Say it ain’t Joe. Now I get it. Perhaps in my geezerhood I failed to catch all of the clues. Now it’s clear. Joe Biden announced that he is taking the “middle” road on climate change. This is another move by Joe to qualify as a candidate for the Republican nomination. Okay class, can we all say D-I-N-O?
Do you remember last month, before his official announcement? He made an (intentional) slip-up, saying he was the most progressive candidate running for president. Well, it may be true running in the Republican primaries.
Don’t get me wrong. I really like Joe. I don’t care for the taste of beer but I would enjoy a sit-down with Joe over a coffee, tea, kombucha, kefir or a Cherry Limeade from Sonic. But that is based on his personality, not his politics.
Back in 1974, Joe was interviewed by the Washingtonian. “When it comes to civil rights and civil liberties, I’m a liberal but that’s it. I’m really quite conservative on most other issues.”
In that interview, he went further: “My wife said I was the most socially conservative man she had ever known. I’m a screaming liberal when it comes to senior citizens because I really think they are getting screwed. I’m a liberal on health care because I believe it is a birth right of every human being — not just some damn privilege to be meted out to a few people. But when it comes to issues like abortion, amnesty, and acid, I’m about as liberal as your grandmother.
“I don’t like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far. I don’t think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body. I support a limited amnesty, and I don’t think marijuana should be legalized.”
But, people change over a span of 45 years. Though he favored civil rights, when his constituents opposed imposed busing, so did he. Maybe he favored reelection more. Later, there were the Clarence Thomas hearings. He now reluctantly admits that, under his chairmanship, they could have been handled differently. But he has refrained from a full-throated apology. Then there was his support of prison reform and welfare reform under Clinton. Is it called progressive when you’re going backward? The list is longer, but the lay of the land is clear.
Joe’s most treasured label does begin with the letter ‘P,’ it’s spelled p-o-l-i-t-c-i-a-n, not progressive. And, he’s good at it. Five decades in the arena is proof of that.
One last matter. The picture that heads this article is not a sign of such behavior being a product of age. I’m older than Joe and my wife would not have condoned such behavior by me, now or back in the day.
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