Democratic Primaries
Related: About this forum"I Support Anita Hill, and Joe Biden, Too"
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/opinion/biden-anita-hill.htmlBut I also support Joe Biden, who was the chairman of those hearings, and who today has become the focus of much of the frustration of those disappointed by them. That focus is, I believe, misplaced.
Ms. Hill was treated badly by the Judiciary Committee, and Mr. Biden, as he admits, could have done more to assure a better hearing. He also could have issued an earlier and more meaningful apology than the one he recently made as he prepared to announce his presidential campaign. But it was not Mr. Biden who made the hearings as abusive to Ms. Hill as they were.
It was Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, who declared the proceedings a war and characterized Ms. Hills testimony as flat-out perjury. It was Alan Simpson, Republican of Wyoming, who suggested that Ms. Hill might be suffering from a delusional disorder and stated that unnamed others had told him to watch out for this woman. It was Howell Heflin, Democrat of Alabama, who suggested in his questioning that Ms. Hill might be a scorned woman. It was John Danforth, Republican of Missouri, who referred to Ms. Hills testimony as a smear campaign. (He later conceded that he had shown no concern at all for fairness to Anita Hill.) And it was Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah, who declared that anyone who could produce allegations so graphic and so crude and so outrageous as Ms. Hills was not a person but a psychopathic sex fiend or pervert.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
crazytown
(7,277 posts)Yes, with hindsight there are things he could have done differently, but there always are. He was outmanoeuvred by the GOP. The behaviour of the Republican Senators was disgraceful. They behaved with the sort of malice, and dishonour which is very familiar today but largely left in the drawer back then. They broke assurances given to Biden in private. If Professor Hill wants to pin the blame on Joe, she is entitled to do so, but as a matter of procedure and logic, she is wrong
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Demsrule86
(68,695 posts)Women bill and got it passed...that is way more important.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
spooky3
(34,483 posts)By Republicans. If we are going to remember this terrible process, lets remember all of the important elements.
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
crazytown
(7,277 posts)Joe Biden composed what the GOP said, and handed them their scripts before the hearings. They memorised them well, didnt they?
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Skya Rhen
(2,701 posts)When I watched the hearings in real time, as an 19 year-old AA woman, I was impressed and heartened to see such a distinct and glaring difference between Biden and the other Republicans on the committee. This is the moment when I connected to him and have been a supporter of his, ever since.
He was always warm and polite in his behavior towards Hill. i.e. he did not "treat her badly", which is what so many people want him to falsely confess to and apologize for.
No. Biden is and has always been a decent man.
If they want to say that Biden should have made different decisions regarding what other additional evidence/witnesses was or was not allowed - that is a separate issue.
As chairman, Biden had the discretion to make such decisions and, in no way, just because one might disagree with these decisions should it be viewed as him having "treated her badly".
Go ahead and say that the decisions were fair or unfair, right or wrong - but do not say that this proves that he "treated her badly".
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden
bloom
(11,635 posts)"...While every lawmaker on the committee had his own dedicated time to ask questions, Hill supporters noted that Biden was the one overseeing all of the proceedings and could have used his authority to step in. The Republicans metaphorically stoned Anita Hill, while the Democrats, Biden being the gatekeeper, let it happen, Angela Wright Shannon, an EEOC employee who also raised allegations against Thomas, told Roll Call.
Hills camp also notes that Biden contributed to the hostile tone of the hearing himself. I was shocked and dismayed that Joe Biden was asking questions that didnt seem appropriate and was not in her corner as a Democrat, Charles Ogletree, a Harvard law professor who served as Hills attorney, told Politico. The point is that hes supposed to be neutral, but his questions to Anita Hill were as piercing as anyones.
Biden has previously argued that the rules governing the committee limited how much he was able to intervene, especially when questions were being asked by other lawmakers."
...Biden has also been criticized for not calling more witnesses who could have helped corroborate Hills account. Sukari Hardnett and Wright Shannon were both EEOC employees who said they could speak to the culture of the office. Both were not ultimately called to testify, nor was at least one other woman who said she could back Hills allegations.
I did expect that the chair would be fair and gather the testimony from the relevant witnesses, like the three women who were not called in to testify, like the experts on sexual harassment that could have helped inform the committee about how the problem manifests itself, Hill told Time in 2016....
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/27/18262482/joe-biden-anita-hill-2020-christine-blasey-ford-brett-kavanaugh
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
Skya Rhen
(2,701 posts)The NY Times gave direct quotes made by Biden, that showed his decency.
The VOX article referred to the impression of Hill's attorney that Biden's questions were "piercing". Give me some direct quotes from Biden that were piercing or not appropriate...
primary today, I would vote for: Joe Biden