Opinion

KERNS: Pelosi, Once Quick To Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Is Happy To Support Joe Biden

Jen Kerns Contributor
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is suffering from a textbook case of Democratic hypocrisy.

Pelosi told an audience at a breakfast event this week that the numerous inappropriate sexual allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden are “not disqualifying” in his bid for the presidency.

Pelosi sang a different tune last fall when then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was accused of sexual misconduct for an alleged incident that took place more than three decades ago.

During the Kavanaugh hearings, Pelosi’s office issued a statement that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations were both “serious and credible” despite zero corroborating evidence.

Pelosi also claimed that Kavanaugh himself was “hysterical” for daring to question the Senate Judiciary Committee’s political motives over the matter, and she suggested that Kavanaugh “subject himself to a lie detector test.”

Pelosi further stated it would be a “dereliction of duty” if Congress did not “demand zero tolerance of sexual harassment and abuse.”

If zero tolerance is truly Pelosi’s position, then why wouldn’t Biden’s actions be judged by the same standard?

It appears that Democrats have a “rules for thee, but not for me” mantra, at least when it comes to sexual assault and harassment.

The same appears to be true of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, who is standing by Biden despite the disturbing allegations. Her defense of Biden has been nothing short of fierce. She calls the sexual misconduct allegations “ridiculous” and claims he is a good man.

She not only defended Biden, she chastised fellow Democrats, saying, “You’re eating your young. You’re eating those who can beat Trump.” As if the ability to beat President Trump at the ballot box ought to somehow excuse inappropriate behavior.

Brzezinski’s defense seems odd in light of the fact that she was so quick to pounce on Kavanaugh without a single shred of evidence.

Her trashing of the women who have accused Biden is even more disturbing.

To date, at least two women have come forward to report that Biden touched them inappropriately, smelled their hair, kissed them, grabbed their necks, rubbed noses with them, or invaded their personal space to an extent that they felt violated.

In addition to these allegations, Biden reportedly swam naked in front of female Secret Service agents when he served in the Obama administration — behavior that seems unbecoming of the second most powerful man in the White House. The incidents reportedly occurred numerous times at both his official vice president’s residence in Washington, D.C. and at his personal home in Delaware, according to a book by Ronald Kessler.

Kessler — a onetime reporter at The Washington Post who accurately broke such stories as Secret Service agents behaving badly in Colombia — reported that female Secret Service agents were uncomfortable with Biden’s open nudity. (By comparison, parading around nude or in a towel was an offense that got longtime TV host Charlie Rose fired.)

All of the allegations are more serious against Biden because they occurred during a time when he was not only an officeholder but in a position of great power as the vice president of the United States. If he violated females’ personal boundaries from that position of power, the allegations are all the more problematic.

In addition, unlike Kavanaugh’s accusers, Biden’s accusers come from within his own political party, suggesting that the women who have come forward may not be politically motivated — though one accuser did support Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016.

Biden took to Twitter this week to defend himself, suggesting he’s always been a touchy-feely kind of guy who prides himself on personal “connection.” He suggested his actions were no different than, say, high-fives or hugs — as if smelling one’s hair should fall into that innocuous category. Nevertheless, in the video, Biden said he now understands the magnitude of his actions — “I get it,” he said.

If Pelosi, Brzezinski and the Democratic Party truly are committed to “zero tolerance” on sexual harassment and abuse, they must cut Biden loose, or risk disqualifying themselves from any #MeToo dialogue.

Jen Kerns (@JenKernsUSA) served as spokeswoman for the California Republican Party; spokeswoman for California’s Proposition 8, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court; and as a Fox News writer for the 2016 U.S. presidential debates.


 The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.