Why Biden can be attacked more than any other candidate, but should not be

[Vidal]

Joe Biden has done more than all the other Dem. candidates combined.

Biden represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009, and was Vice President of the U.S. for eight years.

Because he has done so much, he has a very long record for people to attack.

If you do things, you can be criticized for what you do.

Few of the other Dem. candidates have done anything of note.

The smart ones are not attacking Biden, however. They know the truth, which is that he has accomplished a lot and taken a lot of positions through the years. If he had not done anything he could not be attacked.

[Iamaartist]

1. Maybe people are little jealous....

[Dennis Donovan]

2. "Few of the other Dem. candidates have done anything of note."

[uawchild]

4. rolls eyes

Very suspicious.

[BeyondGeography]

3. Sorry

There’s going to be a fight. Like most fights, it’ll be about money.

[NYMinute]

5. Very true observation

The smart ones are not attacking Biden, however. They know the truth, which is that he has accomplished a lot and taken a lot of positions through the years. If he had not done anything he could not be attacked.

The not-so-smart-ones are attacking Biden at their own peril. It is not working but backfiring. It is reminding a majority of Democrats of their prior tactics and it neither looks good nor bodes well for said candidate.(s).

It is one thing to say "my policy is better than Biden's because _______________________" and quite another to say "Look! Anita Hill. Look! Iraq war. Look! Crime bill."

[loyalsister]

6. Consequences and results matter

If we are going to talk about the violence against women act let's also talk about how welfare reform forced women to stay in abusive relationships.
I would also like to hear regret in an assessment of what the '94 crime bill brought and a plan for some kind of reparations.
Other candidates are not attacking him for supporting damaging policies they are offering solutions to the the problems he helped create. I hope he is listening and I would like to hear that he sees that he took part in what was once a very normal strategy of appealing to white supremacy by accepting subtley racist narratives.

[bloom]

11. Yes

I agree. I think our country - esp. the Dems should be moving on past our previous 'normal' strategy.

I watched some of the documentary '13th' yesterday. It is a must see - for understanding how racist our country was throughout the 20th century - esp. in politics.

[loyalsister]

12. Essential viewing

Also Michelle Alexanders' The New Jim Crow and Laura Briggs How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics lay out the "politics as usual" mistakes of the 90s. Misogyny and racism are tied to economic inequality and the relationships have need to be well understood by our candidates.
Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, and Corey Booker and to some degree Beto O'Rourke seem to understand it better than the other candidates.

[bloom]

19. Thanks for the suggestions - I'll look for those. n/t

[treestar]

24. But then each of the others cannot prove

what they would have done differently. They were not in Congress then. Or not even finished school. Or not even in politics. How can they prove how they would have voted on a 26 year old law? We have to go on what we think Biden would do now, just like the other candidates.

[loyalsister]

32. Because things were different back then?

We know subtle forms of racism were more acceptable in the 80s and 90s. That's exactly the point. There was a deliberate defensive response to the southern strategy which supported a cautious white supremacist ideology. It was rarely even noticeable to white people because it was normal.

To excuse and defend that abomination, is to dismiss the blatantly hostile defense of white supremacy that resurfaced after Obama was elected and propelled Trump into office.

I hope there is not a consensus that finds it excusable. I would trust that Biden has learned something if he called for reparations and a restoration of welfare benefits which recognize and respect the household labor required to provide supportive homes to growing children. Staying home with kids should be an option for ALL women.

[treestar]

39. Things being different back then is the

very reason he would be judged on what it was like back then.

And your conclusions go rather far. Republicans wouldn't do better. Warren was a Republican then, so how likely is it she would have voted for the VAWA, against the welfare bill and so on.

Staying at home with kids being an option for women is somewhat unfair. Men would have to have that option too. Reparation for welfare benefits that were not there under law? How is he going to call for that and not look absurd? There is no consensus for such a thing. I don't see what you are on about with the racism angle.

[loyalsister]

42. Racist rhetoric back then was normal and acceptable

returning to normal by excusing the standard acceptance of policies which were marketed on the basis of the welfare queen and crime stereotypes is not okay with me.

You make a fair point about eligibility for benefits to support home labor also known as child rearing. That support should be available to all primary care givers. I was clumsy in referencing the racist rhetoric and imagery that created a condition where it was acceptable for middle class white women to want to stay at home with their children, and downright laudable when white men wanted to do it.
Meanwhile women of color were classified as lazy welfare queens. With the neutralizing evangelical "pro-life" movement, views on poor people became some hostile that the value of providing a safety net that feeds poor families is disputed.
The 1996 dismantling of an already barely adequate system which had been used as a transitional option for hardship more often than the racist and misogynistic narrative claimed added to the economic hardship of removing economic contributors to families. It hit women of color, and the children they were trying to support, especially hard because the tough on crime agenda was a foreseeable expansion of institutional racism.
We aren't sure how the other candidates would have voted on that cruel double assault, but she and others have already proposed policies to address the lasting damage. Student loan relief and criminal justice reform are good starts. Kamala Harris and Corey Booker are more cautious. And they are also clearly showing awareness and a need to put a stop to the damage AND to take some meaningful steps toward a national effort to repair the damage with pardons and abandoning the failed drug war.
The uncertainty of how others might have used their power to oppose institutional racism/misogyny does not justify having actually done the opposite. It may have been normal then, but I don't want to return to a time when deregulation, decline in union membership, and policies which were blatantly hostile poor women and especially women and men of color contributed significantly to expanding wealth gaps, were politics as usual. Excitement over normalcy and getting white men to vote for Democrats is not encouraging to everyone considering what was acceptable at the time.
I think it's time to remember and admit what normal really was so that it will be deliberately rejected- because it is integral to how we got to where we are now.

[robbedvoter]

34. he just recently called Pence decent. Does this give you a clue?

he is courting the Nazis too. TODAY.

[treestar]

40. I doubt Harris would call him a poopy-head

They are polite, so what. He is not "courting Nazis." Good grief.

[Demit]

7. I agree very much with your fourth sentence.

Pretty sure all politicians know it going in.

[left-of-center2012]

8. Sometimes voters want a 'generational change'

Like from Eisenhower to Kennedy.

It may be time to "pass the torch" ?

[jalan48]

9. The last election was called a change election by the pundits. Hopefully we got the message.

[left-of-center2012]

16. What was the message?

[jalan48]

17. Someone new.

[George II]

10. Neera Tanden said this about our candidates, but one..........

Link to tweet

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. Criticism is not an attack.

[crazytown]

14. Biden is not being elected on his long record

He is being elected on his 8 years as Obama’s VP.

[highplainsdem]

15. He's being attacked so much because he's the frontrunner. Period.

[peggysue2]

21. x1000

Those poll numbers rocked the boat, rattled the cages and sparked the recent bomb throwing. Because . . .

a 30 pt lead is pretty overwhelming. Doesn't mean the numbers can't change. But still.

[Indygram]

18. I'm over Biden after hearing about him being unnecessarily rude to other candidates

Saying he's the only "real Irishman" in the race when there are at least two other Irish men running and neither have ever done or said anything at all to provoke or warrant it has me disgusted. No divisiveness...period. Biden is no longer my number 2. He is now third to last. Beto NEVER attacks anyone and Biden saying what he did was incredibly stupid.

[BannonsLiver]

20. That'll show em!

[Indygram]

23. The divisiveness since Trump has impacted my health very badly

I've had a heart attack and get a biopsy in a few days to confirm whether or not I have cancer.

So yeah, I need the petty and ignorant divisiveness and petty crap to stop. My life depends on it. I expected more of Biden and I'm deeply disappointed. Starting crap unprovoked with your allies and being insulting is a bridge too far for me. I have no interest in watching a negative campaign. I wan't hope and inspiration.

[BannonsLiver]

27. Well

IF you become upset over some throwaway line/joke about who is the most Irish in the race this would be a great time to find something else to occupy your time. It’s only going to get worse from here.

[Indygram]

36. I am simply voicing that Biden is no longer my #2 because

he chose to make an unprovoked and undeserved petty, pointless, rude and obnoxious insult towards another Democrat. That's the same crap that makes me dislike Sanders. It's divisive and there was not even any point he was making. He was just being an ass. That's a massive turn off for me.

[DesertRat]

43. I'm sorry to hear about your heart attack.

Also, did you get the results of your biopsy yet?

I try really hard not to let it all affect my health, but it's a daily challenge. I just try to stay focused on 2020 and try to take breaks from the news.

I wish you well.

[peggysue2]

22. Really?

I'm of Irish descent and it would take a lot more than that to offend me. Maybe because I heard a lot more than that growing up.

[treestar]

25. Is this sarcasm?

Or Joe was kidding around. No one cares about Irish-ness today - the Irish immigrants are totally assimilated. And no one is as Irish as Barack Obama.

[Indygram]

26. It was an unprovoked and senseless personal dig on Beto

Link to tweet

The reporter stopped recording as he was about to shut the door and then reports that Biden rolled down the window after he stopped recording and said, "The Irish guy? There's only one real Irishman running for president and it's me."

[treestar]

41. I don't think Beto is upset by it

Not in the least.

[DesertRat]

44. No one is as Irish as Barack O'bama

[TexasTowelie]

31. What nationality does Biden think

that O'Rourke comes from?

I guess that Beto will have to dress in a green leprechaun suit to dispel the erroneous notion.

P.S.: Beto can leave the "pot of gold" with me for safekeeping and a small fee.

[Indygram]

37. lol

I know Beto won't care about this but it shows me what kind of person Biden really is and it's not a good look. It looks like he's trying to appeal to Trump voters by insulting other Democrats. That's a good way to alienate the supporters of those candidates.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

38. Yeah, tired of the divisiveness too... had to laugh also when Joe claimed he's the most progressive

of the Democratic candidates running... and his recent statement that everyone who's running in the Democratic primary basically agree on everything. Why would Joe say such things?!


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[LakeArenal]

28. I try not to read stuff. Shouldn't have opened this

Ignore has been handy too.

[Honeycombe8]

29. Unfortunately, this is one reason he may have trouble in the general election.

It's one of the main reasons that long term Senators or reps don't get elected President. There's just too much fodder to attack them with.

I'm afraid your post had good intentions, but made a case for the trouble that may be in store for Biden.

JFK
Jimmy Carter
Bill Clinton
Obama

None of them had a congressional record to attack. JFK & Obama had served a stint in the Senate, but only a short one, as a stepping stone to the Presidency.

Reagan
Bush Sr
GWB
Trump

Of the recent Republican Presidents, only Bush Sr. had served in Congress. There was plenty to attack him for, I'm sure, but he had a roster of offices giving him cred, incl head of the CIA, VP, etc., which overshadowed his time in Congress years before.

What matters is what the Republicans can attack him for, though. They're not likely to go after the Hill hearing or things that benefited conservatives.

There are things to attack those who have held other offices, particularly Kamala Harris. I doubt those will gain much traction among those who are voting non-Trump.

[Agschmid]

30. ... really?

Few of the other Dem. candidates have done anything of note.

[robbedvoter]

33. Because he has 🍆? I don't recall Hillary having this protected status

or any of the women candidates. Seems Biden has his little cult now too.

[aikoaiko]

35. Your OP is the worst way to defend a candidate

Yes, he did things and he can and will be criticized for them.