It is one of the curiosities of the English language that the words “shameful” and “shameless” are nearly synonymous. How can something that is full of X mean the same as something that is X-less?
Rather than trying to explain it, let me give an example. Tara Reade.
Ford’s accusation was as long on hysteria as it was on fuzziness—Where was I? How did I get there? How did I get home? Why won’t any of my friends corroborate the story? Never mind. “Believe All Women” was the mantra.
Just so, when Tara Reade, an aide to Joe Biden in the 1990s, comes forward with a very specific charge of sex abuse, it’s flood-the-zone coverage. Even more, since what Reade accused Biden of was more serious than what Ford had accused Kavanaugh of.
Shameful and Shameless
Just kidding, of course. The media have essentially buried the story of Tara Reade in a way that is both shameful and shameless, even as more and more evidence accumulates that the allegation is credible.It is both amusing and disheartening to compare the way the media has handled the allegations against Kavanaugh and the way they are treating the allegation against Joe “the Sniffer” Biden.
No slur was too groundless or too outlandish to be flung against Bret Kavanaugh. Democratic politicians as well as the media had a field day. The reigning principle was “innocent until accused.”
How different it is with Tara Reade. Now the response is—crickets.
The media suddenly discovered the virtues of due process and the principle that “in dubio, pro reo”: When in doubt, find for the accused.
The behavior of the Democrats, and of their enablers in the media, is both shameless and shameful. But those tempted to dismiss it as business-as-usual political hypocrisy should think again.
It is something darker and more cynical. It is sometimes said that if the Democrats didn’t have double standards they would have no standards at all.
But the present case goes beyond that admittedly low standard. When Caligula made his favorite horse a senator, he did so not because he was mad or impish but because he held the senate and everything it stood for in utter contempt.
Similarly in this case. These people were willing to crucify Brett Kavanaugh for the sin of being from the wrong party. Now they are willing to ignore credible evidence not just of sexual abuse but patent mental deterioration because of their thirst for power.
The silver lining in this shameless-shameful episode is that it has revealed, if but momentarily, the utterly brutish nature of the Democratic establishment. Let the voters beware.