A few weeks ago Vice-President Joe Biden decided not to enter the presidential nomination race. At his press conference, he threw a zinger–presumably at Hillary Clinton–about partisanship, as if the failure to collaborate across party lines is the fault of Hillary or other Democrats. That is strange considering how often Republican leaders in Congress expressed their intention NOT to work with President Obama and Democratic legislators. And they seldom failed to keep their promise.
I took Biden to be serious when he said, “We have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart…[we need] to talk to Republicans.” It is one thing to attempt to cooperate with Republicans; however, it is another matter to collaborate at all costs, especially if all the concessions come from the Democrats, an action descriptive of how Biden tended to operate.
He has long been regarded as a politician too willing to concede when situations become contentious, which brings me to my major beef with him. I blame Biden for Clarence Thomas. While several forces pushed Thomas along, as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991 Senator Biden played a not insignificant role of facilitating Thomas’ ascendance to the U.S. Supreme Court. How so? Senate Republicans pushed for a speedy confirmation hearing for Thomas, and Biden acted favorably upon their requests. In fact, he was pressured into continuing the hearings long enough for Anita Hill to testify concerning Thomas’s inappropriate sexual behavior towards her.
Once Anita Hill testified, however, Biden accommodated the Republican Senators by ending the hearing, even though at least three other women were standing by to testify about what they called Clarence Thomas’s sexual harassment. Thomas’s confirmation would have been much more problematic–if not denied–if these women had been permitted to appear before the Senate Committee. Instead, this “go-along and get-along” Senator acceded to the Republicans and closed the hearing, despite the fact many people were requesting the hearings continue and include the women on deck. Further, he permitted without challenge over-the-top criticisms of Anita Hill by Republican Senators, thus appearing to side with Thomas.
Thus, Biden played a significant role in installing Thomas on the Court. And, of course, as a Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas has been cruelly disastrous for social justice in particular and democracy in general. I will resist saying more as this is a family-friendly blog.