To the Editor:
Re “Biden’s ‘Regret’ for Hill’s Pain Fails to Soothe” (front page, April 26):
In 1991, many of us were glued to our TVs as a Senate panel led by Joe Biden grilled Anita Hill as she testified during a confirmation hearing for Clarence Thomas. Mr. Biden’s conduct and that of the panel were deeply disturbing and helped give us one of the most regressive justices in Supreme Court history.
It seems almost unforgivable until we recognize that if nominated, Mr. Biden will be running against President Trump.
Any candidate with a long record in public service has a record with mistakes. The question is whether he or she has grown from those mistakes or dug in deeper. There is nothing in Mr. Trump's record to suggest that his treatment of people of color, immigrants or women has evolved.
Mr. Biden is correct when he says that the character of the nation would be fundamentally altered if Mr. Trump wins a second term. In 2020, we won’t cast a vote for a perfect person no matter who wins the Democratic nomination. We can, however, vote for someone who believes he or she serves the public rather than the opposite.
Elliott Miller
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
To the Editor:
The discussion regarding Joe Biden’s handling of the Anita Hill hearings often misses the point. The catastrophic outcome was the permanent seat on the Supreme Court for Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas has been a disaster for civil rights, voting rights, workers’ rights, L.G.B.T.Q. rights, immigrant rights, patient rights, gun control, environmental protections and the ability of women to control their own bodies.
Justice Thomas is the worst outcome of Joe and the boys running the Judiciary Committee hearings back in the ’90s. Anita Hill was collateral damage, along with the other female witnesses denied the opportunity to corroborate her report of Mr. Thomas’s sexual harassment.
Clarence Thomas should have never been given the privilege to serve on the Supreme Court, and if Joe Biden had done his due diligence, perhaps he wouldn’t be on the bench right now.
Eileen Redden
South Windsor, Conn.
To the Editor:
It is telling that after 28 years, Joe Biden reached out to Anita Hill only when he was essentially forced to by the #MeToo movement and his desire to be president. Also telling are the exact words of the speech in March in which Mr. Biden seemed to express regret over his role in Anita Hill’s testimony.
Mr. Biden didn’t say he failed to give Ms. Hill the kind of hearing she deserved; he said he “couldn’t” give her such a hearing, thus hinting at some sort of force he was powerless to stop.
Twenty-eight years after his brutish treatment of Anita Hill, Joe Biden still hasn’t taken full responsibility for his shameful behavior.
Lawrence Reichard
Belfast, Me.
To the Editor:
Every presidential candidate is flawed, but the attacks on Joe Biden’s years in the Senate, from Anita Hill to his opposition to busing, raise an interesting question: If his Senate record was good enough for Barack Obama to select him as his vice president, why isn’t that good enough for us?
Martin Tolchin
Washington
The writer is a former congressional correspondent for The New York Times.
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Joe Biden Reaches Out to Anita Hill
Opinion | Joe Biden Reaches Out to Anita Hill
To the Editor:
Re “Biden’s ‘Regret’ for Hill’s Pain Fails to Soothe” (front page, April 26):
In 1991, many of us were glued to our TVs as a Senate panel led by Joe Biden grilled Anita Hill as she testified during a confirmation hearing for Clarence Thomas. Mr. Biden’s conduct and that of the panel were deeply disturbing and helped give us one of the most regressive justices in Supreme Court history.
It seems almost unforgivable until we recognize that if nominated, Mr. Biden will be running against President Trump.
Any candidate with a long record in public service has a record with mistakes. The question is whether he or she has grown from those mistakes or dug in deeper. There is nothing in Mr. Trump's record to suggest that his treatment of people of color, immigrants or women has evolved.
Mr. Biden is correct when he says that the character of the nation would be fundamentally altered if Mr. Trump wins a second term. In 2020, we won’t cast a vote for a perfect person no matter who wins the Democratic nomination. We can, however, vote for someone who believes he or she serves the public rather than the opposite.
Elliott Miller
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
To the Editor:
The discussion regarding Joe Biden’s handling of the Anita Hill hearings often misses the point. The catastrophic outcome was the permanent seat on the Supreme Court for Clarence Thomas. Justice Thomas has been a disaster for civil rights, voting rights, workers’ rights, L.G.B.T.Q. rights, immigrant rights, patient rights, gun control, environmental protections and the ability of women to control their own bodies.
Justice Thomas is the worst outcome of Joe and the boys running the Judiciary Committee hearings back in the ’90s. Anita Hill was collateral damage, along with the other female witnesses denied the opportunity to corroborate her report of Mr. Thomas’s sexual harassment.
Clarence Thomas should have never been given the privilege to serve on the Supreme Court, and if Joe Biden had done his due diligence, perhaps he wouldn’t be on the bench right now.
Eileen Redden
South Windsor, Conn.
To the Editor:
It is telling that after 28 years, Joe Biden reached out to Anita Hill only when he was essentially forced to by the #MeToo movement and his desire to be president. Also telling are the exact words of the speech in March in which Mr. Biden seemed to express regret over his role in Anita Hill’s testimony.
Mr. Biden didn’t say he failed to give Ms. Hill the kind of hearing she deserved; he said he “couldn’t” give her such a hearing, thus hinting at some sort of force he was powerless to stop.
Twenty-eight years after his brutish treatment of Anita Hill, Joe Biden still hasn’t taken full responsibility for his shameful behavior.
Lawrence Reichard
Belfast, Me.
To the Editor:
Every presidential candidate is flawed, but the attacks on Joe Biden’s years in the Senate, from Anita Hill to his opposition to busing, raise an interesting question: If his Senate record was good enough for Barack Obama to select him as his vice president, why isn’t that good enough for us?
Martin Tolchin
Washington
The writer is a former congressional correspondent for The New York Times.
Source: Read Full Article