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ingek73 · 9 months ago

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Celebrity·Posted on Aug 9, 2024

Republicans Voting For Kamala Harris Over Donald Trump Are Sharing The Reasons Why, And This Makes So Much Sense

"Donald Trump is destroying the GOP, and the only way to stop that is to help Kamala Harris defeat him."

by Morgan Sloss

BuzzFeed Staff

Since President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed his VP, I've seen quite a few social media posts from Republicans announcing that they'll vote for Kamala Harris over Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris smiling in a suit next to Donald Trump in a suit and red tie

Andrew Harnik/ Brandon Bell / Getty Images

Naturally, I was curious why so many conservatives are willing to vote against their party. So, I recently asked the Republicans in the BuzzFeed Community and got nearly 600 responses in one day! Here's what they had to say:

1. "Because I'm voting against MAGA, not for Harris. I believe in small government, personal freedoms, balanced budgets, and strong alliances. I used to vote Republican until 2016 when that party I voted for stopped existing. I'm willing to lend my vote to the Democrats for as long as the GOP continues to be the party of forced religion, forced patriotism, forced birth, white nationalism, and isolationism."

—purplesnail73

2. "I’m a Texan, a born-again Evangelical Christian, and a gun owner. I'm also a Navy veteran who proudly served. I cannot and will not vote for Donald J. Trump. His words and actions are antithetical to Christ’s teaching. His willingness to lie and wildly exaggerate is off-putting at best. As a veteran, his denigrating remarks toward senior brass undermine the good order and discipline required for a strong and effective military. His praise of dictators and autocrats is abhorrent."

—ancyghoul56

3. "I consider myself a conservative moderate, but I strongly believe in reproductive rights, so I’ll be voting for Harris. I wasn’t going to vote for Biden though, so I’m happy she’s the ticket now."

—laurieh4d6629bb4

4. "I became a registered Republican when we were in the days of Mitt Romney and John McCain — people who deeply cared about our country, had relevant leadership experience, and seemed capable of reviving and maintaining our economy. I was terrified of the socialist agenda being pushed by Bernie Sanders and wanted anything but that. But I’ve realized that the only thing scarier than the extreme left is the extreme right."

"Being a 'New England Republican,' it’s more about libertarian values (states’ rights and a free market) than social conservatism based in religion. I am not a religious person and do not want my (or anyone else’s) rights dictated by others’ religious beliefs. Project 2025 and the decrease in women’s rights are now some of my greatest fears — along with genuine questions about Trump’s mental state, criminal record, and his ability to work with other nations. I would not only be scared to have him as president but embarrassed, so at this point, I’ll vote for anyone else."

—Anonymous

5. "I am a registered Republican. However, I have never voted for Trump. In 2016, I couldn’t get past the Access Hollywood tape. In 2020, I knew he was only interested in what the presidency could do for him. In 2024, Trump SCARES ME TO MY CORE."

—Anonymous

6. "I am a lifelong Republican. Jimmy Carter is the only Democrat I have ever voted for. I voted for Trump twice because I am a Republican, but mostly because he looked to me to be the lesser of two evils. I just can’t bring myself to vote for him again. He has become the greater of two evils! I’m not thrilled by the Democratic platform or many of their priorities. But Trump is just too divisive, and as a nation, we desperately need to come together and find shared solutions to the problems our country is facing."

—charmingkid887

7. "I consider myself fiscally conservative and feel strongly about smaller, more efficient government, less regulation, and fewer entitlements. Let's be real: Trump's idea of fiscal responsibility is giving more to the 1%. Repeatedly, Trump's government handed money to the rich! Throughout the pandemic, large companies were allowed to reap benefits from the government that smaller businesses did not have the resources to explore. Less regulation and freedom have always been a cornerstone of the Republican party, yet laws were passed regulating what a woman can do with her own body."

"Freedom to Trump and the current makeup of the Republican party seems to be giving your money to the rich. Lastly, Trump is a liar and a convicted felon and belongs behind bars, NOT in any position of power."

—Anonymous

8. "I care about the future of my grandchildren. I’m a white woman, and my grandchildren are Black. I am very proud of who they are. I want them to have freedoms and choices, not hatred and racism. Former president Trump's views do not line with my views; the future of this country depends on us making a major change. I believe in Kamala Harris and what she stands for and our country. As for our gay communities, people's choice to love who they choose is also very relevant to my family. I love them — male, female, or undecided. We are all people; we all bleed. This country has bled enough. We will win. God bless Kamala Harris."

—Anonymous

9. "I am an Eisenhower/Kinzinger Republican with three sons serving in the US military. How is this a difficult choice for any educated, ethical human being? Trump is a horrible person, utterly devoid of any political vision, ethical compass, or personal integrity. He’s a convicted felon. Adjudicated fraudster. Indicted for multiple other felonies. A vocal supporter of the world’s worst megalomaniac dictators. For real? I have to explain why no one should ever support him, regardless of party affiliation? Is that what we’ve come to? That’s what MAGA has done to our country in general and the GOP in particular. It’s elevated crass and criminal behavior to a level of normalcy."

—Anonymous

10. "Trump is a wannabe dictator, and Vance doesn’t respect my existence as a single, childless dog mom! Project 2025 scares the crap out of me, and we need decency in the White House! We are fighting for our LIVES here!"

—Betherick85

11. "I’m a former US Marine and was a registered Arizona Republican until 2021, when I switched to Independent. I reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020, but after January 6, I was done with him. Donald Trump is destroying the GOP, and the only way to stop that is to help Kamala Harris defeat him. A defeat would break Trump’s grip on the GOP and signal a shift in American politics. It would mean that Trump’s brand of politics no longer holds the same influence, which is crucial for the future of our democracy."

—youngpear70

12. "I’m voting for Harris because I like the level-headedness I see in her and Walz. I’m hopeful that she’ll be our first woman in the Oval Office. I detest Trump, who seems to be an unethical, arrogant bully and threatens the progress made in human rights over the last 100 years. It boggles my mind how Americans are cool with his lies and crimes. He has been both a joke and a danger to the world. I vote based on research, not my party."

—heathere4b60bc97b

13. "I have been a Republican since before I could vote, back when I enlisted in the National Guard as a 17-year-old. At that time, and throughout my 23-year military career, I swore an oath to the Constitution, not the president. I believe in democracy, I believe in God, and I believe in a lot of what Republicans say they stand for. But I absolutely do not believe in Trump and his supporters. They have clearly demonstrated that their only objective is power and control, not democracy, truth, or honesty. Oh, and they are weird!"

—Anonymous

14. "I am scared of what will happen to women and the LGBTQ community under another Trump presidency. I couldn't live with that on my conscience if I voted for Trump, and he won."

—Anonymous

15. "Trump is a convicted felon who has turned the GOP into a MAGA cult. He tried to steal the 2020 election. He lies about the legal system and law enforcement. He attempts to destroy anyone not 100% loyal to him. His entire administration says he is unfit to serve. Vance is a fraud. Harris and Walz are normal people who care about America."

—Anonymous

16. "Registered Republican since 1996 at 18, and 2016 was the first year I did not vote for a Republican for president (also did not for him in 2020 and definitely not in 2024). The constant belittling of those who don't like him, the number of blue-collar workers he and his cronies have screwed over the years, and the hijacking of faith (when he is clearly one of the most godless people by his deeds and words)."

—Anonymous

17. "I voted Republican for 40 years. I don’t recognize the Republican Party anymore. Where are the fiscally conservative, free enterprise, foreign policy hawks of the past? All I hear now is hate. And while I fully support free enterprise, we can’t deny the science of climate change and need to find ways to reduce our impact on the planet before it is too late."

—Anonymous

18. "I did not like how former president Trump attacked Vice President Harris’ race. That crossed a line for me as I have a family member of mixed race. I do not see Trump as a sensitive human. I’m seeing hate from the former president, and I don’t think he can control his temper. I like Tim Walz."

—Anonymous

19. "I don't support dismantling the Department of Education. I do not support policies that would limit the ability of public schools to do their jobs. A voucher or tax credit system for 'school choice' is the death knell of a society. Public school serves as a baseline which all other forms of education are held to. Eliminating public schools will lead to the rise of schools with wacky and potentially dangerous ideologies. Public school is the fabric of our society and must be preserved."

—Anonymous

20. "I will be voting for Kamala Harris. I have not and will not vote for Donald Trump. I was raised as a Catholic in a Republican household and taught to be responsible for my own actions. Donald Trump has no concept of personal or social responsibility. Mr. Trump has lied, used, manipulated, and gaslighted everyone in his realm for personal gain. This type of person has no place in a leadership role for this country or any position of management and responsibility, for that matter. Mr. Trump does not understand the concept of accountability."

"My first impression of Mr. Trump was his role in The Apprentice, which was appalling. Mr. Trump's public behavior and lack of ability to address growth and social issues critical to the well-being of the citizens of this country or the world community is unacceptable. The framers of our Constitution must be rolling in their graves!"

—Anonymous

21. "Trump is the worst thing to happen to the Republican Party since Nixon and Watergate! The man is obviously unfit for public office. The only person Donald Trump cares about is Donald Trump. He knows next to nothing about the Constitution or democracy. The way he acted about the 2020 election results was absolutely DISGRACEFUL!"

—Anonymous

22. "I’m raising a daughter in this world, and I would never leave her in Trump's care. That means something to me. I don’t like Kamala, and I’m not happy to vote for her. But if I can’t even trust you around innocent children, how can I trust you to run a country?"

—Anonymous

23. "I haven't voted for a Republican since Trump got nominated the first time, despite being a registered Republican. I am okay with every Democrat and Republican who has ever held the office of president in my lifetime except Trump. I haven't always agreed with them or voted for them, but I respected them and believed they were doing what they thought was right. I think Harris will be similar. I think she knows that her job will be to do what is right. Trump has always believed his job was to take from everybody else. He was never qualified for the job."

—Anonymous

24. "Because Trump and Vance are both creepy. Trump was the worst president this country has ever had."

—c49a679543

25. "I am a Republican who served seven terms as the elected prosecuting attorney of a county in Missouri. I voted for Donald Trump twice. I will never, under any circumstances, vote for him again. I became a Republican during the Reagan years. We were the party of strong law enforcement, tough national defense, and limited government. Neither party was interested in making abortion a criminal offense. Donald Trump made a cult of the party. His reaction to the January 6 riots, his trashing of the FBI, his vow to pardon rioters who violated the Capitol building, and his 34 felony convictions have made it impossible for me to respect him. The only vote I would cast for him would be GUILTY if I ever got to sit as a juror in one of his cases."

—Anonymous

26. "Foreign policy: Stand by Ukraine. Stand by NATO. We can always deal with differences in domestic policy and legislation. Foreign policy is driven by the president, and the current GOP is dangerously enamored with dictators. Trump praises Putin and insults our own allies, making future conflicts more likely."

27. "There are a lot of things to not like about Trump. The thing that really gets me the most is what he manages to bring out in people. I’m slowly seeing people I love and highly respected turn into hypocritical, dramatically angry morons who can’t seem to see past themselves. I just can’t sit by and participate in letting that type of hatred keep growing."

"If I’m going to use my vote, then I’m going to use it towards making history in a positive way. And I would love to be able to say I voted for the first female president. I like Harris a lot more than I’ve ever liked Hilary."

—Anonymous

28. "Christian nationalism poses a threat to my Christian faith, my LGBTQ friends, and to the fabric of our nation. It’s terrifying to see what’s become of my family members who tout Christian beliefs but are posting photos with a convicted felon and convicted sexual predator as a new messiah. Horrific."

—Anonymous

29. And finally, "I will vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for two reasons. 1) I despise Donald Trump. He lacks character, dignity, morals, and empathy. He’s one of the worst humans on the planet and never should’ve been a presidential candidate, let alone a president. 2) I like the message of hope and a brighter future that Harris and Walz are bringing. They are good and decent people the American people can be proud to have as our President and Vice President."

—Anonymous

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

#us elections #donald trump #kamala harris #republicans voting for harris #republicans #democrats #tim walz #jd vance

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thevividgreenmoss · 5 years ago

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Joe Biden's response the other day when asked about Philadelphia police's murder of Walter Wallace and the subsequent/ongoing fallout is yet another example of how for all the #voteblue crowd's hand wringing (much of it coming from grossly disingenuous and cynical sources but quite a bit of it coming from honestly well-meaning and sincere people as well) about intractable far left saboteurs ruining the self-evident lesser evil candidate's chances in whichever upcoming election by critiquing the candidate & party's actions and statements / impact thereof or even just plainly pointing out what those actions and statements are, none of that shit by rando commies on the internet or wherever else possibly discourages more potential voters/general party supporters than the fact that those actions and statements exist and are what they were in the fucking first place. Like people aren't as stupid as you think they are and shockingly can very often make up their own minds about these things (even when you disagree with them, even when they're like actually wrong in their reasoning/ultimate decision) based off of who politicians/political parties openly present themselves as being. You don't even have to dig through or have some recollection or other awareness of the past forty years of Joe Biden's career, just going off of his campaign's messaging since clinching the nomination can be more than sufficient. Biden immediately responding to a question about yet another murder of a black man by police by talking about looters reflects a preoccupation on his part as well as that of his campaign/party/donors on signaling to potential voters in relatively higher income suburbs that regardless of their party affiliation lean more conservative and are more troubled by and afraid of societal unrest and uncivil forms of protest than they are by the racial injustices and violence that provoke people into taking to the streets in the first place. Democrats have looked at their charts and analyzed their data and decided that focusing more on that shit than on the concerns being raised by anyone enraged by and raging against police brutality, institutional racism, state violence, or whatever else is the right calculation to make both for their electoral fortunes as well as for the type of social base they'd prefer to have underwriting the type of administration they intend on being once in office. They more or less openly state their priorites, and like a lot of people with different or even opposing priorites see that and respond accordingly, with or without having it spelled out for them by some rando commies on the internet. As much as the party might assume that enough of those segments of the electorate might still support them due to the two-party hostage system where they can always point to the other guys, sometimes the math doesn't work out in their favor, and the amount of voters that reject them would seem to me to be determined more by the actual way that the party persistently has wielded its power than evil childish lefties pointing out shit that's to a large extent already out there in the open for anyone to see. And while it kind of makes sense or is at least predictable enough for the party to blame their failure in a given election on those far left gadflies who hurt their candidate rather than on themselves, where it would be more appropriately placed, the same doesn't really apply to anyone that supposedly knows oh so well how less than ideal political reality is even under democrats but still just thinks that dissent against and criticism of those same democrats should be withheld during an election cycle, like what does that accomplish other than solidify the kind of situation that we're currently in where year after year the party feels comfortable taking the gamble that they can continue their decades-long rightward drift and the population of this country (let alone any of the many others negatively affected by this country's actions, which, lmao as if that even matters or should potentially be part of active considerations surrounding any of this shit) can get on board or go fuck themselves, other than foreclose the possibility of ever genuinely seeing and treating the lesser of the two evils as an evil not just in a relative sense, but in and of themselves, and thus as something to be confronted and opposed along with the greater evil that wears red ties at the debates instead of blue

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animeraider · 5 years ago

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It's broken. Time to fix it.

Nothing.

A very liberal social media friend of mine, who I must admit has seen more of the world than I have, has publicly declared that they will not vote for Biden. In his worldview there isn't much difference between the two men - and his worldview is mostly about wars and corporate control of this country. Biden won't change very much about either of these things. He's voted for war, and he makes Bill Clinton look like a bleeding-heart.

So today he posted on his own stream the following: "Biden voters: what, if anything, could prompt you to not vote for Joe, and vote Green or abstain? Or is this just blind faith?‬"

My response? "Nothing."

In an ideal world it would be nice to have more than these two options, and no Biden isn't the best we could have even gotten from the Democrats. But someone needs to get MORE votes than Trump, and his method, while principled and perfectly acceptable, isn't going to get it done.

The biggest problem with the whole third party option is that no one keeps pushing for it in the off years. You can't build a base by pushing for it every 4 years - it must be constant and loud, and no one has really done that.

Biden is no Liberal. No argument there. He's a corporatist in the mold of Clinton. And yes, some of the awful things Trump has done aren't going to stop. This is America, after all. That country you want (and that I want as well) doesn't exist. It got stabbed in the back by Reagan and has been in decline ever since.

But for THIS election, and this election only, it's not about the goals and ideals. It's about getting rid of Trump, and by extension the people working for him and appointed by him. At the very least, Biden is interested in having a functioning government whereas Trump certainly isn't.

It's about kicking the asses of the worst government every living human being in this country has experienced, and that's why I will be voting for Biden.

All that said, my friend raises a valid point although he didn't say it explicitly - why is it that at least in our own lifetimes the choices have to be the lesser of two evils? Granted, this time the gap is larger than ever, but why is it that no new parties have ever gained any ground in the past century? It's not like we haven't had other political parties in charge during this country's long history.

Our very first President wasn't a member of a political party. Our second was our one and only Federalist. Four of our Presidents were members of the now extinct Whig Party (and bonus points to you if you can name all four). President Andrew Johnson tried to re-brand the Republican Party as the National Union Party but that didn't take hold. If Teddy Roosevelt had won the final time he ran, we would have had a Bull-Moose President.

Unlike most of the civilized world, we elect a leader by choosing a person. In England, Japan, Australia, Ireland, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, and so on, and so on, the leader of their country is decided upon what party can gain the most votes. Then it's the leader of that party who becomes the leader of the country. While this system can have problems, like the fact that Italy has had over 50 governments since World War II, or like in Israel is a coalition can't be put together sometimes the government collapses, it is one of the few systems that doesn't fall to just two party rule. Yes, in many cases there are only two parties for a majority of seats but in many cases this is not so.

The problems with our system on the other hand, are legion and lend themselves into two party factionalism. The first is the absolute stability of our election day is built into the Constitution. When no one abuses it this is a great idea, but it also ingrains a complacency in the American public at large - in that we only need to think about politics at certain times. Go to any of the other countries I've mentioned and you will find a largely informed general public, because they need to consider it more just as part of their daily citizenship.

That complacency leads to a second problem, money. The Republican and Democratic Parties are ingrained into the fabric of our political thinking, both having been around for more than 150 years and monopolizing the political landscape. They have the same advantage that whites have over minority populations, especially blacks, in that it's systemic - and it's backed up by the money. The only two even moderately successful third party candidates in the last century had lots and lots of money - Ross Perot because he was rich and Teddy Roosevelt due to name recognition. And they both lost.

It's impossible to raise the kinds of funds necessary to create public awareness and support against a system where over 99% of all the money already goes to the parties of the entrenched.I promise you, if Jeff Bezos decided tomorrow to donate even 15% of his money to a third party that it would be all over everywhere.

This entrenchment has led to another problem, wanting power for the sake of having it, which has gotten worse over the past 40 years. There is no incentive for people in public office to just do the public good if they never have to leave. The obvious solution to this is term limits, but there is a problem with that as well - we would wind up lobbyists as the most experienced people in government, which would just mean that whomever has the most money gets to write the rules. This should be unacceptable.

And then there is the Electoral College. Because of the thresholds involved in getting a place in the Electoral College and to get your vote to count there, it is impossible to get counted there without an out and out win of a state. As in more than 50% of the vote in that state. Because of the winner take all format of the EC it just can't be done with a plurality. And because of all of the other problems this simply isn't going to happen.

So how do we fix it?

Well, short of Jeff Bezos donating his entire fortune to a new political party the only thing possible is a Constitutional Convention, which is provided for in the existing Constitution. Per Article V a convention can be called if 2/3 of all the states agree to it. As of this moment, that is 34 states. It can be as simple as the Governor wanting to do it or as difficult as getting the same margin to agree to it in the various legislatures, depending on the state. This is going to take some time to accomplish but it can be done.

Eliminate the Electoral College and replace it with one person, one vote.

Solve the entrenchment problem, and I'm including the lobbying problem here as well.

Take money out of politics - make federal elections be federally funded and each candidate funded equally - let the best ideas win.

Make it possible for Congress to call a new election. Don't make it easy, but don't make it impossible either.

And probably lots of other ideas too...

We need to get started on this campaign now. Because we liberals/progressives are behind. The conservative/religious right/nut job factory/Republican parts of our political process started work on this 40 years ago. They've had to cheat their way there, with gerrymandering, rigged elections, voter fraud, but they're made it over 30 states more than once in the last 40 years. Just look at their fight to control state legislatures and Governor's offices. They've spent more money on that than on Presidential Elections.

We haven't done it at all.

The past four years has taught us (and everyone else in the world) that our experiment in near-democracy is very fragile. It is in decline. We have to want to preserve it and I'm not convinced that enough of us understand this now.

Or we need to shake it up and replace it with something stronger, with a better warranty. That's the American way, isn't it?

And because I love you, I thought you should know how to make a proper lemonade.

youtube

#politics #rant

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cle-guy · 5 years ago

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Guilty Until Proven Innocent

I suspect I will regret writing this, but I feel I must write my thoughts or risk going insane. The Tara Reade accusation stretches back basically to the beginning of my life. I, personally, can barely remember things which occurred a few years ago (at times) let alone remember specific details. So, for me, I find many things about her accusation puzzling.

The most (physically) traumatizing moment in my life was being hit by a car, at age 17, on August 19th, 2009. It was in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. I was running with my cross country teammates on a run which took us out past Shaker Boulevard, and then ran back on Gates Mills Boulevard (where, it so happens, I lived at the time). My day started with french toast (which I cooked) made with milk, eggs, a healthy dab of crunchy peanut butter, and strawberry jam.

I later went to the Terminal Tower, ran into a friend Rick Bashine on his way to lunch, and got a baseball I caught during spring training signed by Shin-Soo Choo who was signing at a local sports memorabilia store. I then went to the doctor, got a check up which was required for cross country, asked for advice to deal with a family matter, and went to Staples (on Mayfield Road near Lander Road, next to a gas station). I bought a new backpack (which I still have, it's a Victorinox bag with two big pockets), and went to practice.

I ran with Bart Merkel, James Conners, and other members of the varsity team, before falling behind towards the end of the run. My ankle was bothering me from a minor injury I sustained at the XC camp I had attended with teammates that summer. My father passed me and my teammates by in his Yukon-XL on Gates Mills Blvd, before I fell behind. As I fell behind, I crossed Cedar Road (where I recall the shadows covering most of Cedar, before giving way to bright sunshine) where my memory ends. A few minutes later I was struck by the car, and I remember nothing until I woke up in the hospital, with my grandma (in complete darkness to my recollection) standing to my left trying to sooth me in my anguish.

I will never, ever, forget this day. It was traumatizing, it was painful, and is as clear to me now as it was a decade ago.

This is, also, not apparently the case with Tara Reade. She does not remember when, or where, her experience occurred. Furthermore, she apparently told quite different stories to different people.

To her mother she, apparently, only expressed “problems” with her former employer. I will also note, despite claiming she was sexually assaulted, her mother went to Larry King for advice which seems....less than credible. Nor, despite the anonymous nature of her call, did she go with the worst version of the story (which sounds puzzling). This is to say we assume this was Tara Reade’s mother, and we assume the “problems” are about Joe Biden. I am not saying these things are false, I am saying an anonymous call, referring to an anonymous victim, which describes unknown actions about an anonymous perpetrator are hardly convincing, or credible.

To her brother she said she was harassed, she said the same thing to an anonymous friend.

Finally, to Lynda she apparently told the full story. I only say apparently because...Lynda’s recollection is only as good as Tara’s credibility, and while Tara experienced the event: Lynda is recalling being told a story. She said this after Tara went public with the full details. Is it possible Lynda’s memory is not perfect? Certainly. Especially since she was told years after the events supposedly happened.

Tara then told the public one story, before changing it.

In short, her story has varied and changed with the wind.

Additionally I find other details about Tara Reade perplexing. For 1: she, apparently, declined to go to the press in 1993 out of “respect” for Joe Biden. Huh? If her story is 100% true, I find it less than credible that she kept quiet out of respect for Joe. Furthermore, until quite recently she was praising Biden on social media. This does not even mention her potential reference about how she was going to come forward to harm Biden’s election chances in March of this year, or her love letter to Vladimir Putin (which she dismisses as part of a “book” she was writing, which I find ridiculous). The fact we do not have, yet, the complaint she claims she files is also confounding. Overall: Reade’s story is hardly perfect.

But, then again, who’s story is perfect? Her original allegations are quite credible, are backed up by similar stories from other women, and make total sense. Even if the details are not quite perfect, that does not mean she is lying nor does it mean that Biden is completely innocent if all her details aren’t correct. The fact a neighbor corroborated her story in total helps her case (I don’t find the other corroborations particularly convincing). Still Democratic Senators and Representatives have been toppled for far less.

On the flip side, Biden has spent his career fighting to change the culture around sexual assault. He famously wrote the Violence Against Women Act (an act, he has said numerous times, is his most consequential piece of legislation) and reauthorized it. He also led the effort under the Obama administration to curb sexual violence on colleges (using, ironically, the preponderance of evidence standard). I say ironically, and not hypocritically, because (if Biden is innocent): Biden clearly has powerful evidence against Tara Reade’s allegations.

In short we have a testy he said, she said battle pitting a former vice-president against his former aide. What to do?

I go back to my title: I believe in the presumption of innocence. I never felt comfortable with the #MeToo movements adamant determination to prosecute every allegation against every man (or woman). I completely agree that women were discounted for too long, and I am glad this is changing. But I am also uncomfortable with the basic assumption (among many) to assume every allegation is credible, and we must assume the worst.

I did not agree with the forced resignation of Al Franken (although I understood the imperative behind it). I also was 100% convinced by the arguments Democrats pushed on Brett Kavanaugh. Had I been wrongfully accused of sexual assault I imagine, like Kavanaugh, I too would be furious and lash out at people (although for a potential Supreme Court Justice I did find his conduct unbecoming). I am not convinced every allegation levied against Donald Trump is true, either.

But for me, the point is not whether every allegation is true: the point is we look. If we take each case individually the evidence against Franken included one story, and a troubling picture (which we can assume could have been taken out of context). I do not think the treatment he received is fair, by any stretch of the imagination. With Kavanaugh: I am not sure what happened to Ford, and given the presence of alcohol it’s entirely possible neither person knows what exactly happened. However, I feel we also have pretty convincing evidence Kavanaugh lied about his drinking habits (which, I add, he lied under oath in a congressional hearing). On that basis, and not fully the sexual assault allegation: I opposed his confirmation.

Trump is a different story. Not only is the breadth of allegations against him much greater, but the pattern and evidence much stronger. Without getting into details we can say for sure he was accused by his second wife in their divorce settlement, multiple times by others, have eye witness testimony on him barging into dressing rooms, and infamously his own accounting on the Hollywood Access tape. While any individual allegation is potentially false: I find it incredibly difficult to believe all of them are false.

To bring this back to Tara Reade: I don’t know if what she claims is true. I do find it difficult to believe that nothing happened. However, since the evidence itself is lacking (and will likely remain so given the length of time since the alleged event occurred): I highly doubt we’ll ever know. By Reade’s own admission: nobody witnessed event, by her own admission: she forgets where and when it occurred. As such, it makes it even more difficult for Biden to prove its not true (assuming he’s innocent) even if he made all of his documents available (which, I will add, I don’t think he should make available).

With all this in mind, barring strong evidence to prove otherwise: I will choose to accept the forceful denials of Vice-President Biden. I furthermore will support him, if he remains the nominee, even if evidence comes later in the cycle. Which is not to say I take the allegations lightly, but with Donald Trump the alternative: the lesser of two evils is almost always preferable.

That topic is one, I am sure, I will write about in a future post.

#joe biden #politics #2020 election #ethics

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