Karma came around pretty quickly for the Democrats who tried to destroy now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the fall of 2018. Consider all of those pathetic little made for TV soundbites which now apply equally to their candidate. Perhaps the most grating remarks of all came from Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) who told men to “shut up and step up.” The Senator said:

I just want to say to the men of this country: Just shut up and step up. Do the right thing for a change.

Not only do women like Dr. Ford, who bravely comes forward, need to be heard, but they need to be believed. They need to be believed. We cannot continue the victimization and the smearing of someone like Dr. Ford.

We have to create an environment where women can come forward and be heard and be listened to. I want to thank Dr. Ford. I commend her courage. I believe her.

Senator, Do you commend Tara Reade’s courage? Do you want to thank Ms. Reade?

Even Biden himself had this to say at the time, “For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts, whether or not it’s been made worse or better over time. But nobody fails to understand that this is like jumping into a cauldron.”

The sudden materialization of video showing Tara Reade’s late mother’s phone call to Larry King’s program was pretty convincing corroboratory evidence. It convinced me. And, though many Democrats refuse to admit it, it was most definitely a game changer.

One Democrat who is not afraid to admit it is Peter Daou, a political activist and a former advisor to both Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. In the lengthy Twitter thread below, Daou calls on Biden to withdraw. He writes that, “Credible rape accusations are disqualifying or we have NO moral standards.”

Daou was a Bernie supporter during the Democratic primaries and Biden’s team is saying that’s the reason why he is calling for Biden to withdraw. However, Daou specifically names other Democratic candidates before mentioning Bernie as a replacement candidate.

6. #Warren, #Harris, #Klobuchar, #Buttigieg, #Castro, etc. could replace Biden.

7. #Bernie can restart his campaign.

Will Biden withdraw? Lord knows. If clear signs of cognitive decline, his hair sniffing and touching issues, his boast about withholding $1 billion in U.S. aid from Ukraine unless the President fired the Prosecutor General who was about to question his son, or his history of poor foreign policy decisions haven’t stopped him, he just might hang in there. (Last week, we found out that even terrorist Osama bin Laden considered Biden to be incompetent. I wrote: Osama, if you thought he was incompetent then, you should see him now.)

Anyway, here is Daou’s thread:

(Note: For ease of reading, I’ve included Dao’s tweets in the text format. The actual thread can be viewed here on Twitter.)

DIFFICULT THREAD — #BIDEN SHOULD WITHDRAW

1. I respect the will of the voters.

2. But new information has emerged supporting #TaraReade’s account of being sexually assaulted by #JoeBiden.

3. Credible rape accusations are disqualifying or we have NO moral standards.

4. Defeating Trump is NOT OPTIONAL.

5. To avoid potential catastrophe in Nov., #Biden should withdraw.

6. #Warren, #Harris, #Klobuchar, #Buttigieg, #Castro, etc. could replace Biden.

7. #Bernie can restart his campaign.

8. We can reboot the primary and give voters a choice.

9. This is the ethical position AND the smarter strategy to beat Trump.

10. We lose ALL moral authority if we embrace “the lesser of two accused rapists.”

11. Polls show other Dem candidates can win.

PRINCIPLES MATTER. WE CAN BEAT TRUMP AND PROTECT OUR VALUES.

#DropOutBiden

ADDENDUM 1:

I made the same arguments about #Franken and #Kavanaugh.

If #MeToo means anything, it CANNOT BE APPLIED ON A PARTISAN BASIS.

And for the record, I also think the same standard should apply to Bill Clinton’s accusers.

ADDENDUM 2:

My thread is not about #Bernie winning. I explicitly stated that Biden can be replaced with any of the other Dem candidates and we can restart the primary and give voters a choice.

This is about RED MORAL LINES. Sexual assault is unquestionably one of those lines.

ADDENDUM 3:

I want to defeat Trump and the GOP as much as anyone in America.

I’ve spent my life fighting them.

But we cannot defeat Trump with a lesser of evils approach.

If you really want to win, DO NOT COMPROMISE BASIC MORAL STANDARDS. It is a sure formula for losing.

ADDENDUM 4:

Spare me the “you’re helping Trump” b.s.

The only Dems helping Trump are Pelosi, Schumer, and their establishment colleagues who have given him a space force, Patriot Act, trade bill, ICE funding, and all the rightwing judges his heart desires.

ADDENDUM 5:

Apply #Biden’s own standard…

“For a woman to come forward in the glaring lights of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets facts…” – #JoeBiden, 2018

ADDENDUM 6:

If you’re using the exact same arguments against #TaraReade that Republicans used against #ChristineBlaseyFord, do some soul searching.

Feel free to compromise your principles. As for me, I think the ONLY way to beat Trump is to stick to our principles.