LIZ PEEK: Progressive hypocrisy revealed by Cesar Chavez sexual abuse revelations
Jeffrey Epstein is not the only sexual predator who was embraced by Democrats. Consider the case of farmworkers union leader Cesar Chavez.
All over the U.S., civil rights organizations are tearing down statues of Chavez. Celebrations of the late labor leader are being cancelled, and schools that honored him are being renamed.
The speed with which progressive groups have tossed the Latino icon overboard is stunning and suggests this: they knew.
They knew about the horrific sexual abusesexual abuse of girls as young as 13, reported in recent weeks by the New York Times. They knew that Chavez raped and impregnated a 15-year-old girl, who in later years attempted suicide, and routinely sexually abused other young women. But the left kept silent. Political opportunism trumped protecting women from a sexual predator.
The Times report has not led to lengthy investigations or hearings pondering the "allegations." There has been no push-back from Chavez’ family or friends – not even from the United Farm Workers union, which he founded. Indeed, the Times acknowledges, "A handful of Mr. Chavez’s relatives and former U.F.W. leaders have been aware for years about various allegations of sexual misconduct, but there is no evidence that they made efforts to fully investigate the accusations…"
The Chavez revelations remind us yet again that Democrats, who pretend to care about women, are profoundly hypocritical. In explaining why his city is scrubbing Chavez’ name from schools and parks, San Fernando Mayor Joel Fajardo said the speedy do-over was necessary "to let our children know that we took this seriously, to make sure that we have a society that values the victims, that trusts the survivors."
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Is that true? Consider the case of Tara Reade, who credibly accused then-presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her when she worked for him as an aide in 1993. Reade went public with the sordid accusations in 2020, months before the election that landed Democrat Biden in the Oval Office. NPR and other outlets, including the New York Times, found that Reade had recounted the incident, in which she claimed Biden pushed her up against a wall, lifted her skirt and digitally penetrated her, to a close friend soon after the incident.
The friend, Lynda LaCasse, described herself to a New York Times reporter as a "very strong Democrat," who supported Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren during the primaries and intends to support Biden in the general election." She was not a GOP operative. As NPR wrote, "She said she felt compelled to share ‘the truth’ despite her personal politics."
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Given Biden’s reputation for inappropriately touching women, and his daughter’s recollection of her dad's ("probably not appropriate") showering with her at a young age, Reade’s story is entirely believable. But Nancy Pelosi, at that time House speaker, said she had "great comfort" with Biden’s denials, and the world moved on. Reade, saying she was being threatened and was afraid for her life, moved to Russia, and that was that. Whatever Biden did, Democrats simply put politics first.
An even more astounding example of Democrats throwing victims under the bus comes, of course, from the seedy history of former President Bill Clinton, close friend of Jeffrey Epstein. Juanita Broaddrick accused the former president of raping her in 1978 in her hotel room; she varied her story over the years, including at one time recanting the charges in an affidavit relating to similar accusations from a woman named Paula Jones. But in 1999 she came forward, recounting again the alleged rape in an NPR interview. Broaddrick, too, had told a friend about the incident at the time. She, too, was credible.
And Broaddrick’s story, like that of Reade, fits well with the known behavior of Clinton, who was also accused of sexual assault by Jones and Kathleen Willey. Jones, who claimed Clinton had assaulted her in her hotel room, eventually settled a civil suit against the former president, for $850,000.
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And, by all means, let us not forget Monica Lewinsky, a 22-year-old White House intern who had oral sex with Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. And, Clinton’s many trips on Epstein’s Lolita Express.
These are stories from the past, but there are plenty of modern-day examples of liberal disdain for women. Remember Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, who cheated on his first wife by impregnating the family’s nanny, and was credibly accused of assaulting a former girlfriend. Nonetheless, the Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell described him as a "Modern-Day Sex Symbol" and gushed that he was an "ideal partner."
Worse, consider the silence from the left about the Iranian women's soccer team, who defied their country’s brutal regime by refusing to sing their national anthem. A number of players initially sought asylum in Australia, where they had competed in the Women’s Asian Cup, but after they and their families were threatened by Iran’s thuggish mullahs, they returned home to an uncertain fate.
Our hearts break for them, but not the hearts of those like soccer star Megan Rapinoe, who finally uttered some supportive words after being criticized for her multi-day silence.
And what about the left’s love affair with trans women, which has led to the thrashing of outspoken women like J.K. Rowling, author of the beloved Harry Potter books? Rowling, a defender of same-sex marriage and abortion rights, dared to criticize biological men competing against women, and was viciously canceled by the left.
Riley Gaines, a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer, has been insulted and on one occasion assaulted by protesters enraged by her resistance to trans competitors.
Encouraging biological men to play against women in sports is the essential insult to girls and women who work hard to succeed, only to find themselves defeated by people who are naturally stronger and faster.
Liberal women are Democrats’ most reliable voters. But they should realize that they are valued mainly as political tools by the left. After all, Democrats cannot even define what a woman is. That says it all.