1. Bankruptcy bill. To listen to him, he was the hero who helped make the bankruptcy bill better. This article from GQ shows the reality behind the lie. Joe Biden used to be called, at that time, the Senator from MBNA, which was the name of a major credit card company, which happened to be located in Delaware, where Biden was from. See also this American Prospect article on how bad Biden was in the bankruptcy bill negotiations and amendments.
2. Social Security. Joe Biden was an important behind-the-scenes guy with the odious Simpson-Bowles bill that would have cut individual benefits over time and raised the minimum ages for procuring Social Security benefits. He is lying to pretend otherwise.
Now, a distortion. Biden tried to make it sound like he stands against the Chinese political dictatorship. Yet, it was Biden who supported most favored nation status with China in 2000, along with corporate Democrats starting with then President Bill Clinton, and the Republicans. Bernie opposed it for the proper reasons, and was again correct about what would happen when our leaders opened our markets to China and its near slave and slave wage workers. But sure. Bernie somehow loves dictators.
Oh, and folks, Bernie defended the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the 1980s from US attacks and sanctions. Bernie also opposed the much more horribly oppressive and murderous dictators in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Biden? AWOL or marginally supporting the Reagan policies that trained the very murderers of priests and nuns in those other nations. As I used to publicly debate for the Democrats against Republicans in those years, if you or I were to choose which regime we would like to be in and be a known dissident, you or I would choose Nicaragua over any of those other three nations, based upon information from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Maryknoll Nuns' human rights organization, and other human rights organizations.
Biden also laughed off Italy's single pay system and the coronavirus, but South Korea has done a good job with its single pay system. Read this Reuters article to show having single pay is not enough, but it sure helps identify people early and effectively.
And now, Biden's last minute conversions. On fracking, on the bankruptcy bill, student debt, and other subjects tonight was par for the course for politicians like Joe Biden. I am convinced Warren's sudden proposal for bankruptcy reform and Biden's support for it is more than a coincidence. It shows Warren is actively undermining the progressive movement as she should know better that the Senator from MBNA, as Biden was known all over DC back in the day, will ever change on this. Biden has already assured his billionaire donors nothing will fundamentally change.
Also, let's see how Biden has suddenly evolved on the Hyde Amendment, which banned federal dollars going to abortion clinics for decades. Biden supported it, openly and proudly, for decades and then, after trying to still say he supported it in June 2019, found he had to reverse his long held stance to run for president.
However, based upon how corporate media spinning goes, Bernie needed a hard punch to Biden's gut. He didn't land that punch, unless people want to start adding up the Biden lies, distortions, and last minute conversions designed to fool voters into thinking he would actually fight for these issues, if somehow elected. After the debate, CNN's commentators said nothing about the lies, distortions and changes in positions for the campaign. I wish Bernie, during the debate, had talked about corporate media's free advertising for Biden, which was worth far more than the spending on ads from Bernie's individual donors. I wish Bernie did more than a drive by on corporate media bias. And not one question about Ukraine, which will be a major talking point no matter what is not said now. If one reads James Risen in the Intercept from a few months ago, there is truth to what Trump pushes about Biden. But few understand and another lie takes wing with uninformed voters--how ironic for Biden, who had to lie and distort his own long record in this debate with Sanders.
I watched Obama lie to voters in 2008 about his supposedly being against trade deals, but consistently supporting them. I watched Bill Clinton lie about "putting people first." I have heard the lies from neo-liberal/neo-conservative politicians for 50 years. But I marvel at the way in which they get people on board, as they meant what they say on a campaign trail when they have to hold votes. The lies have consistently worked, and sadly, they will work again tonight and in the days to come. I also kept saying to my wife and others on FB, Biden will not falter tonight, at least for most of the debate, because he is now well rested. He was even able to stand at the podium tonight. Low bar, just as with Reagan in 1984. Boomers and Oldsters fooled again.
Also, with all the technology available, CNN and its post-debate commentators could not bother to research what I did? Not in real time, either? It would have been great for Jake Tapper to roll the video of Biden talking about raising the minimum age and cutting individual benefits in the Social Security program, or the article linked to above about how he was pushing for Social Security and Medicare cuts to be on the table through Simpson-Bowles and other initiatives from the 1990s through the Obama administrations.
I have little hope for Sanders tonight, but he must stay in this race, and we must hope social media will blunt the impact of corporate media about what Biden did tonight. I truly fear Biden will not fare well against Trump, and we will have four more years of Trump. But we will see how this all unfolds.
But I must say one more thing: Did anyone else notice how much Biden laughed at Sanders during the debate? I took this as one shining emotional example of how much contempt corporate Democrats have toward progressives. It is why I am seriously considering DemExit after the November elections if I see progressive groups and the kids decide they have had enough of this corrupt party and the corrupt corporate media.
But I must say one more thing: Did anyone else notice how much Biden laughed at Sanders during the debate? I took this as one shining emotional example of how much contempt corporate Democrats have toward progressives. It is why I am seriously considering DemExit after the November elections if I see progressive groups and the kids decide they have had enough of this corrupt party and the corrupt corporate media.
