"Reade’s story is just as credible as Blasey Ford’s, and if you took Blasey Ford seriously you should take Reade seriously too."
- Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs
10 days have passed since my last update, and in that time we’ve amassed nearly 1500 signatures and reached countless other potential supporters. Right now, the news is overwhelming. Not just the content of it, but the speed of the rapid cycle is dizzying and difficult to keep up with. As such, I’ve created a roundup of the events of the last couple of weeks in relation to the allegations against Joe Biden. As you share the petition, share these articles to support your stance.
March 31st: “Jacobin reached out to the twenty-nine Democratic and independent senators who had called for Franken’s resignation three years ago and are still in office, in some cases leaving multiple voicemails and emails, and sometimes speaking directly with staffers. Some of those senators have since endorsed Biden for president, including Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). Of those twenty-nine, only one — Ohio’s Sherrod Brown — offered a statement in response.”
Read more: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/03/joe-biden-sexual-assault-allegation-me-too
April 6th: Actress and activist Alyssa Milano defends her endorsement of Biden as she casts doubt on Reade’s allegation.
“I sent the #metoo tweet over 2 years ago, I never thought that it would be something that was going to destroy innocent men.”
Listen to her full statement here: https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/1247217322542002177?s=20
Milano had been credited with helping form the #metoo movement after tweeting, “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” in October of 2017.
This is in sharp contrast to even very recent stances of Milano’s, including her refusal to continue working with Andrew Yang after allegations of sexual misconduct between staffers surfaced in December of 2019.
April 7th: Anthony Zenkus draws a connection between Ford and Reade in a story for Common Dreams: “Many people who believed Dr. Blasey Ford when she came forward with her allegations against Brett Kavanaugh are the same people now attempting to dismantle Tara Reade’s story. They only need to turn to Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate to understand why Reade’s story should be taken seriously.”
Read more: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/04/07/inconvenient-truth-rape
April 11th: Tara Reade formally files a police report with DC law enforcement about the assault, as reported in a now paywall protected Business Insider article. Newsweek has also reported this without paywall restrictions: https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-sexual-assault-police-tara-reade-1497391
Soon after she reported the incident to police, major media outlets including the New York Times began offering coverage.
April 12th: In a brazen display of bias, the New York Times tweeted, “No other allegation about sexual assault surfaced in the course of our reporting, nor did any former Biden staff corroborate Reade’s allegation. We found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Biden, beyond hugs, kisses, and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.” They have since deleted the tweet: https://www.democracynow.org/2020/4/13/headlines/nyt_reports_on_tara_reades_joe_biden_sexual_assault_allegation_but_retracts_mention_of_prior_sexual_misconduct
To me, the crown jewel of this list is Nathan J. Robinson’s breakdown for Current Affairs. I encourage you to read every word and share it far and wide.
“I think we should be very wary of claims that Reade’s accusations simply were not supported by enough evidence to be widely reported. For one thing, Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation against Brett Kavanaugh was reported as soon as she made it public, even though she had told nobody at the time, and did not have the kind of witness statements that Halper received from Reade’s brother and her friend. Tara, like many victims, is seemingly faced with an impossible standard. The incident happened in private, so what evidence can she provide, other than people she had told at the time? She can prove that she worked for Biden, and she can tell her whole story in clear and unwavering detail, but what else is she supposed to do? What proof, beyond her testimony, is enough?” - Nathan J. Robinson for Current Affairs
Read more: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/04/evaluating-tara-reades-claims/
I know many of us are disheartened by Bernie Sanders’ decision to suspend his campaign for the presidency. With Bernie’s campaign suspended, it is more crucial now than ever that we continue to push Biden to step down. Keep loving, keep fighting, keep sharing. We’ve got this.