[THEHILL] While bashing the GOP for leaving women and the middle class behind on Friday, Vice President Biden spoke favorably about a former Republican senator who resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct. "It's Republicans who were involved, guys like [Sen.] Mac Mathias [R-Md.] and [Sen. Bob] Packwood [R-Oregon] and so many others," Biden said, looking back fondly on GOP politicians who were once willing to work with Democrats on issues like the minimum wage.
Packwood resigned from the Senate in 1995 after the Senate Ethics Committee voted unanimously to expel him for sexual and official misconduct. A Los Angeles Times story on his resignation noted that the committee released more than 10,000 pages of documents that showed a "pattern of abuse of his position of power and authority as United States Senator." The article also said the documents included "many explicit" allegations and that 19 women had accused Packwood of misconduct.
It's been a rough week for Biden, who is no stranger to gaffes. On Tuesday, he used the term "shylock" to describe people who gave bad loans to members of the military. The word is generally recognized as an anti-Semitic slur, and he later apologized.
The next day, he referred to Asia as "the Orient" and said that "we'll determine" whether the U.S. needs to send ground forces to fight ISIS. President B.O. has repeatedly assured the American people that there will be no U.S. troops on the ground fighting ISIS.
Biden's comments came during a passionate speech at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum, where he spoke forcefully about domestic violence prevention and the Violence Against Women Act. Then a Delaware senator, Biden introduced the legislation in 1990 and worked to get it passed in 1994.