The Biden Presidency

[broncofan]

People sometimes say one shouldn't defend his record by merely pointing out that he's better than the alternative. I say why not? Kudos to Biden for not doing any of the following things that his predecessor did do and would have done again.

Inflation is up? It is up globally. The previous guy told people during a pandemic that a completely ineffective treatment would save them, that the disease killing everyone was like the flu and that doctors were lying about mortality numbers to make him look bad. Anyhow I'm not saying this is all Biden should get credit for. I'm saying not doing these things is enough to already give him a better legacy than Trump.

Number of times Biden has fired the head of the FBI because he is investigating him: 0
Number of times Biden has used U.S. foreign aid money to try to induce a foreign country to investigate a political rival: 0
Number of times Biden has threatened to fire his attorney general because his AG properly recused himself from a case:0
Number of times Biden has tried to extort a State Attorney General into calling an election for him: 0
Number of times Biden has incited insurrection: 0
Number of twitter issued nuclear threats by Biden: 0
Number of times Biden suggested bleach as a covid treatment: 0

[broncofan]

So far, Biden has done what was expected of him-

-The US will re-commit to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
-The US will halt its exit from the WHO and return to full membership (I assume with the same level of funding as before).
-The ban on Transgendered Americans serving in the Military will end.
-The anti-Abortion restrictions linked to Foreign Aid will be lifted.
-A permit for the Keystone Pipeline has been revoked, halting the completion of this project (again!).

These things are already enormous because they are a reversal of the previous administration's policies. The ban on transgendered Americans serving in the military was discriminatory as well as pointless and malicious. The exit from the WHO was repulsive and transparently a way to try to scapegoat this international body for Trump's notable failures.

There has been a restoration of rule of law in this country. Our President is not threatening private companies with anti-trust actions because he doesn't like what a news outlet they own said about him. He is not threatening to repeal laws because he is unhappy that social media companies are enforcing their terms of service and it inconveniences him (see section 230 of the CDA). Biden has not endorsed police brutality as Trump did on numerous occasions.

One time when I pointed out to Nick Danger that Trump is an absolute moron, he said something about how his style of bluster and false bravado is all we need. I disagree. If Biden is uninspiring or hasn't accomplished everything he set out to within a year, I think all we need is a normal human being who isn't motivated by self-interest, isn't entirely bereft of any sense of responsibility to others, and isn't willing to deliberately harm people (see transgender military ban above) because he thinks animosity towards one community will galvanize his supporters.

[Nick Danger]

There has been a restoration of rule of law in this country.

Really Bronco? Would you be prepared to testify to that in court? I suppose it is true that Democrats have stopped rioting for the time being. I guess they all got the shoes they wanted.

[Nick Danger]

First let me say that I'm so proud of all of you guys for staying in the game even though you've been dealt a handful of garbage. I'd be doing the same thing if I'd been unfortunate enough to be born a liberal. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. Fuckin A.

I am not surprised that some Americans comfort themselves by denying the existence of Institutional Racism when it is documented on an almost daily basis. Denial of the Truth has become the curse of Donald Trump, and it is embraced by men and women who ought to know better, but like lawless creatures in Hobbes's 'State of Nature', prefer Emotion to Reason, Anarchy to Govenment.

When the Republican Party shares the allegations of voter fraud made by Trump, is it accidental, coincidental or deliberate, that in all the Counties in which the election is alleged to have been stolen, the majority of the population is populated by either Black or Minority people, defined as 'Non-White'? Is it even conceivable that where fraud did take place, it was Trump voters rising from the dead, or Trump voter clubs pooling mail-in ballots, and so on?

Why is it that when polling stations are closed for 'health and safety' reasons so that voters must drive 100 miles to vote, it happens in the Southern State in counties where the majority of the population is Black?

The answer is that this is how the law on elections is processed in order to limit the number of Black people who vote, indeed, to limit the number of Black people elected into public office. From numerous Black members of the Georgia Senate in the era of 'Reconstruction', in the last quarter of the 19th century, by 1902 laws had been passed to STOP BLACK PEOPLE VOTING so not a single Black person held elected office.
https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibiti...cians-congress

And here we are, in 2022, the Institution of the Law being used to take away Rights from American citizens guaranteed by the US Constiitution, but not universally applied. For only a deluded fool would deny that the primary aim of the laws being processed across the South and States where Republicans have signed up to Trump's Cult, is to STOP BLACK PEOPLE VOTING.

It is based on the glib assumption -attacked by Black members here- that Black peope vote Democrat, and the political aim is to deny Democrats the vote. But why not make an appeal to a broader range of voters by offering policies that appeal to all Americans regardless of their appearance; why not adopt a language and a tone that does not ridicule minorities, accuse them of being resposible for crime, for undermining the Morals of America, for undoing everything that started with the community in Jamestown in 1607?

The Republican Party is retreating into a fantasy world, but using the Institution of the Law to build itself a wall to shut out people it sees as a threat -but to its own existence, rather than that of the USA.

Biden has been in office for just under a year. To make so sweeping a judgment of it as an 'abject failure' is dismissive without much evidence. Was the withdrawal from Afghanistan a mistake, or an inevitable decision someone had to make, knowing it would always look bad? Who is responsible for Inflation, is it always the Government? Passing new laws that cost eye-watering sums of money make look extravagant, even reckless, but the judgment of their success will be a long-time coming, and might not be observable for at least two years, which is why rushing to judgment is a disappointment.

We have the four years of chaos to review, at least give Biden another year before making grand assessments. He might not be the most charismatic, or eloquent of Presidents, and his attempt to build a bi-Partisan coalition of intersts looks quaint in an age of Sectarian conflict, but does it make him look so bad when it is venal hypocrites like Mitchell McConnell who are standing in the way of progress?

Time is on Biden side right now, but the clock is ticking, and the world is watching.

I would like you to do one thing for me, Stavros. Show me a single American who is having trouble voting. Hell, you might shock me and actually produce an example, and if you do, I want to know more. But I think what is going to happen is that if you take the time to really look into this so-called "issue," you're going to find out that we can all vote, that we all know where to go TO vote, that if we can't get there we can all request a mail-in ballot, and that we're all pretty much in agreement that you ought to be a citizen of this country in order to do it. I think you'll find even Democrats feel that way. Not Democratic POLITICIANS. Just Democrats. Hell, ask Bronco! He's an American citizen and a Democrat. Bronco, do you think illegal immigrants should be allowed to vote?

Also, Stavros, I find it a bit hypocritical of you that you are complaining that some polling sites closed for health and safety reasons during the pandemic. That sounds more like something I would complain about. I thought you were totally on-board with doing whatever is necessary to protect people from the Wu-Flu. Also, mail-in voting was perfectly acceptable in that election BECAUSE of the germs, so it didn't really matter how far people had to drive, all they needed in order to vote was the will to do it.

And one more thing. You're speaking as if Biden has 4 years to do...whatever it is he's going to do. Uh-uh. He's got about 10 more months. As soon as the Republicans re-take Congress in November, Biden becomes nothing but a rubber stamp in an adult diaper. Nothing whatsoever will get done for the last 2 years of his term, he will be contending with a Republican Congress and a conservative Supreme Court and they will be contending with him. It will be bad times all around, you can rely on that. Yet he doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry to push for progressive change right now, seems he's quite preoccupied with ensuring that non-citizens get to vote. Which is not going to happen. I'd think you'd be quite upset with the guy, he's trading the one chance liberals had to make some positive social change for a fat chance at a 100% fabricated voting rights agenda. NO ONE IS TRYING TO STOP BLACK PEOPLE FROM VOTING, STAVROS. If you lived here you'd know that.

It's amusing that the guy is painted simultaneously as an ineffectual irrelevance yet responsible for everything bad that's happened over the past year. He's a failure when 1 or 2 members of his party won't support legislation, but he's also a failure when he does get legislation passed. He's a failure for not eliminating Covid, even though it's the other party who has resisted any measures. He's a failure for not uniting the nation, even though it's the other party who promotes the Big Lie that his election was illegitimate.

Oh man, Flighty, you don't think...you don't think that I think that any of this is Joe Biden's agenda, do you? I can't tell you exactly who's agenda it is, but it is definitely not Joe Biden's. Sleepy Joe can barely walk and scowl at the same time. He's got handlers. Still, lacking names for the handlers we have no choice but to call the current corporate-sponsored Democratic-Socialist collective "Joe Biden." I think they jack him up on cocaine before his public appearances, probably through Hunter's guy or maybe directly from the FBI evidence vault. Have you seen how wide his eyes get when he's speaking? And it looks like his skull is going to burst right out of his crepe-paper skin any moment! Very concerned for his health. Even the liberal media are starting to back away from him now, they have to if they want to maintain the facade that they're journalists.

People sometimes say one shouldn't defend his record by merely pointing out that he's better than the alternative. I say why not? Kudos to Biden for not doing any of the following things that his predecessor did do and would have done again.

Inflation is up? It is up globally. The previous guy told people during a pandemic that a completely ineffective treatment would save them, that the disease killing everyone was like the flu and that doctors were lying about mortality numbers to make him look bad. Anyhow I'm not saying this is all Biden should get credit for. I'm saying not doing these things is enough to already give him a better legacy than Trump.

Number of times Biden has fired the head of the FBI because he is investigating him: 0
Number of times Biden has used U.S. foreign aid money to try to induce a foreign country to investigate a political rival: 0
Number of times Biden has threatened to fire his attorney general because his AG properly recused himself from a case:0
Number of times Biden has tried to extort a State Attorney General into calling an election for him: 0
Number of times Biden has incited insurrection: 0
Number of twitter issued nuclear threats by Biden: 0
Number of times Biden suggested bleach as a covid treatment: 0

This demonstrates excellent coping skills, Bronco. Keep your expectations this low and you PROBABLY won't be disappointed with the rest of Biden's term.

[broncofan]

This demonstrates excellent coping skills, Bronco. Keep your expectations this low and you PROBABLY won't be disappointed with the rest of Biden's term.

I don't blame you for making fun of my post in this way bc I would have done the same. I am going to read Stavros and Filghy's posts again and inform myself a bit more because a year is a long time to be tuned out.

I still feel that if one person takes a dump in the oval office and wipes his ass with the constitution then not doing it is a noteworthy advance. The Trump years were a giant step in the direction of authoritarianism that has been impeded and the exact policies one supports will never rate as high to me as fidelity to our founding principles and the avoidance of the kind of cheap bigotry Trump stood for. My hiatus from paying attention does sort of vindicate Bernie Bros. who think "centrists" would sell out their most ambitious policies for some normalcy, but we were held hostage by an idiot. I would support Bernie to get rid of Trump; and not Bernie Sanders but Bernie from a Weekend At Bernie's (don't make the obvious joke).

[thombergeron]

Thanks Thomber! I haven’t had that good a laugh in several days. Yeah, this is about the number of polling sites.

It's kind of cringy when people try to cover up their embarrassment with laughter.

Anyhoo...

Democrats do shuttle blacks to voting sites - mostly unnecessary since voting sites are set up in their own neighborhoods. Which is absolutely fine with everyone.

Since seem to have forgotten, this is where you acknowledge that it's easier to vote if there's a polling place in your neighborhood. Then you admit that you don't follow the news at all by saying that neighborhood polling places are "absolutely fine with everyone."

It's clearly not "absolutely fine" with Republican legislators and governors, who have eliminated over 1,000 polling places since Shelby v. Holder. Texas alone has eliminated over 750 polling places, and by an incredible coincidence, virtually all are in Latino and Black neighborhoods.

So by the standards you set out, the Republican Party is making it more difficult for minority citizens to vote. Making it more difficult to vote suppresses voter turnout. That's why we call these efforts "voter suppression."

Again, imagine having Very Strong Opinions about voting rights in the United States while simultaneously knowing nothing at all about voting rights in the United States.

[Nick Danger]

It's kind of cringy when people try to cover up their embarrassment with laughter.

Anyhoo...



Since seem to have forgotten, this is where you acknowledge that it's easier to vote if there's a polling place in your neighborhood. Then you admit that you don't follow the news at all by saying that neighborhood polling places are "absolutely fine with everyone."

It's clearly not "absolutely fine" with Republican legislators and governors, who have eliminated over 1,000 polling places since Shelby v. Holder. Texas alone has eliminated over 750 polling places, and by an incredible coincidence, virtually all are in Latino and Black neighborhoods.

So by the standards you set out, the Republican Party is making it more difficult for minority citizens to vote. Making it more difficult to vote suppresses voter turnout. That's why we call these efforts "voter suppression."

Again, imagine having Very Strong Opinions about voting rights in the United States while simultaneously knowing nothing at all about voting rights in the United States.

Sorry Thomber, all Shelby v. Holder did was eliminate an unconstitutional section of the Voting Rights Act. You, uh, do know about the U.S. Constitution right? The Supreme Court of 2013 was historically liberal as well, according to the Martin-Quinn score, so it seems unlikely they had a racist motive. And who was president then, I don't recall... Who was vice-president? Oh yeah, now I remember.

"Voter suppression" is a term invented by the corporate-owned media. Imagine living in a world where liberals took responsibility for their own decisions. And frankly, if someone can't be troubled to mail in a ballot, I'm not so sure their vote is going to be missed much. Or is there mail suppression as well?

[Nick Danger]

I don't blame you for making fun of my post in this way bc I would have done the same. I am going to read Stavros and Filghy's posts again and inform myself a bit more because a year is a long time to be tuned out.

I still feel that if one person takes a dump in the oval office and wipes his ass with the constitution then not doing it is a noteworthy advance. The Trump years were a giant step in the direction of authoritarianism that has been impeded and the exact policies one supports will never rate as high to me as fidelity to our founding principles and the avoidance of the kind of cheap bigotry Trump stood for. My hiatus from paying attention does sort of vindicate Bernie Bros. who think "centrists" would sell out their most ambitious policies for some normalcy, but we were held hostage by an idiot. I would support Bernie to get rid of Trump; and not Bernie Sanders but Bernie from a Weekend At Bernie's (don't make the obvious joke).

Is the obvious joke that Biden is a walking dead man or is that the subtle joke? I always try to go for the subtle joke when possible.

You'll get back with the program I'm sure, Bronco. If you want to inform yourself via THIS forum, though, I wouldn't consult Flighty and Stavros' posts. Take a cue from Thomber. He's throwing Supreme Court cases and quasi-factual data at me.

I'm well aware that the final goal here is to make me look stupid. Just remember though, that if you put it out there and it looks anything like a big pile of shit, I'll serve you back a steaming scoop of it. But you already knew this.

What I am trying to get you guys to address here should be right in your wheelhouse, Bronco. You DID get rid of Trump. He's out of the White House and even off of social media. Sooooo...now what?

[thombergeron]

Sorry Thomber, all Shelby v. Holder did was eliminate an unconstitutional section of the Voting Rights Act. You, uh, do know about the U.S. Constitution right? The Supreme Court of 2013 was historically liberal as well, according to the Martin-Quinn score, so it seems unlikely they had a racist motive. And who was president then, I don't recall... Who was vice-president? Oh yeah, now I remember.

"Voter suppression" is a term invented by the corporate-owned media. Imagine living in a world where liberals took responsibility for their own decisions. And frankly, if someone can't be troubled to mail in a ballot, I'm not so sure their vote is going to be missed much. Or is there mail suppression as well?

Unsurprising since you're just regurgitating shit you saw on TV, but this is non-responsive. Whether or not Section 5 was constitutional is a separate question from the effect of the ruling. The effect has been that jurisdictions with a prior history of racist voter suppression, now that they're freed from the preclearance requirement for new voting laws, have passed a slew of laws that make it more difficult to vote.

Nobody invented the term "voter suppression." In English, it's called a compound noun. That's how language works. As you pointed out previously, neighborhood-based polling places and van pools for voters make it easier to vote. If a jurisdiction removes polling places and imposes strict requirements on van pools for voters, as GOP-controlled states have done post-Shelby, then it becomes more difficult to vote. We know, again from evidence, that difficulty accessing polling places suppresses voter turnout. Therefore, thanks to English, we say that efforts to make it more difficult to vote are voter suppression.

You must be in California or Oregon if you think anybody can just mail in their ballot lickety split. Most places you have to apply beforehand, and you may have guessed that, yep, the Texas legislature is also making it more difficult for voters to access mail-in ballots. I wonder why. Do you have any idea why the GOP wants fewer people voting?

[thombergeron]

I'm well aware that the final goal here is to make me look stupid.

My guy, you did that all by your lonesome.