Ranking Joe Biden gaffes is like running down the deck of the Titanic — in the end it’s just a race to the bottom and no one ever wins. And yet the vice president continues to provide more candidates for his greatest hits.
On Friday, Biden spoke at a Democratic women’s conference where he reminisced about past Republicans who were willing to work across the aisle, like former Oregon Senator Bob Packwood — the same Bob Packwood who resigned in disgrace after allegations of sexual harassment.
“It was Republicans that were involved,” Biden said in his speech to the Democratic National Committee Women’s Leadership Forum breakfast. “Guys like [former Maryland Sen.] Mac Mathias and [former Senator Bob] Packwood and so many others. It wasn’t Democrats alone. Republicans were the sponsors of the raises of the minimum wage. I could go on and on. I’m not joking: This is not your father’s Republican Party, or your mother’s Republican Party.”
He isn’t joking, but one almost wishes he were. Packwood is far from being a golden example of statesmanship. The Senate ethics committee voted unanimously to recommend his expulsion in 1995, after 10 women accused him of unwanted sexual harassment.
Only 15 senators have been expelled from the Senate in its entire history, putting Packwood on the verge of ignominious company before he announced his resignation.
Reaching across the aisle is a fine sentiment, but is this really the sort of Republican that Biden wants to work with? What about the war on women?
