蜜桃影视

Mike Antonucci鈥檚 Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive.

Less than two months after recommending Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, the National Education Association board of directors and PAC Council endorsed Biden for president in November鈥檚 general election.

The votes, taken in virtual meetings over last weekend, were described as 鈥渙verwhelming鈥� by several participants. Fifty-eight percent of the union鈥檚 6,000-delegate Representative Assembly will have to concur through a mail-in vote after NEA鈥檚 July 2-3 virtual convention.

Biden won鈥檛 technically be the nominee until after the Democratic National Convention, which was postponed until Aug. 17 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, all of Biden鈥檚 opponents have dropped out of the race and endorsed him, so the NEA vote is a formality.

Biden鈥檚 campaign has been dogged in recent weeks by allegations from former staffer Tara Reade that he sexually assaulted her in 1993. 鈥淚t is not true,鈥� he said in an interview on . 鈥淚鈥檓 saying unequivocally, it never, never happened.鈥�

NEA has made no public statement regarding Reade鈥檚 allegations. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told the , 鈥淒emocrats .鈥�.鈥�. always want to make sure that a woman is respected. But you also want to make sure that people have due process.鈥�

NEA鈥檚 silence and AFT鈥檚 measured response stand in stark contrast to their reaction in 2018, when Christine Blasey Ford came forward with similar accusations about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

NEA issued four press releases about Blasey Ford鈥檚 allegations, calling them 鈥�.鈥� NEA President , 鈥淲e must tell survivors of sexual assault that they will be believed and supported 鈥� not smeared. And we must tell those who would engage in sexual assault that it is never acceptable and that there are consequences. This is not about politics. This is about doing what鈥檚 right. Our students are watching.鈥�

When Kavanaugh was confirmed, of sending the message that 鈥淚t is acceptable to disregard the stories of sexual assault survivors.鈥�

, 鈥淭he allegations of sexual misconduct and alcohol abuse 鈥� coupled with Judge Kavanaugh鈥檚 own testimony on these issues 鈥� cast serious doubts on his ability to consider fairly cases that will affect the lives of millions of Americans.鈥�

Biden has been criticized before for inappropriate behavior with women. . 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different era, and part of the issue with Biden is that it鈥檚 both what people love about him, because it augurs an era of decency, but it鈥檚 also [that] he grew up in a different era,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd he鈥檚 not as attentive to the cues of this era. It will get socialized in the process one way or the other.鈥�

Partisanship in the face of such accusations is the rule, but Eskelsen Garc铆a has been the exception in the past. Back in 1998, she was a member of the NEA Executive Committee and running for a U.S. House seat in Utah鈥檚 2nd District. The Monica Lewinsky scandal was very much a campaign issue, and Eskelsen Garc铆a separated herself from virtually all other Democratic candidates that year by calling on President Bill Clinton to resign.

The reported: 鈥淎 few days ago, Eskelsen responded to a question about Clinton from a Salt Lake Tribune reporter by saying that 鈥榯he president should resign. How can this man ever be believed again? This goes beyond party politics.鈥欌��

I don鈥檛 know if the allegations of Reade, Blasey Ford or , who has accused President Donald Trump of rape, are true. Neither does Eskelsen Garc铆a, Weingarten or anyone else who was not present at the time of the alleged incidents. I do know that if you want to claim the moral high ground on sexual misconduct, you have to remain there, even if it involves one of your guys. If 鈥渙ur students are watching,鈥� they are watching all the time.

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