Hi there,

The feminist writer and philosopher Linda Hirshman says she believes Tara Reade and is voting for Joe Biden anyway. 

A number of people, including friends of mine, are horrified by her argument, but there’s something about it I like.  

Oh, I don’t agree with her, at least not about a whole bunch of things. But I like that she is honest and shows her work, such as it is. Her assessment, splashed in the New York Times, goes something like this: She thinks Biden is guilty of sexual assault. She thinks Trump is, too, but the allegations against him are worse. Biden can’t be replaced as the Democratic nominee, and the only way to get rid of Trump is to vote for Biden. Moreover, from a feminist/progressive perspective, a Biden presidency would be preferable to a Trump second term. So for the greater good, she’s going to vote for Biden—but for the sake of her own integrity, she is not going to lie for Joe Biden and pretend he isn’t guilty. The headline and subhead pretty much say it all: