus Trump matchup would have two credibly accused politicians vying for increasingly partisan votes. Bernie Sanders’ supporters argue that he would have offered a moral alternative for voters to rally behind. Others, however, worry that Sanders’ progressive politics would be off-putting to centrist democrats who would prefer Biden.
