Biden campaign blasts 'willfully disingenuous' attacks on remark about segregationist senators

[LibFarmer]

Joe Biden's campaign on Wednesday defended the former vice president from mounting criticism from his Democratic White House rivals after he invoked his working relationships with two segregationist senators in the 1970s and pointed to it as an example of "civility" that no longer exists in the Senate.

Biden campaign spokeswoman Symone Sanders issued a lengthy response on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon after multiple Democratic presidential rivals blasted Biden for mentioning former Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) during a speech at a fundraiser the previous night.

"[Biden] did not praise a segregationist. That is a disingenuous take. He basically said sometimes in Congress, one has to work with terrible or down right racist folks to get things done. And then went on to say when you can't work with them, work around them," Sanders tweeted.

"Joe Biden has been an ally in the fight for civil rights for years. I am all here for VALID CRITICISM, but suggesting that Joe Biden - the man who literally ran for office against an incumbent at 29 because of the civil rights movement, the man who was at the forefront of marriage equality before it was politically popular, the man who served as President Obama's VP, the man who literally launched his 2020 campaign calling out Nazis in Charlottesville along with Trump's equivalency - suggesting he is actively praising a segregationist is just a bad take and a willfully disingenuous act," she wrote in multiple tweets.

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/449406-biden-campaign-blasts-willfully-disingenuous-attacks-on-remark-about

[LovingA2andMI]

1. Simone....

Works for who she works for.

Just like when she worked for Bernie Sanders, then Hillary Clinton (although NEITHER ONE OF THEM EVER used the word "Boy" in a sentence talking about a Segregationist Former Senator, and then followed it up with "He called me Son."....or daughter) -- who did not step into the mud nowhere in this way on Juneteenth Day, no less.

So...and....that's, that.

[Cha]

8. Yes, Symone's speaking the truth..

Link to tweet

[emmaverybo]

19. The man who took apart George Schultz on his "Let it be. Let 'em work it out among themselves"

apartheid apologetics.

[Cha]

20. That, too! Thank You

for the reminder, emmaverybo!

[BeyondGeography]

2. "He basically said..."

That’s part of his problem. Seems you need a Biden Decoder to discern what he’s trying to say sometimes. The boy/son quote, wth is he saying?

His Poor Peoples Forum answers were rambling and unfocused as well. His staff is earning its money this week.

[LibFarmer]

6. No decoder was needed

It was disingenuous propaganda by David Sirota using Charlie Pierce to spread it.

[mr_liberal]

26. He's saying the guy put him down too by calling him "son", but he worked with him anyhow.

And that's not as bad as boy, but it's also a put down by referring to a grown man that's a senator a word that makes you think of a little kid or a teenager.

[BeyondGeography]

28. It's not flying with Booker

Link to tweet

[mr_liberal]

29. Imagine if someone called Booker (or any black man) son. Then he would get it. nt

[BeyondGeography]

31. Imagine if Biden stopped idealizing the past and pissing people off

Then we wouldn’t have these threads and his numbers would stabilize.

[mr_liberal]

32. His numbers will probably go up, reasonable people know he's being misinterpreted. nt

[BannonsLiver]

34. I didn't really need the ring either.

[BeyondGeography]

35. Neither did readers over at The Root

https://www.theroot.com/white-ass-joe-biden-claims-old-white-ass-segregationist-1835660611

[treestar]

40. Nope, the disingenuous are deliberately

finding a way to make it a problem.

And it says something about their candidate. They can't win unless another candidate is brought down. When you can't tell my why your candidate would make a great President and can only tell me why another candidate will not, you are telling me you have no faith in your candidate.

[George II]

3. GOOD for her and good for Biden. This BS has got to stop, critiquing every word he says....

....and every hand gesture he makes, measuring the precise distance he stands from women or how close his finger comes to anyone's face.

Ridiculous, divisive, and damaging.

[mobeau69]

4. Doubling down.

Another bad move.

[LibFarmer]

5. It was disingenuous on the part of the Sirota propaganda machine. nt

[Cha]

10. Speaking out for what is true..

Link to tweet

[LovingA2andMI]

12. Which is Sad....

I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland," Biden said, according to a pool report. "He never called me boy, he always called me son."

The statement needs an IMMEDIATE apology and NOT to defend it, at all.

[treestar]

41. He has the apologize for what Eastland said to him?

[Cha]

7. Joe Biden has been an ally in the fight for civil rights for years

Link to tweet

[Voltaire2]

17. Like when he was working with

overt racist Eastland to abolish busing? Or not those years?

[Cha]

21. Joe Biden slams Reagan Secretary of State on Apartheid: "I'm ashamed of the lack of moral backbone"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1287&pid=156885

[Voltaire2]

23. So just ignore the years where he was working

with overt racist Eastland to abolish the single most effective program to address urban school segregation.

Ok.

[Grasswire2]

9. oh good. Dems destroying Dems.

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[LibFarmer]

11. It wsa started by David Sirota who is not a Democrat. nt

[Grasswire2]

13. Here is what someone else wrote today.

[link:http://

Link to tweet

|

[saidsimplesimon]

14. Really, Hello Tom,

It is a bit insane to keep following the same lame advise that claims only the conventional wisdom will lead to another Democrat in the WH.

[Thekaspervote]

15. How true!

[Voltaire2]

18. The New York Times ran the story.

And it is factual and Biden is making the classic mistake of adding legs to the story.

[UniteFightBack]

16. So here we go Dem's demanding apologies for every little thing often BULLSHIT. Very foolish. nt

[NYMinute]

22. Symone Sanders is so articulate and cogent - great response nt

[cwydro]

24. I don't think his comment was bad overall; it was the "boy" comment that made me cringe.

I mean, of course that old asshole didn’t call him “boy.”

And we all know why.

[Skittles]

25. having to explain what he meant

alrighty then

[OhZone]

27. Yes, they are willfully disingenuous!

Go Biden!

Forget everyone else.

I'm done.

[EveHammond13]

30. a lesson we all should know: It's not what you say, it's what they hear

the subtitle of Frank Luntz's book, but that doesn't make it untrue.

It doesn't matter what you meant. It matters how it was received. Don't blame the good-faith listener.

[LibFarmer]

33. Unless of course they purposely pretend to hear something different nt

[Cha]

36. oh yeah.. that happens a lot.

[Scurrilous]

37. ...

[Gothmog]

38. According to Symone Sanders, Biden did not praise a segregationist

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

39. James Clyburn is siding with Joe Biden on this issue

This is very nice to see https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/20/why-joe-biden-is-so-defensive-over-his-remarks-about-segregationists/?utm_term=.ab8bb7949ad8

Biden has powerful Democratic backers on this: The highest-ranking African American member of Congress, House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), told reporters Wednesday he understands where Biden is coming from and that he, too, worked with people such as Strom Thurmond. Other black Democrats in Congress tried to frame Biden’s words in charitable ways.

“I think the sentiment is something that we all know in the legislative body — that you work with people you don’t agree with,” Rep. Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.), a co-chairman of Biden’s campaign, said.

The Clyburn comment in particular is helpful to Biden. If there’s one friend in Congress you want to make as a Democratic presidential candidate, it’s probably Clyburn. He rules South Carolina Democratic politics, and South Carolina is the first early voting state with a majority black Democratic primary voters. Biden and his opponents will be campaigning in South Carolina this weekend at Clyburn’s famous fish fry.