A Couple of Points Where Joe Biden Seems Really Naive

I've been meaning to type this for about a week or so but a mix of current events and my paying job schedule got in the way.  Thus, the post is being put on here now and while in another time this would come off as dated Biden's response to one of these points keeps it vital and should be remembered as we near the caucuses and primaries over the next months.

Is it just me or does anyone else think former Vice President Joe Biden is awfully naive on a couple of points as he runs for President?

Biden, currently the front runner in the Democratic primary race for the 2020 election, is being pitched by the mainstream media as the electable choice who can cross the aisle and get things done in this tense and divided climate.  Running on a mix of name recognition and his past Biden's place in these early polls are read as a rebuke to what's perceived as "the far left" of the Democratic Party whose alleged cries of "socialism" will turn away "white working class voters" long lamented by corporate media pundits as those who deserted the party to support the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago in 2016.  However, while it's true that Biden has a lot of knowledge of how Washington has traditionally worked from nearly 50 years in Federal government (his first election to the Senate was in 1972 and had never had to run a competitive election race outside of his failed Presidential runs in the 1988 and 2008 race {the latter of which led to his becoming the VP running mate for Barack Obama and then two terms as Vice President), his continuing to work in that mindset has lead to a couple of things he seems really naive about.

First, let's talk about his claim that nobody running has a more progressive record than him over the years.  On the surface it seems like typically campaign braggadocio (every person running might say something similar on the Democratic Party side and/or thinks they're the person who can beat electoral vote winner Donny [why would they run if they didn't]), it shows the former VP still in what campaigning used to be, making claims and expecting people to be too busy to research and challenge them.  The problem with this is that we live in the age of the Internet and, while the stupid things private individuals do might not be totally accessible, a public officials record can be tracked down and debunked not just via "oppo research" from either political opponents or in preparation by one's own team but by those in the general public willing to do the research.  As a result we have learned about Biden's past support of the Hyde Amendment (which bans Federal funds from being used for abortion care - and a stance he continued to support until public outcry forced him to change it) as well as his support on various laws related ot the War on Crime in the 1990s including some that even former President Bill Clinton has said were wrong in retrospect).  The fact that he continues to be proud of that part of his voting record in effects undermines his claims of being the most progressive candidate in the 2020 Presidential race.  In fact, Biden's continuing to try to use his record as a selling point while  claiming he's the most progressive candidate is a prime example of him continuing to run as if nothing has changed - when two plus years of the Mad Fuhrer has proven otherwise.

The other place where Biden seems really naive is related to the issue of civility in this political climate.  Biden has gone on record as reportedly believing that once electoral vote winner Donny was out of office the Repubs in Congress and the Senate would then suddenly have an epiphany and realize that they shouldn't be acting the way they're currently acting and thus a spirit of bipartisanship will re-emerge.   It's one thing for a private citizen unaware of how Washington works or the machinations of current politicians to state something like this.  However, Biden spent eight years one heartbeat away from the Oval Office as VP to Barack Obama, the first black president of the U.S. and a man who administration was constantly hindered by Repubs in the legislative branch who, from day one were trying to make him a one term President and, when that didn't work, tried their hardest to make sure gridlock was the best case scenario.  For Joe Biden to actually say this with a straight face  it makes one wonder if he learned anything from the eight years he spent as VP under Obama.  Add to this current Senate Majority Leader Addison the Turtle (some of y'all call him Mitch McConnell) stating that if a Democrat wins the 2020 election he will make sure no Democratic legislation gets passed in his time in office, and it's clear that civility won't just reappear if the Oval Office changes parties next year. 

In fairness, the latter is not just Biden's naivete on this issue.  There tends to be a desire for merely pre Donny in much of the Democratic Party establishment, thinking that once he's gone that all will be well again.  The problem though is that the Repub party only agrees to anything bipartisan if they get what they want and the Democrats cave, thus moving things further to the right.  With the current Repub leadership emboldened by the Mad Fuhrer and his fan club of white conservative christians and white supremacists, there's no reason for anyone to think that if their side loses next year on the Presidency but keeps the Senate that the GOP will suddenly start playing fair and not constantly block everything until they get almost all of what they want.  Still, someone running for President should know better - especially if he knows how the other side actually works and should know by now that the civility they speak of exists just slightly this side of a unicorn in today's legislative body. 

Now does that mean Joe Biden would be just as horrible as the Mad Fuhrer of Mar-A-Lago has been since taking office in January 2017?  I think it's fair to say that he would be less terrible but the way things are going, it would be only by a matter of degrees; and thinking small moves will solve things these days is a prime example of how the politicians in Washington are being totally naive.