Biden has a secret

The latest allegations against Biden were leveled by an operative who pretends to be objective, even though she is obviously on Team Bernie. Basically, she's another Cassandra Fairbanks. This brouhaha demonstrates, yet again, that "Me Too" is a monster of the right.

Any male Democratic candidate will fall prey to this monster. We all recall how one woman was offered a mere $20,000 to "Me Too" Mueller. Add a couple of zeroes to that offer and you can wave bye-bye to Beto or Biden or Inslee or Castro or any other Evil Penismonster you can name.

Even Buttigieg is not immune. Recall what happened to George Takei.

It is my belief that identity politics -- specifically, what is called "intersectional" feminism -- is a tool designed by and for the fascist right, who are manipulating the left into self-destruction. We are talking about an international phenomenon. No, that's not the right term: We should speak of an international plot.

(Do I still have enough of the conspiracy theorist in me to use that wording in public? I do.)

In coming posts, I hope to trace this plot to its philosophical roots, to the place where postmodernism joined the fascist project of dismantling the Enlightenment. The ultimate goal is to end democracy and to divide the world's real estate on the basis of race.

M. Foucault, meet Mr. Dugin. Oh, I see you've already met! In fact, you are brothers.

To understand how identity politics serves the far right in this country, you may want to observe the process elsewhere. A good place to start would be this interview with Dutch activist Tamara Brouwer. In her country, as in ours, the left has lost power while the far right has gained muscle. Why? Because the left was taken over by identity politics. Simply that and nothing else.

Let's get back to Biden. From The Atlantic:

He says his family wants him to run. Some close supporters have been told in recent weeks that, after his aides had telegraphed that he’d wait until the first week or two of April to announce a decision so that he could slip just past the March 31 first-quarter fundraising deadline, now he might wait until after Easter. That’s April 21. Three more weeks. At least.

So, observers ask: Is there some scandal that he’s afraid will pop? Is he afraid to lose? Does he not really have the fire in the belly to do it? Is he demonstrating how his age and mentality might not be the right fit for either a presidential campaign or the presidency?

There is indeed a hidden scandal. No, I'm not talking about the nonsense that has transfixed a good many people for the past few days; that crap is simply the latest variant of the Franken gambit. I'm talking about something rather more substantial -- the main course, not the appetizer.

I've made oblique reference to this scandal since 2008, when I first learned of it. Visualize one of those situations in which a man and a woman make the same mistake, but only the man must suffer because All Women Are Holy and All Men Are Satan.

Even in our current crazed culture, Biden could easily survive this scandal. By modern (that is, post-Trumpian) standards, it simply isn't that bad. But the airing of this particular piece of dirty laundry would connect Biden to a certain family whose name is known to all, and the mere mention of that notorious name would cause the entire nation to guffaw and hoot and howl. The real problem here is the laughter factor, not the underlying sin, if sin it be.

Again: Biden can survive revelation of this scandal, but only if he gets out in front of the problem. If he has already attempted a John Edwardsian behind-the-scenes cover-up, he is doomed and must not consider jumping into the race. There is simply no way that Team Trump does not already know everything, because one prominent member of the aforementioned family is, or was, a Trump supporter.

(You may be able to name the name based on the clues given above. I will neither confirm nor deny.)

Privately, I've mentioned this business to two veteran watchers of politics. I explained to them why I trusted my source, and they did not try to convince me that my trust was misplaced. Both of them advised me not to mention the matter. I told them I would keep mum, but might reconsider that stance if Biden decided to run.

Frankly, I'm not sure what to do now.

I'm not anti-Biden. Quite the opposite, in fact. Back in the 1980s, I decided that Joe Biden would make a great president. But before he decides on a run, he needs to de-skeletonize his closet now. Otherwise, the Me Too movement will slaughter him.

They've already gone after him, quite unfairly, for the way he questioned Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings. Biden has been forced to apologize even though, in fact, he did nothing wrong on that occasion. Youngsters who weren't around at the time have a skewed understanding of what really happened back in the days when Reaganism ruled the airwaves and Dems were practically voiceless. Throughout the hearings, the media constantly assailed Biden for being partisan, for being unfair to both Thomas and the Republicans. Now, Biden is being assailed for letting the Republicans on the committee speak freely. If he had tried to squelch them, the entire country -- right and left -- would have screamed about bias and cover-up. Biden would have succeeded only in giving credibility to those who claimed that Anita Hill was the tool of a Democratic conspiracy.

Biden must stop apologizing. He would do far better to slam "Me Too" madness and to embrace the growing movement to combat identity politics on our campuses. That would gain him some attention. Even if he does not win the nomination, he would prove that not all Dems are in thrall to this "identity" insanity.

Of course the current attack on Biden is a right-wing plot. To prove the point, one need merely note that Kellyanne Conway asks us to Google "Creepy Uncle Joe" videos. Better, I say, to track the operatives who put those videos up on YouTube.

This campaign reminds me of the great smear campaign of 2016 -- the one that claimed that Hillary was dying of five fatal diseases. This lie was aided by a cannonade of doctored videos designed to gull low-IQ hillbillies. She was, and is, in admirable health.

("Five fatal diseases" was a bit of humorous hyperbole. Ever see this great old movie? You should.)

A message from Biden. Of course, the intersectional feminists do not believe that he (or any other male) has the right to speak, since his skin is white and he uses the wrong pronoun. But non-insane people may want to listen to what the man has to say:

“In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort," Biden said. "And not once — never — did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention. I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear."

"But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention," he said. "And I will. I will also remain the strongest advocate I can be for the rights of women. I will fight to build on the work I’ve done in my career to end violence against women and ensure women are treated with the equality they deserve. I will continue to surround myself with trusted women advisers who challenge me to see different perspectives than my own. And I will continue to speak out on these vitally-important issues where there is much more progress to be made and crucial fights that must be waged and won."

Again: Please stop apologizing, Mr. Biden. The same advice goes for every other "Mr" seeking political office.

Remember Al Franken. I will never forget -- and I will never forgive the intersectional feminists for that bit of political theater.