On Friday, Lucy Flores, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in Nevada in 2014, published her story of meeting Joe Biden, writing about how he inappropriately kissed her while greeting her.
It went into detail about how it changed the way she viewed Biden, and how his behavior toward women made them feel inadequate and undervalued. The essay was poignant, moving, and highlighted something already known to most anyone who follows politics: Biden has a history of being handsy.
The issue is whether this behavior is disqualifying and whether someone with this history deserves the support of the party. And some Democratic voters, who are terrified of both President Donald Trump and the emergent progressive left, want Biden to remain a viable candidate.
And they’ll go to astounding lengths to defend him.
Like the Krassenstein brothers, Brian and Ed, who on Sunday embarked on a full-throated (tweeted?) defense of Biden.
“Every day thousands of women are traumatized,” he tweeted. “Kissing someone on the cheek (or head) as a greeting, is a greeting, not sex assault.”
I’m making this thread knowing full well that it may piss some people off. I don’t care. Every day there are thousands of sex assaults in the US. Every day thousands of women are traumatized. Kissing someone on the cheek (or head) as a greeting, is a greeting, not sex assault
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 31, 2019
Flores, it should be noted, did not say that Biden sexually assaulted her. But the Krassensteins and those who tweet similar sentiments are building up a strawman of people saying “Joe Biden committed sexual assault” (which no one is saying), to knock down, vindicate, and clear Biden.
Brian’s bro Ed posted the dictionary definition of sexual assault to acquit Biden.
Here is the full definition of Sexual act, according to U.S. law: “sexual act
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) March 31, 2019
(2)the term “sexual act” means— (A)contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, and for purposes of this subparagraph contact involving the penis occurs upon penetration, however
slight; (B)contact between the mouth and the penis, the mouth and the vulva, or the mouth and the anus; (C)the penetration, however slight, of the anal or genital opening of another by a hand or finger or by any object, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade,
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) March 31, 2019
or arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person; or (D)the intentional touching, not through the clothing, of the genitalia of another person who has not attained the age of 16 years with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade, or arouse or gratify the sexual desire
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) March 31, 2019
It is, as they say, a weird flex.
Yeah. The federal laws that have always been established by just women. https://t.co/1K2Tg80TOS
— janedoeWalks (@janedoeWalks) March 31, 2019
What a hill to die on https://t.co/mHlhNVeo20
— michaelrm (@Michael_RM) April 1, 2019
“defending sexual assault to defend the sanctity of joe biden” is some noble #resistance praxis https://t.co/4aqPli12BL
— Natalie Shure (@nataliesurely) March 31, 2019
I can’t imagine why you think your opinion even remotely matters on this issue. No one has conflated Biden’s behavior with sexual assault. It’s about his documented pattern of invading the physical space of women over decades, combined with his mixed record on women’s issues.
— ella dawson (@brosandprose) March 31, 2019
Not all defenses of Biden were tweetstorms.
In an essay on a viral photo that became a meme, Stephanie Carter, wife of former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, wrote about the way the internet spoke about her experience, where Biden was photographed touching her shoulders. She wants people to know how incorrect they were.
But a still shot taken from a video — misleadingly extracted from what was a longer moment between close friends — sent out in a snarky tweet — came to be the lasting image of that day.
Carter goes on to say that she is not interested in people continuing to use her picture as a way to declare Biden’s behavior inappropriate.
Carter’s desire to no longer be used as a way to paint Biden as inappropriate is valid and should be honored. But it shouldn’t be used as a cudgel to defend Biden, and doesn’t discount what Flores wanted to say over the weekend.
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