Biden Slams Conservatives As "Neanderthal Crowd"

When Vice President Joe Biden addressed a crowd at the Naval Observatory marking the 19th anniversary of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), he took a rather provocative shot at critics who slowed the bill's reauthorization this year.

"I'm going to say something outrageous," Biden said. "I think I understand the Senate better than any man or woman who's ever served in there, and I think I understand the House … I was surprised this last time … the idea we still had to fight? We had to fight to reauthorize?"

Critics objected to provisions that would expand the law's coverage to illegal immigrants, homosexuals, and American Indians. Some argued that these were purely political additions designed to give Democrats more ammunition in their campaign argument that Republicans are "anti woman." House Republicans proposed their own version of the bill. 

Biden got particularly divisive when he slammed critics who slowed re-authorization, calling them a "neanderthal crowd."