Joe Biden has been credibly accused of sexual assault. He must drop out of running for President.

There is no way his candidacy avoids severely hurting the nation, the Democratic Party, and sexual assault survivors.

I am embarrassed at having been slow to say it in public.
I am a lefty Biden hater and it is important that there be no hint that people like me benefit from Tara Reade’s accusation.

He must drop out and the Democratic Party must replace him with someone I dislike for the same reasons.

No Sanders. No Warren.
I believe Tara Reade’s accusation that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her.

And were she lying, it would STILL be necessary for him to drop out of the Presidential race. He must separate his defense from partisanship.
Many calling for Biden to drop out because of Tara Reade’s sexual assault accusation speak in bad faith.

I hate giving them anything they want. He still must drop out.
The BEST possible outcome of Biden fighting Tara Reade’s accusation is some improbable smoking gun exoneration, giving us six months of saying “no, he is not a rapist, just a skeevy asshole who says and does moderately inappropriate things to women and girls”.

He must drop out.
The Democrats already decided that sexual harassment short of assault disqualifies someone for office. Al Franken asked for a public accountability process; the Party forced his resignation.

There is no honorable defense of Joe Biden with that precedent.

He must drop out.
A Biden candidacy will become a muddy slog in which conservatives will use Reade’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her to call liberals hypocrites and be right for once.

He must drop out.
Any Democratic Party candidate for President will face bullshit accusations.

Setting aside the question of his sexual assault on Tara Reade, Biden’s skeevy sexual misconduct is not bullshit. Taking Reade’s accustation seriously is not bullshit.

He must drop out.
Given what we know at this point, Tara Reade’s accusation that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her is very credible.

Liberals must not be asked to make the moral compromise of supporting him.

He must drop out.
Publicly defending Joe Biden from Tara Reade’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her signals to every survivor of sexual harassment and assault that they will face vigorous skepticism and attacks.

#MeToo teaches the horrific consequences of that lesson.

He must drop out.
Discussion of Tara Reade’s accusation that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her takes place on the stage of the Presidential race. This cheapens our politics and puts pressures on Reade which no assault survivor should face.

He must drop out.
No one will say they are doing this. But one can see it.

https://twitter.com/davidklion/status/1255254823076868099?s=21 https://twitter.com/DavidKlion/status/1255254823076868099
The best case is bad. The likely cases are worse.

https://twitter.com/christapeterso/status/1255249081775128576?s=21 https://twitter.com/christapeterso/status/1255249081775128576
via @zunguzungu, who rightly observes that this piece is worth reading to get to the kicker at the end https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/metoo-is-more-important-than-joe-biden.html
Feminism Should Make You Uncomfortable

We shouldn’t ignore the lessons of Me Too for the sake of Joe Biden.

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/metoo-is-more-important-than-joe-biden.html
Watching this Abrams clip is not just mortifying because it makes me disappointed in her, it is a horror that this is the game at all

https://twitter.com/kamaumaumau/status/1255512137054793731?s=21 https://twitter.com/Kamaumaumau/status/1255512137054793731
I don’t see how the Democratic Party can accept Biden given the standard applied to Franken.

https://democrats.org/news/dnc-chair-on-recent-sexual-harassment-allegations/
Seeing this is positively gutting and I am a white guy fergawdsake

https://twitter.com/feministgriote/status/1255557180779945984?s=21 https://twitter.com/FeministGriote/status/1255557180779945984
Thread about the intersection of sexism and classism and more

https://twitter.com/alicefromqueens/status/1255623629745917958?s=21 https://twitter.com/AliceFromQueens/status/1255623629745917958
Biden’s refusal to even respond properly is more important, but this is the thing that has been gutting for me

https://twitter.com/zunguzungu/status/1255864856302940160?s=21 https://twitter.com/zunguzungu/status/1255864856302940160
Even before Tara Reade, the Democrats were being hypocritical in supporting Joe Biden

https://twitter.com/miniver/status/1255903390954995712?s=21 https://twitter.com/miniver/status/1255903390954995712
Understand that I regard Donald Trump as such a threat to the Republic that if Biden is the candidate in November I will hold my nose and vote for him, endorse him, and materially support his campaign.

But I cannot both hold my nose and bite my tongue.
Saw this in my feed today
This is the correct path. Biden drops out, and the Dems call a mulligan.

Ordinarily I take a dim view of Parties Are Private Orgs Which Can Do Whatever They Want arguments, but this is move toward being radically more democratic.

via @mr0x20wednesday

https://twitter.com/nullmagitech/status/1255913651162107909?s=21 https://twitter.com/NullMagitech/status/1255913651162107909
I read Team Biden as delivering a deliberate insult to the whole bundle of progressive interests, but (of course) feminists are getting the worst of it

(thread)

https://twitter.com/jillfilipovic/status/1255917941415182337?s=21 https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1255917941415182337
Tara Reade is encountering very familiar patterns

https://twitter.com/famesjallows/status/1256011814053179392?s=21 https://twitter.com/FamesJallows/status/1256011814053179392
I’m not sure how to think about this

https://twitter.com/zunguzungu/status/1256212795055501313?s=21 https://twitter.com/zunguzungu/status/1256212795055501313
From what I can tell, reporting about Reade going to Times Up comes through The Intercept, an outlet I do not entirely trust.

Even so, this reflects how if Biden IS innocent, fighting it out is incompatible with a Presidential campaign. https://theintercept.com/2020/03/24/joe-biden-metoo-times-up/
Time’s Up Said It Could Not Fund a #MeToo Allegation Against Joe Biden, Citing Its Nonprofit Status...

Time’s Up declined to support a woman with an allegation against Joe Biden, citing its tax-exempt 501(c)3 status and Biden’s bid for the White House.

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/24/joe-biden-metoo-times-up/
“The organizations that wasted weeks drafting a letter urging the Biden campaign to come up with an acceptable response to all this could now draft one instead urging Biden to step aside and let the primaries continue.” https://newrepublic.com/article/157556/democrats-arent-stuck-joe-biden
Democrats Aren’t Stuck With Joe Biden

No one has to tie themselves in knots to defend him if they don’t want to.

https://newrepublic.com/article/157556/democrats-arent-stuck-joe-biden
None of these other accounts are in the same predatory weight class as Reade’s accusation, but they are bad, and there are a lot of them.

Biden must drop out. https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/joe-biden-accuser-accusations-allegations.html
All the Women Who Have Spoken Out Against Joe Biden

A running list.

https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/joe-biden-accuser-accusations-allegations.html
Thread including a serious process proposal.

I think Biden’s Presidential primary run is incompatible with such a process. He should drop out.

https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1256625809709649920?s=21 https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1256625809709649920
“Since the poll conducted that month, the share of voters who said a politician should resign in the face of credible allegations has dropped 18 points, while the share who said the decision should be made at the ballot box increased 10 points.”

Ugh. https://morningconsult.com/2020/05/04/after-watching-biden-deny-reades-claims-1-in-4-democrats-want-a-different-nominee/
After Watching Biden Deny Reade’s Claims, 1 in 4 Democrats Want a Different Nominee - Morning...

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s unequivocal denial of Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation is considered credible by most Democratic voters, but more than a quarter of the party’s rank and file...

https://morningconsult.com/2020/05/04/after-watching-biden-deny-reades-claims-1-in-4-democrats-want-a-different-nominee/
“If Reade is smeared as a liar or opportunist by a movement that claims to believe women, what moral standing will we ever have again?”

— @JessicaValenti https://gen.medium.com/the-importance-of-believing-women-even-when-its-politically-inconvenient-26ab8a0c96c3
The Importance of Believing Women — Even When It’s Politically Inconvenient

When it comes to Joe Biden, feminists must uphold their values no matter what

https://gen.medium.com/the-importance-of-believing-women-even-when-its-politically-inconvenient-26ab8a0c96c3
In the very least, one has no reason for acting with confidence that Reade is lying.

Biden must drop out. Investigation is not compatible with running for President. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/tara-reade-biden-allegations/
I Believe Tara Reade. And You Should, Too.

We already knew that Biden is the type. Had we as voters and had the Democratic Party taken this seriously, we wouldn’t be in this mess now.

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/tara-reade-biden-allegations/
This has bothered me in many of my conversations about this. People who do not engage at all in the question of what is right, leaping directly to accusing me of helping Trump by raising that question at all.

https://twitter.com/jessicavalenti/status/1257767883796602883?s=21 https://twitter.com/JessicaValenti/status/1257767883796602883
I concur with this comment.

I expect Biden to ride it out. He will be the Democratic Party candidate for President.

I will vote for him. I will endorse him. I will materially support his campaign.

But let’s be clear. He should step down. https://useyouroutsidevoice.co/2020/05/05/im-voting-for-joe-fucking-biden/
I'm voting for Joe fucking Biden - Use Your Outside Voice

In fact I won’t even give a performance of “I’m holding my nose” or “vote blue no matter who” because I’m tired and I don’t owe anyone a justification

https://useyouroutsidevoice.co/2020/05/05/im-voting-for-joe-fucking-biden/
It is plausible that Reade is lying.

We cannot be confident that she is.

This situation will not be getting any better.

https://twitter.com/jillfilipovic/status/1258468208484519944?s=21 https://twitter.com/jillfilipovic/status/1258468208484519944
It is plausible that Tara Reade is lying.

Cheap bad faith arguments that she MUST be lying are bad for survivors, bad for the Democratic Party, and bad on the merits.

https://twitter.com/katewillett/status/1259388578796314624?s=21 https://twitter.com/katewillett/status/1259388578796314624
This could get a lot worse for Biden. Or it might not. It would be unwise to count on it getting better.

The earlier Biden drops out, the better for Me Too, the Democrats, and the country.

https://twitter.com/mattfountain1/status/1258524341261623296?s=21 https://twitter.com/MattFountain1/status/1258524341261623296
More evidence, more muddle.

Reade plausibly could be lying. But it would be unwise to count on this getting better for Biden. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-74-former-biden-staffers-think-about-tara-reades-allegations
What 74 former Biden staffers think about Tara Reade's allegations

We spoke to dozens of Joe Biden’s staffers, most of whom were women, to get a broader picture of his behavior toward women throughout his career, how they see Tara Reade’s allegation and whether...

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-74-former-biden-staffers-think-about-tara-reades-allegations
This is a good thread about sexual assault survivors and Biden’s response to the Tara Reade accusation that people who believe her should not vote for him

https://twitter.com/anamardoll/status/1261385131933290496?s=21 https://twitter.com/AnaMardoll/status/1261385131933290496
This is about more than Biden’s political prospects.

(Nested threads)

https://twitter.com/jillfilipovic/status/1261662506868670464?s=21 https://twitter.com/JillFilipovic/status/1261662506868670464
It is plausible that Tara Reade is lying.

But I am seeing countless harmful disingenuous criticisms of her; the cost of this is enormous.

https://twitter.com/wagatwe/status/1262071052747726849?s=21 https://twitter.com/wagatwe/status/1262071052747726849
It is very important to have clear principles which stand above tactical political advantage in this moment

https://twitter.com/beccanalia/status/1262129474214203393?s=21 https://twitter.com/beccanalia/status/1262129474214203393
I hate everything about guys like this having a point

https://twitter.com/drewholden360/status/1262470760863580166?s=21 https://twitter.com/drewholden360/status/1262470760863580166
Just so. It remains plausible to me that Tara Reade is lying. But so many of the attacks on her — or defenses of Biden — make me queasy, persuading me further that resolving this cleanly and responsibly is incompatible with a Presidential campaign.

https://twitter.com/famesjallows/status/1262873676321611776?s=21 https://twitter.com/FamesJallows/status/1262873676321611776
This thread is a solid critique of my position that Biden should step down to face Tara Reade’s accusation properly.

I wish there were more principled, skeptical responses to Reade than disingenuous defenses of Biden. But there aren’t. https://twitter.com/jillfilipovic/status/1263857667287781377?s=21
You can follow @miniver.
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