Earlier this month, Mother Jones contacted “eight national organizations that advocate for sexual violence survivors” and asked them for a comment about the sexual assault allegations against Joe Biden. Not one of them responded. Today you can add 10 “women’s groups” to that list. The Daily Beast asked the 10 groups for a comment and none of them would offer one.
The Daily Beast contacted 10 top national pro-women organizations for this story, including Emily’s List, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the National Organization for Women. Most organizations did not respond to a detailed request for comment about the allegation by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Biden’s Senate office who has accused the former vice president of forcibly penetrating her with his fingers in the early 1990s. Others replied and did not provide a statement.
One prominent women’s political group cited a scheduling conflict and asked to be kept “in mind for other opportunities!” When pressed if the following day would work better, an associate said it would not, citing another scheduling conflict.
I’m sure that will get straightened out, probably right after the election. The DB also contacted a couple of outspoken advocates for women, Patricia Ireland and Gloria Steinem, both of whom have expressed some regret about the way they were instrumental in defending Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Ireland, who was the leader of the National Organization for Women (NOW) during the Clinton administration told the Washington Post in 2017 she wished she’d been more supportive of Paula Jones:
“I wish I had done more to be supportive of her,” said Patricia Ireland, a longtime president of the National Organization for Women, who is now a lawyer in Florida. “For Paula Jones, there were nice distinctions that people made: She didn’t work for him, he didn’t have the power to hire or fire her. But that ignores the reality that he was a very powerful man.”
Similarly, Gloria Steinem told the Guardian she wouldn’t write the same defense of Clinton now that she had written in the 1990s:
“We have to believe women. I wouldn’t write the same thing now because there’s probably more known about other women now. I’m not sure,” she said on the red carpet of an annual comedy benefit for the Ms Foundation for Women, of which she is a founder.
“What you write in one decade you don’t necessarily write in the next. But I’m glad I wrote it in that decade.”
The Daily Beast asked both Ireland and Steinem for comment and neither responded. In Steinem’s case that may actually be an improvement. She’s gone from actively defending Clinton to silently defending Biden. Maybe by the time the next Democratic candidate is accused of sexual assault she’ll be ready to say something negative about it.
The silence of these groups really confirms what conservatives have said all along about them. They are political entities aligned with Democrats first and foremost. Their outrage over actual issues and incidents is extremely selective. For example, during the Kavanaugh confirmation, Planned Parenthood was saying this:
Today, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford will share her story of sexual assault at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh under oath with the Senate Judiciary Committee. We stand with survivors of sexual assault. We believe survivors. #KavanaughHearings #BelieveSurvivors pic.twitter.com/qrwfigs2a2
— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) September 27, 2018
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford is strong, brave, and resilient. She is a hero. #KavanaughHearings #BelieveSurvivors
— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) September 27, 2018
And they kept it going into 2019:
Let’s work together to create a culture of consent, and support sexual assault survivors. #IAsk #MeToo pic.twitter.com/W3Bu5vSqsA
— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) April 12, 2019
One year ago today, Dr. Blasey Ford spoke her truth with millions of people watching. Thank you for your bravery and for standing up for what's right.
Today and every day, we believe survivors — and we've got your back. #BelieveSurvivors pic.twitter.com/c2VlCyD96U
— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) September 27, 2019
We believe Deborah Ramirez, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, and all survivors of sexual assault. Millions of women and countless survivors were watching a year ago, and we are still watching today. #BelieveSurvivors, always. pic.twitter.com/ah9iFQizMw
— Planned Parenthood Action (@PPact) September 16, 2019
Planned Parenthood produced this video last year advising people how to best respond to women who allege they were victims of sexual assault. Step one is “Say: ‘I believe you.'” Later the clip advises that people should ask “How can I support you?” So Planned Parenthood has already failed taking its own advice with regard to Tara Reade.
To all survivors: we believe you, and we’ve got your back. Here’s how you can support someone who has shared their experience of sexual assault: https://t.co/ZVYsVHsSu6 #MeToo
— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) September 16, 2019
NARAL is no different. They put out the same social media posts about Dr. Ford often featuring the #BelieveSurvivors hashtag:
Thank you, Dr. Blasey Ford. #BelieveSurvivors #KavanaughHearings pic.twitter.com/locWXmSFdS
— NARAL (@NARAL) September 27, 2018
The graphic allegations of Julie Swetnick are horrifying to read. We believe her, just as we believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez. #BelieveSurvivors #StopKavanaugh pic.twitter.com/Mh1b1G6n0m
— NARAL (@NARAL) September 26, 2018
But Dr. Ford’s story alone should have been enough to keep Kavanaugh off the court. So how does that work with Tara Reade and the White House?
Tomorrow's hearing is an insult to women everywhere—Dr. Blasey Ford’s story should've been enough to deny Brett Kavanaugh his undeserved promotion. In the face of Senate Republicans’ anti-woman agenda, people across the country are standing up to say that they #BelieveSurvivors. pic.twitter.com/yuPjImH3DO
— NARAL (@NARAL) September 27, 2018
How not to respond to allegations according to NARAL. Isn’t silence a form of dismissal?
“77% of assaults go unreported. Like Dr. Blasey Ford, too many people who speak up about an experience of sexual assault suffer further hurt and humiliation by having their story dismissed, their integrity doubted, or their motives questioned.” https://t.co/sxgAhVtdq2 #MeToo
— NARAL (@NARAL) October 13, 2018
They also kept this going into late 2019.
“Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter."
One year ago today, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford gave her brave and haunting testimony in front of the world. We believed her then, and we believe her now. We believe survivors. pic.twitter.com/mE5mk9aoFj
— NARAL (@NARAL) September 27, 2019
I won’t belabor this too much longer but the same is true of Emily’s List:
Your body is your own. Period. #BelieveSurvivors pic.twitter.com/SGWos1QWeg
— EMILY's List (@emilyslist) September 24, 2018
We are standing in solidarity with Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Deborah Ramirez, and all survivors of sexual assault. We believe women. We #BelieveSurvivors. pic.twitter.com/8zAaV10iuz
— EMILY's List (@emilyslist) September 24, 2018
We believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
We believe Deborah Ramirez.
We #BelieveSurvivors. pic.twitter.com/3xEgdnQoaS— EMILY's List (@emilyslist) September 24, 2018
In 2019:
One year ago today, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford showcased her bravery in front of America.
We believe her. We believe women. We believe survivors. pic.twitter.com/XFTes6WuYA
— EMILY's List (@emilyslist) September 27, 2019
I could keep going but I think you get the point. These groups had plenty to say about believing survivors as recently as 7-8 months ago. Suddenly they have all gone silent.
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