The bunker mentality has taken hold at the Attorney General’s office, brought on by the public outrage and media scrutiny surrounding Dr. Earl Bradley, the accused Lewes pedophile pediatrician.
Rather than stepping up and addressing the hundreds of legitimate questions surrounding Bradley’s years of alleged abuse and the subsequent half-dozen failed probes, Biden has stopped talking, retreated behind closed doors, and given over to the urge to communicate only through written statements, such as this gem issued at 7 p.m. Thursday evening:
“Today, I have asked my State Solicitor to conduct a thorough examination of whether any individuals or entities in 2005 failed to fulfill their legal obligation to report allegations of wrongdoing against Dr. Bradley to the Division of Professional Regulation or the Board of Medical Practice,” Biden is quoted as saying in the press release. “For example, the recent assertion that various elements of the medical community had information that may have triggered such reporting requirements is a serious concern. We need to get to the bottom of this. As a result, I have instructed the State Solicitor to report his findings to me as soon as possible.”
Though it may be comforting to keep pesky reporters — and in this case scores of horrified and worried parents — at arm’s length, the bunker never works. Biden need only look to how Ruth Ann Minner, Vince Meconi and Stan Taylor benefited from their stints behind the thick concrete walls.
The public — and especially parents in Lewes — have a right to know the status of the current case and why so many prior investigations failed. According to their rules of professional conduct, an attorney can speak out about issues of great public concern. Given the nature of the allegations Bradley is facing, what could possibly be of more concern to the public?
Biden has consistently proven himself to be the state’s least-communicative elected official, hiding behind self-imposed “policies” he assigns to topics he doesn’t like to discuss, while his public relations team churns out press releases that contain little more than fluff and puffery. That’s okay to prep for his Senate bid. It’s almost expected. However, the events unfolding nearly hourly in Lewes demand more. Children were raped. The public has a right to know about the current probe, who’s responsible for past investigative failures and what’s going to be done to insure the communications breakdown won’t ever happen again. Biden must hold a press conference and not step away from the podium until all questions are asked and answered.
If Beau can’t understand that, he should stay in the bunker, along with Vince, Stan and Ruth Ann. Maybe they can get a card game going.
This is another example of our “public servants” taking the easy way out and not doing the job they were elected to do. After learning of this is it any wonder that the public is cynical about our government?
Also, give Beau a break. He just dosen’t want to make any more mistakes that might spoil his chance at his father’s old Senate seat.