Joe Biden, the good, bad and ugly. Starting with the good.

HGCC

Well-Known Member
The parties in control may change, but up till trump, it really doesn't seem that the new boss did things much differently than the old boss going back to Regan. I was hopeful that Obama would be a new direction back in 2008 but those hopes were quickly dashed.

Still always gonna vote dem as they back public education and environmental issues, but its getting and has been hard to defend them. Chucklefucks on the right moved to crazy land 12 years ago, also makes it an easy decision.
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
The parties in control may change, but up till trump, it really doesn't seem that the new boss did things much differently than the old boss going back to Regan. I was hopeful that Obama would be a new direction back in 2008 but those hopes were quickly dashed.

Still always gonna vote dem as they back public education and environmental issues, but its getting and has been hard to defend them. Chucklefucks on the right moved to crazy land 12 years ago, also makes it an easy decision.
Republicans have always been too authoritarian for me. I wasn't around for the earlier ones but Shrub was the one who lied to us about WMD in Iraq and leveraged the 9-11 attack into the destruction of Iraqi society. The torture, the jingoist fake patriotism of the right, all of that carried on into the Obama administration where the GQP (thanks Morgan) did their level best to wreck the ACA. That all began when Nixon and Reagan brought in the white racist voters with their Southern Strategy.

Yes, the Democratic Party was farther to the right 30 years ago and yes, the Democratic Party was behind some terrible "tough on crime" bills 20 years ago. Yes, Obama's foreign war policy was abysmal. Contrast what Democrats did during those times with what Republicans were trying to do and it's still pretty clear that there was always a large difference. Probably not enough of a difference for you and me but the choice has always been clear for anybody who was following the issues.
 

hanimmal

Well-Known Member
Not closing Guantanamo (yes, I know he was roadblocked)
Shit ton of drone bombings (yes, I know many were "necessary")
Horrible accountability for those involved in the 2008 subprime mortgage scam
It is funny, I am with you on 1 and 2, but think #3 is a stretch to blame the president for that one. As we have discovered with Trump, a POTUS should not be the one involved in holding people in our country accountable. That is the Justice departments decision to make. Also Congress.
 

mooray

Well-Known Member
I hear you. Not so much himself directly I guess, but you know...."the buck stops here". If little was happening, some direction certainly could have come from the top. Plenty of regulators were complicit and the gov't probably didn't have much interest in investigating and publicizing some of their own failures which literally left people broke and homeless, but at least we helped get them back on their feet with some stimulus moneys. Oh wait, we cut those checks to our cooperate buddies instead hahaha.
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
Republicans have always been too authoritarian for me. I wasn't around for the earlier ones but Shrub was the one who lied to us about WMD in Iraq and leveraged the 9-11 attack into the destruction of Iraqi society. The torture, the jingoist fake patriotism of the right, all of that carried on into the Obama administration where the GQP (thanks Morgan) did their level best to wreck the ACA. That all began when Nixon and Reagan brought in the white racist voters with their Southern Strategy.

Yes, the Democratic Party was farther to the right 30 years ago and yes, the Democratic Party was behind some terrible "tough on crime" bills 20 years ago. Yes, Obama's foreign war policy was abysmal. Contrast what Democrats did during those times with what Republicans were trying to do and it's still pretty clear that there was always a large difference. Probably not enough of a difference for you and me but the choice has always been clear for anybody who was following the issues.
I think the last 12 years are the most important, the rest is just history, but history that brought you to this point. The Obama presidency and the strength of not just African Americans, but other minorities in the democratic party means there is no going back. The old days of compromising with racism and bigotry because elements of it permeated each party are over, the two sides are now lined up on the essential historic American issue. The real fight for a better society has begun and the state of political stasis is over for as long as democrats are in ascendency.

Nobody is perfect, I have a bone or two to pick with Trudeau myself and I'm a liberal party member and a political party membership is pretty rare in Canada, compared to the USA, we therefore have a louder than usual voice. I think the government fucked up the covid response by not starting domestic vaccine production early, they should have known the current vaccine situation would arise and there are other issues I don't agree with too. For me Justin is the best option, I don't like Tories or their policies and the liberals are running so left it's making the NDP irrelevant.

If you look at the totality of the Biden agenda, there ain't a lot for an intelligent informed person to disagree with, considering the state of the electorate and the fragility of the country's democracy. After four years of Trump and the republicans abject failure, fascism, lunacy and the fact the republican party is coming apart at the seams, that they still have a very good shot at taking the house in 2022, is simply astounding. The republican party should be extinct by now or circling the drain and would be, if not for racism and white tribalism.
 

Kervork

Well-Known Member
Pretty much a piece of shit like every president since Jimmy Carter. Jimmy might have been a goofy fuck but at least he didn't lie to me.
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
I think the last 12 years are the most important, the rest is just history, but history that brought you to this point. The Obama presidency and the strength of not just African Americans, but other minorities in the democratic party means there is no going back. The old days of compromising with racism and bigotry because elements of it permeated each party are over, the two sides are now lined up on the essential historic American issue. The real fight for a better society has begun and the state of political stasis is over for as long as democrats are in ascendency.

Nobody is perfect, I have a bone or two to pick with Trudeau myself and I'm a liberal party member and a political party membership is pretty rare in Canada, compared to the USA, we therefore have a louder than usual voice. I think the government fucked up the covid response by not starting domestic vaccine production early, they should have known the current vaccine situation would arise and there are other issues I don't agree with too. For me Justin is the best option, I don't like Tories or their policies and the liberals are running so left it's making the NDP irrelevant.

If you look at the totality of the Biden agenda, there ain't a lot for an intelligent informed person to disagree with, considering the state of the electorate and the fragility of the country's democracy. After four years of Trump and the republicans abject failure, fascism, lunacy and the fact the republican party is coming apart at the seams, that they still have a very good shot at taking the house in 2022, is simply astounding. The republican party should be extinct by now or circling the drain and would be, if not for racism and white tribalism.
Thirty years ago, we were just beginning to deal with that newfangled "Voting Rights Act" and nationwide, the electorate was 90% white. In some Southern states such as Mississippi which is about 30% Black, only a few percent of the electorate was Black. The following shows how the electorate has shifted over time:

1618271887212.png
With that has come more diverse government. Not representative but more diverse and with THAT has come some change but also, not enough.

In 2013, the conservative faction of the Supreme Court prevailed and ruled that the enforcement clause, section 4b of the Voting Rights Act, was unconstitutional. Ever since, the same states that had been held in check with regard to voter suppression are now trying to get us back "to where we belong". If they win, I don't think our democratic institutions will survive.

I think the genie is out of the bottle and can't be put back. Mostly because public policies based upon false beliefs eventually fail and racism is certainly a false belief. But that doesn't mean they can't give us a few hard kicks on the way out the door.
 

schuylaar

Well-Known Member
Republicans have always been too authoritarian for me. I wasn't around for the earlier ones but Shrub was the one who lied to us about WMD in Iraq and leveraged the 9-11 attack into the destruction of Iraqi society. The torture, the jingoist fake patriotism of the right, all of that carried on into the Obama administration where the GQP (thanks Morgan) did their level best to wreck the ACA. That all began when Nixon and Reagan brought in the white racist voters with their Southern Strategy.

Yes, the Democratic Party was farther to the right 30 years ago and yes, the Democratic Party was behind some terrible "tough on crime" bills 20 years ago. Yes, Obama's foreign war policy was abysmal. Contrast what Democrats did during those times with what Republicans were trying to do and it's still pretty clear that there was always a large difference. Probably not enough of a difference for you and me but the choice has always been clear for anybody who was following the issues.
contrast and compare..
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
contrast and compare..
Elections are about making choices, so, yes, that's what I do during the general election.

I vote for who I want in the primary and who I think is best in the general. It's never been for a Republican. Not because of group think but because since I turned 18 and started voting, Republicans support the opposite of what I want. This election was no different in that regard. Stakes were higher but my choice was pretty clear. Even when they passed that '90's era Democratic Party's "tough on crime bill", the Republican bill was so bad that I had no difficulty supporting Democrats. The alternative was a scorched earth.
 

Kervork

Well-Known Member
After 4 years of skyrocketing Obamacare premiums under Trump-30% increase last year ALONE, I got an email the other day saying more money was available for subsidies. So this morning I redid my application and my Obamacare premium went down by $100 per month AND I signed up for a better plan. Honestly, this is a huge deal for millions of Americans, and I think most of them aren't even aware of it right now.
Premiums were skyrocketing before Obamacare, they were skyrocketing even faster after Obamacare and increasing premiums 500% then having the government pay 80% of your bill didn't actually do jack shit to fix health care.

Your health care system is dependent on the government borrowing money under 2% and then magically inflating that debt away while convincing everyone 2% bonds with 5% inflation is somehow a great deal.

Fortunately the world is duped cause if they weren't the Fed's balance sheet would be going through the roof right now.
 

Fogdog

Well-Known Member
Premiums were skyrocketing before Obamacare, they were skyrocketing even faster after Obamacare and increasing premiums 500% then having the government pay 80% of your bill didn't actually do jack shit to fix health care.

Your health care system is dependent on the government borrowing money under 2% and then magically inflating that debt away while convincing everyone 2% bonds with 5% inflation is somehow a great deal.

Fortunately the world is duped cause if they weren't the Fed's balance sheet would be going through the roof right now.
citation required
 

HGCC

Well-Known Member
Republicans have always been too authoritarian for me. I wasn't around for the earlier ones but Shrub was the one who lied to us about WMD in Iraq and leveraged the 9-11 attack into the destruction of Iraqi society. The torture, the jingoist fake patriotism of the right, all of that carried on into the Obama administration where the GQP (thanks Morgan) did their level best to wreck the ACA. That all began when Nixon and Reagan brought in the white racist voters with their Southern Strategy.

Yes, the Democratic Party was farther to the right 30 years ago and yes, the Democratic Party was behind some terrible "tough on crime" bills 20 years ago. Yes, Obama's foreign war policy was abysmal. Contrast what Democrats did during those times with what Republicans were trying to do and it's still pretty clear that there was always a large difference. Probably not enough of a difference for you and me but the choice has always been clear for anybody who was following the issues.
Oh the choice is clear, always has been. It's the usual gripes people make about dems that make it hard to hop on board, but given the choice, yes it's obvious.

I look back to bill Clinton, the Lewinsky situation in particular, as when things really started to breakdown in politics. Nonsense sold, so the Republicans grabbed that shit and ran with it. The dubyah years were weird times, but the stupid levels grew in terms of what got latched onto. Freedom fries, calling everyone a terrorist and questioning patriotism if you questioned decisions, yadda yadda. Obama ran things pretty much the same as Bush, idk, he was way more centrist than I expected and I couldn't really back him on much. The stupid though...the stupid grew so so much during the Obama years. Ding the dude on expanding the patriot act, being real cozy with wall street, or keeping us in wars, not his choice of mustard or suit color. I do think since Obama was so in the middle it was hard for the right to object to anything of substance.
 
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