2008: Conservatives Blast Biden for Role in Bork and Thomas Hearings

[RandySF]

In the Thomas hearings, meanwhile, Biden allowed another “smear campaign” – one which “went from partisanship to being very personal,” Calabresi said.

“The Thomas hearings were, if anything, even worse, because they descended into the personal, and became really, almost a circus because of Sen. Biden’s inability to control the hearings,” he added.

Hausknecht said Biden allowed the Thomas hearings “to degenerate” into “a personal show trial” by letting University of Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill make accusations about alleged improper remarks and actions she attributed to Thomas.

Levin said Biden’s handling of the case had reduced the Senate confirmation hearing to the discussion of “pubic hairs on Coke cans” – a reference to the most notorious allegation Hill made of a “sexually harassing” comment, supposedly from Thomas.

Thomas’s recent autobiography, “My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir,” accuses Biden of unfair treatment, noting that Biden had promised Thomas “would be considered on the basis of his qualifications alone.”



http://cnsnews.com/news/article/conservatives-blast-biden-role-bork-and-thomas-hearings

[shenmue]

1. CNS News is a right-wing site

Who cares what they say?

[RandySF]

2. Because

I've been reading progressives on DU tonight saying that Biden acted like a sexist pig' toward Anita Hill. Which reality are we living in?

[wheniwasincongress]

3. I suppose

the reality in which Biden was disdainful and curt towards Anita, allowed his fellow Senators to behave the same, lied to her when he said other women would be allowed to testify, then refused the said women to be able to testify after promising them they could so.

And no one called him a sexist pig.

[pnwmom]

5. DUers also say that Hillary is too conservative while rightwingers say she's extremely liberal.

As it happens, the truth is somewhere in between. Hillary is liberal, but not nearly as liberal as the RW say.

And Biden behaved badly -- but toward Hill, not Thomas. He was overly deferential to Thomas and he was wrong to prevent the other women -- who would have corroborated Hill's story -- from testifying.

[madville]

4. Republicans want to run against Hillary now

They want a wounded candidate for the general. They know their best shot will be against Hillary so they need to start in on Biden now to keep him out.