Joe Biden might be the focal point for comeuppance of #MeToo movement

One rule for Biden, another rule for Kavanaugh. Debra Saunders, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sunday:

Democratic senators … feminists who bought every flimsy claim made against now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh — have chosen to stand by Joe Biden in the face of a sexual assault allegation … When Kavanaugh faced mouldy stories of misbehaviour going back (to) his high school years, the bedrock principle of due process and the notion that the burden of proof should fall on an accuser, not the accused, was conspicuously absent.

The alleged victim was made to feel “uncomfortable”. Associated Press, Sunday:

Tara Reade, the former Senate staffer who alleges Joe Biden sexually assaulted her 27 years ago, has said she filed a limited report with a congressional personnel office that did not explicitly accuse him of sexual assault. “I remember talking about him wanting me to serve drinks because he liked my legs and thought I was pretty and it made me uncomfortable,” Reade said. “I know that I was too scared to write about the sexual assault.” Reade said she described her issues with Biden, but “the word I used — and I know I didn’t use sexual harassment — (was) “uncomfortable”.

Biting the hand that fed her. Frances Mulraney, Daily Mail, Sunday:

Tara Reade hit out at the Democratic Party in an interview with Fox News as she said that “creepy” voice messages were being left for her as part of a torrent of abuse following her claim against the Democratic presidential candidate … “I’m a Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, but yet here I am trying to talk about my history with Joe Biden and I’m just the target of online harassment”.

Into uncomfortable territory. Jessica Bennett and Lisa Lerer, The New York Times, May 2:

The particulars of Ms Reade’s account, and Mr Biden’s denial, have pushed the #MeToo movement — and the politicians who supported it, like Mr Biden — into uncomfortable territory. After three years of calling on elected officials, journalists and corporations to “believe women”, the movement faces a case where the truth seems especially difficult, if not impossible, to establish … There is no formal organisation tasked with examining Ms Reade’s claim. No eyewitnesses to the encounter.

Annie Linskey and Sean Sullivan, The Washington Post, Sunday:

Joe Biden, discussing sexual assault claims in early 2018, told PBS flatly, “women should be believed”. On Friday, facing his own accusations, he stressed the importance of “taking the woman’s claims seriously when she steps forward — and then vet it, look into it”. That shift in Biden’s tone reflects the way a former staffer’s claim … is raising new questions for the #MeToo movement … Women’s activists, eager to unseat a president they consider misogynistic, are facing tough decisions over whether to stick by Biden or distance themselves … Some activists warn that downplaying Tara Reade’s claims could undermine the movement’s credibility by suggesting it only targets men whose policies it dislikes.

The US media in a distinctly uncomfortable position. Peder Zane, The News & Observer, Sunday:

There is no doubt the media has treated Reade differently than Kavanaugh’s accusers … Kavanaugh’s main accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, told no one for decades about the alleged attack. While Reade certainly worked for Biden, Blasey Ford had no evidence that she knew Kavanaugh … but the press declared that no woman would make up such a story.