Biden: The Latest Insult
Joe Biden? Joe (D-MBNA) Biden? The architect of the bankruptcy "reform?"
More than anyone, I'd expect John Marshall to be outraged by this. During the bankruptcy reform debate, TPM tried to rally the opposition, the same way it rallied opposition to social security privatization. It's one reason that the Warren Reports are featured here at TPMCafe. So I'd expect some outrage from professor Warren, too.
It's really depressing and insulting that Obama would pick such a conservative Democrat as his running mate. When he allowed his campaign to be associated with anti-gay bigot Donnie McClurkin during the primaries, I was angry and got shouted down around here for it. I shouldn't demand purity, I was told. Fair enough. I don't demand it. I can forgive missteps like that and I did. Then there was the FISA about-face. I was really angry when our nominee not only broke a promise but voted to expand the government surveillance powers. But again, I got over it. It's not right to demand purity, after all.
Then he spoke out basically in favor of faith based initiatives, implying not that the Bush policies are wrong on this, just that they're badly run. I disagree. But it's a disagreement I can live with.
Now... Biden? I'm having a tougher time with this one. I would never vote for Biden for president, so why would I want him to be veep? This choice also raises a deeper question about Obama. Accepting that he's not a pure lefty and that a pure lefty wouldn't make a credible candidate I still have to wonder if this ever takes the liberal side when deciding on a big issue. I don't demand purity, but I do demand that the guy sides with me at least some of the time.
Biden is a terrible choice. In isolation, he's a terrible choice that I can live with. But Obama's consistent disregard for the liberal wing of the party has gotten really old.
More than anyone, I'd expect John Marshall to be outraged by this. During the bankruptcy reform debate, TPM tried to rally the opposition, the same way it rallied opposition to social security privatization. It's one reason that the Warren Reports are featured here at TPMCafe. So I'd expect some outrage from professor Warren, too.
It's really depressing and insulting that Obama would pick such a conservative Democrat as his running mate. When he allowed his campaign to be associated with anti-gay bigot Donnie McClurkin during the primaries, I was angry and got shouted down around here for it. I shouldn't demand purity, I was told. Fair enough. I don't demand it. I can forgive missteps like that and I did. Then there was the FISA about-face. I was really angry when our nominee not only broke a promise but voted to expand the government surveillance powers. But again, I got over it. It's not right to demand purity, after all.
Then he spoke out basically in favor of faith based initiatives, implying not that the Bush policies are wrong on this, just that they're badly run. I disagree. But it's a disagreement I can live with.
Now... Biden? I'm having a tougher time with this one. I would never vote for Biden for president, so why would I want him to be veep? This choice also raises a deeper question about Obama. Accepting that he's not a pure lefty and that a pure lefty wouldn't make a credible candidate I still have to wonder if this ever takes the liberal side when deciding on a big issue. I don't demand purity, but I do demand that the guy sides with me at least some of the time.
Biden is a terrible choice. In isolation, he's a terrible choice that I can live with. But Obama's consistent disregard for the liberal wing of the party has gotten really old.
