There has been some chatter lately about the possibility of another run for president in 2020 by former Vice President Joe Biden. He even said he has regrets about not running in 2016: Joe Biden Thinks He Was Most Qualified Person to Run in 2016
In the age of Harvey Weinstein however, and perhaps even more importantly due to the explosive Al Franken story, the left is beginning to rethink the idea of a new Biden candidacy.
Amanda Terkel writes at the Huffington Post:
Joe Biden 2020 Is A Terrible Idea In A Post-Weinstein AmericaJoe Biden is a man looking for his moment. Behind those famous aviators, he’s surveying the landscape to see if 2020 might just be his year to fulfill his presidential dreams.Biden has already run for president twice. Although he didn’t run in 2016, he thinks he could have won that race. When Hillary Clinton lost, she was heavily criticized for not having a populist economic message that could have reached the working-class white voters who swung over to Donald Trump.Those voters are the speciality of the former vice president, who was born in the Rust Belt city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. When he represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate, Biden was known for taking Amtrak to and from Washington, just like the regular people…Men in entertainment, media, business and other areas are finally being held accountable for sexist behavior. From former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly to producer Harvey Weinstein to comedian Louis C.K., men are losing their jobs after years of having sexually harassed or assaulted women with impunity.Biden is the wrong guy to bear the standard of any party purporting to speak for the victims of unaccountable power.
Even the folks over at far left Salon are concerned.
Sophia Tesfaye writes:
Please no, Uncle Joe: Can we pull the brakes on the Biden 2020 express?Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he has “no plans” to run for president, but on Tuesday the former vice president had insisted that he is “not closing the door” on a future run. If you couldn’t tell, Biden is out selling a book. Still, his numerous and contradictory statements about an impending return to electoral politics should be enough to make Democrats nervous…Biden’s subsequent history of handling women in ways that makes them visibly uncomfortable made for great memes while his hokey “Creepy Joe” persona was in full effect, but in the wake of sexual harassment scandals surrounding numerous powerful men, it’s hard to imagine that such actions will continue to be overlooked.
That history of handling women has been well documented:
Here’s one more example from Erin Gloria Ryan of the Daily Beast:
Dear Lord Would Joe Biden Be a Terrible Candidate for These TimesOver the last few days, former Vice President Biden has made the rounds promoting his new book with talk show hosts who pretend to have read his new book. During these breezy little chats, Biden has teased that he hasn’t ruled out running in 2020. On behalf of all left-leaning people who also care deeply about our current national conversation about harassment and consent: Please, Joe. Please. Not now. Now is extremely not the time.While Joe Biden has been jokingly depicted as a kooky uncle or Obama’s wacky sidekick or Leslie Knope’s grin-flashing celebrity crush, he’s also got a troubling history of acting weird in public around women who don’t seem entirely on board. This isn’t just based on whispers or rumors; there are so many photos and clips of Biden looming over, or massaging, or gently nuzzling, or whispering to, or kissing women and girls who don’t seem all that into it.
People on the right have been pointing out Biden’s creepy behavior for years. Democrats and their media allies would usually respond by blowing it off saying that’s just Joe being Joe.
It’s great to see them finally coming around.
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