Biden's record: The Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings

This is an old, but pertinent story.

I'm bringing it back up, because I recently listened to another good podcast by Renato Mariotti wherein he talked with Asha Rangappa.   I recommend it.

Both of those people are young enough that the Clarence Thomas hearings may not even have reached their spheres of attention, but of course they know about it, so when they brought it up in relation to the Kavanaugh hearings, which they discuss in the podcast, they didn't seem familiar with the details.  While I was old enough, I didn't know the details either.  According to this Jane Mayer article, in fact, the public was intentionally kept in the dark about most of what happened with the Anita Hill portion by none other than the man who presided over the hearings: Joe Biden.

In the podcast, Rangappa says that, unlike the Kavanaugh fiasco, she doesn't think the Thomas hearings showed any problem with the process itself.    I sent a link to the Mayer article to her on Twitter (and to Mariotti and his podcast partner, Patti Vasquez, as well), for which Rangappa thanked me, so I hope they'll somehow correct the error either in a subsequent podcast or at least on their Twitter accounts.  My Twitter response is there for anyone who happens to be following Mariotti's feed, but that won't be nearly as many who heard the podcast.

Say no to Joe.

Buttigieg reversal on lobbysit money

Pete Buttigieg will no longer accept campaign donations from registered lobbyists, an emerging campaign finance litmus test for the Democratic presidential candidates.

The South Bend, Ind., mayor announced that he will refund donations he has already received from lobbyists, totaling just over $30,000 from 39 contributors. The campaign also said it will not allow lobbyists to serve as bundlers, closing a potential loophole.

[...]

Steve Elmendorf, a prominent Democratic lobbyist and donor [...] had planned to host a Washington fundraiser for Buttigieg on May 21.

[...]

Rejecting lobbyists’ cash has been a popular move for many candidates — including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar — who are seeking to stay on the right side of a primary electorate animated by, among other things, a deep aversion to big money in politics.

[...]

Biden, who launched his presidential bid on Thursday, has also committed not to accept lobbyist donations — but his kickoff fundraiser was held at the home of a Comcast executive who oversees the company’s lobbying shop, though he is not a registered lobbyist himself.

  Buttigieg

I'm sure Biden knows all the land's Loopholes.

Biden has said his campaign will not take money from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists. And in an interview with PBS Newshour, he said he advised fellow 2020 contender, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), not to accept support from super PACs. "How will a middle-class guy accept you if you accept [superPAC] money," he said.

  The Hill

P.S.

“President Obama has long said that selecting Joe Biden as his running mate in 2008 was one of the best decisions he ever made. He relied on the Vice President’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency. The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today," the statement said.

Biden later told reporters at an Amtrak station in Wilmington, Delaware, that he'd asked Obama not to issue an endorsement.

"I asked President Obama not to endorse," he said. "Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits."

  USA Today

Yes, Im' sure that's why he asked him not to endorse.

And, of course...

Joe Biden publicly addressed his handling of Anita Hill’s sexual-misconduct allegations against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas during 1991 confirmation hearings. During an appearance Tuesday night at his foundation’s awards ceremony, Biden acknowledged he had regrets over the matter. “I wish I could’ve done something... To this day I regret I couldn’t give her the kind of hearing she deserved,” he reportedly said.

  Daily Beast

He was chairman of the hearing and refused to allow two other women to publicly testify who would have backed her up, making them submit written statements to the committee.

“She paid a terrible price. She was abused during that hearing.” He said Hill “showed the courage of a lifetime talking about her experience being harassed by Clarence Thomas” and claimed the judiciary committee at that time “didn’t fully understand what the hell this was all about.”

Ridiculous. They were holding a hearing on it.  How could they not know? And how stupid does he think we are? As stupid as he's painting the judiciary committee?

Just what this country needs: another pugnacious, big-mouthed, touchy-feely, corporate supporting, gaslighting, lying old white man for president.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Also, he can't apologize for his behavior because he doesn't believe he did anything wrong.  It's your fault if you 'took it the wrong way.'

Biden at first dodged questions about whether he would apologize directly to those who accused the former vice president of inappropriate physical conduct toward women, saying he was sorry “that they took it a different way.”

Only after facing follow-up questions from “The View” host Joy Behar — who evoked Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call on the former vice president to apologize — did Biden directly address the women who spoke out against him.

“Sorry I invaded your space. I'm sorry this happened,” Biden said. “But I'm not sorry in the sense that I think I did anything that was intentionally designed to do anything wrong or be inappropriate.”

Biden also discussed his private apology to Anita Hill, which Hill told the New York Times did not satisfy her concerns that the primary candidate has a true grasp of how his actions affected her and other women who are victims of sexual harassment and assault.

  Politico

She's absolutely right. He doesn't think it's harrassment.

Joe finally gets around to apologizing to Anita Hill

All it took was him to run for president.



Pathetic, Joe.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Apparently Anita wasn't all that impressed either.

Have I mentioned that Orrin Hatch is a prick?

Yeah, and same senator whose office was encouraging people to watch for Ed Whelan's story that somebody else committed the attack on Ford.

Lindsey Graham needs to cover his own ass, no doubt

Sadly, I don't think he's joking.  But let me ask this question:  How many hours did Kavanaugh spend at the White House being prepped?

As for those "thinkly-sourced stories",  Dr. Ford and the Democrats are all asking for an investigation that could provide "proper verification."  Graham's team, which has the baton, won't call for one.

And I thought 'The Ends Justify the Means' was the official Republican motto.




What we need is a total collapse of the traditional confirmation process.  It hasn't changed since Anita Hill was raked over the coals and her corroborating witness, Angela Wright, was subpoenaed and then stuck in a hotel room for the duration (three days) without being called.

Ask Anita Hill about character assassination.  That's tradition in DC.

To me, having worked on both sides of the aisle — Republican and Democratic — what I know for sure, Republicans are like bare-fisted street brawlers, Democrats do pillow fights.”  -- Angela Wright Shannon