Joe Biden 2020 campaign megathread v3 (pg 45 - mass-dropout aftermath)

[GeneralMacArthur]

https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1219270789045932032

Paul Krugman throwing rocks at the beehive today on Twitter, and the Bernie Bros are a-buzzin

[GeneralMacArthur]

https://twitter.com/richrmurphy/status/1219381143948054533

Who wants to bet this is out of context?

I watched it, it's got a couple layers of context.  The question was about how he would change the culture of ICE, and the answer he gives is that he would fire ICE agents who detain people who haven't committed felonies.  Then he says that he doesn't consider drunk driving to be a felony (which it's currently not).

The context that's missing is that ICE agents have regularly been pulling over latinos on suspicion of drunk driving and then detaining them.  So if you're driving while brown, you gotta worry about an ICE agent deciding he wants to pull you over, saying "well he looked like he was DUI", and then detaining you to check your immigration status and potentially deport you.  Biden wants to end that.

Biden's first wife and children were murdered by a drunk driver.  I certainly hope this out-of-context quote doesn't go beyond a random account on Twitter.  That would be tasteless, even by Rose Twitter's low low standards.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Biden attacks video game designers, implies video games "teach you how to kill people":

In an interview with the New York Times, the presidential hopeful called game developers he met with during his time at the White House “creeps,” “righteous,” and “arrogant,” referring to his personal experiences with high-ranking executives in Silicon Valley.

“And you may recall, the criticism I got for meeting with the leaders in Silicon Valley, when I was trying to work out an agreement dealing with them protecting intellectual property for artists in the United States of America,” said Biden. “And at one point, one of the little creeps sitting around that table, who was a multi- — close to a billionaire — who told me he was an artist because he was able to come up with games to teach you how to kill people, you know the ——”

“Like video games,” offers the New York Times interviewer. Biden has previously called for certain legal restrictions to be imposed on violent games, suggesting in 2013 that there is no legal objective to imposing a tax on violent media. He has also stated that while no definitive proof exists linking violent games and media with acts of real violence, the public shouldn’t be afraid of “facts” which may come from research on the matter.

Is Biden really the type of person to be calling other people creeps?

Fake headline, fake article.  He called one specific guy a creep, because that guy bragged about making a game that taught kids how to kill people.

Do you disagree that that guy is a creep?

[GeneralMacArthur]

Biden attacks video game designers, implies video games "teach you how to kill people":

In an interview with the New York Times, the presidential hopeful called game developers he met with during his time at the White House “creeps,” “righteous,” and “arrogant,” referring to his personal experiences with high-ranking executives in Silicon Valley.

“And you may recall, the criticism I got for meeting with the leaders in Silicon Valley, when I was trying to work out an agreement dealing with them protecting intellectual property for artists in the United States of America,” said Biden. “And at one point, one of the little creeps sitting around that table, who was a multi- — close to a billionaire — who told me he was an artist because he was able to come up with games to teach you how to kill people, you know the ——”

“Like video games,” offers the New York Times interviewer. Biden has previously called for certain legal restrictions to be imposed on violent games, suggesting in 2013 that there is no legal objective to imposing a tax on violent media. He has also stated that while no definitive proof exists linking violent games and media with acts of real violence, the public shouldn’t be afraid of “facts” which may come from research on the matter.

Is Biden really the type of person to be calling other people creeps?

Fake headline, fake article.  He called one specific guy a creep, because that guy bragged about making a game that taught kids how to kill people.

Do you disagree that that guy is a creep?

Lots of video games teach you how to kill people.  That doesn't mean we should regulate them.

I actually have no idea whether Biden wants to regulate them or not, it's not a policy I really have strong feelings about one way or another.

But this snippet that appears to explain Biden's policy is un-parseable, terrible writing:

“Like video games,” offers the New York Times interviewer. Biden has previously called for certain legal restrictions to be imposed on violent games, suggesting in 2013 that there is no legal objective to imposing a tax on violent media.

[GeneralMacArthur]

This is such a bad faith attack on Biden. Even if he supported Social Security cuts in the past, he isn't going to now. The neoliberal era is over. Also, if Social Security is your issue, Warren has the most progressive plan, that expands benefits by $200 a month. This is a play for older voters and is a completely political attack.

Even if Biden wouldn't cut Social Security in the 2020s, it is another sign that he has poor judgement that he did seriously try to in the past, and shows he wouldn't stand up for progressive priorities as strongly as other contenders (in particular, Bernie).

He didn't support it in the past.  He wanted to freeze spending in 1995 instead of the alternative, which was Republicans trying to cut it as part of the balanced budget amendment.

The quote Sanders is using to "prove" Biden wants to cut SS is literally Biden trying to save SS from being cut.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Biden does not want to cut social security.  He never has.

The Sanders attack is, as could be expected, a massive disgraceful lie.

The 1995 quote is from the balanced budget amendment debate when Republicans were trying to slash spending everywhere but especially social security.  Biden wanted to rescue social security by freezing it instead of cutting it.

That's why the quote has him saying "freeze" instead of "cut." The Sanders team, famous for their love of nuance has been claiming that freezing is the same as cutting.  But in 1995, freezing was the polar opposite of cutting.

Sanders was in Congress at the time and certainly remembers watching these debates from the back bench.  He knows this is a big fat lie.  Yet he persists in the attack anyway.  Why?  Because he's a liar.  He's a dishonest politician.  Plain and simple.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Biden has, on his website, in plain English, that he wants to expand social security.

So if Bruce Reed is some sort of anti-social-security policy sleeper agent, wouldn't Biden be using his recommendations in his policy platform?

You guys just pick these unknown, minor people out of a hat to demonize, caricature, and build conspiracy theories around.  Biden has one of the Obama whiz kids on his team, and that whiz kid may at one point have advocated for cutting parts of social security, so that means Biden must want to cut social security.  It couldn't possibly be that this Reed fella is helping Biden with something other than a dastardly secret plan to kill social security.

Also, when I brought up the fact that like 75% of Bernie's campaign staff were Green Party hacks and pro-Russia sycophants in 2016, I was told that it doesn't matter what their positions were in the past, only what they're doing now on the campaign.  Are we now holding candidates responsible for every single policy position of every single staffer at any point in the last 12 years?

[GeneralMacArthur]

I looked up Bruce Reed and apparently he's a Rhodes Scholar who's been a policy expert for Democratic administrations and campaigns for nearly 30 years.  But yeah let's just demonize him as the second coming of Paul Ryan based on a quote in a screenshot that doesn't even have a source.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Another great ad. Whomever the campaign hired for the ads does a heck of a job.

Jesus that's so good.  The transition from Bull Connor to MLK as he says "those who fan the flames of hate end up drawing forth the next wave of progress" really hits you.

If only Biden had $20M to run this during the Superbowl.

[GeneralMacArthur]

You guys have been caught lying like four different times about Biden wanting to "gut" social security and finally settled on some gotcha of him offering a spending freeze 25 years ago as a compromise to prevent Republicans from cutting it.

It's really disgusting that it seems to be working.  You act like one out of context quote validating one half-truth means all your previous lies were justified.

Biden has.  On his website.  That he wants to expand social security.  But what really matters is a compromise proposal he made decades ago in an entirely different debate and entirely different context.  That one video proves that, today in 2020, he wants to gut social security, he wants to destroy it, he hates seniors and black people!

This from the campaign that promised to run a positive campaign.  And you wonder why he has no friends.

The sick irony here is that Biden's proposal to "freeze" was actually an attempt to rescue social security.  Meanwhile, Sanders was in Congress in 1995 and didn't do a damn thing.  He was probably sleeping on the back-bench.  He didn't even try to sponsor a single bill in the entire 104th congress (95-96).

[GeneralMacArthur]

Ofcourse Gen is Right. Biden attempting to Freeze Social Security is a means to save Social Security. Democrats should run of it. They should also focus on making Medicare into a block grants which will freeze per person spending.

That is the only way to save Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid & will also help to cut down the deficit. That is what Democrats should run on in 2020. That is what their record should be about. Both Ted Cruz & Joe Biden should campaign about freezing spending on Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.

This isn't 1995, and Republicans aren't using the peak of their power to try to slash social security.  If it was, a rescue proposal to temporarily freeze social security would make sense.

Are you really incapable of understanding this or are you just an echo bot for Sanders 4 President talking points?

[GeneralMacArthur]

If all the Bernie camp is coming up with are unsubstantiated claims of Biden wanting to cut Social Security during the Obama years (when he's on record to oppose Paul Ryan) and his call 25 years ago to freeze spending to keep it solvent and avoid a shutdown, then it's laughable.

We could also remind folks that Saint Bernard time and time again voted against gun control measures during these years and opposed the Brady Bill, which Joe Biden wrote and helped to get passed. It was one of the most significant legislative actions in recent years. How many meaningful bills has Bernie authored that got enacted into law?

It's not a laughing matter.  The lie is working, people are believing it, and it's helping him go up in Iowa.  This guy is going to lie his way to the nomination if nobody does anything to stop him.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Lulz

https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1222258335342366721?s=19
https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1222269273814511621?s=19

How many times now has Biden responded to criticism by telling someone "Go vote for someone else"?

God, he's such an asshole.

Did he touch that guy's zipper? Creepy old Joe!

Watch the video, Biden is just being his usual gentle-touch self.

The guy was pretending to be a Biden supporter and came up to take a picture with him, and then tried to sabotage him with some on-camera accusations that Biden isn't good enough on climate change and implied that he doesn't actually support Biden (he later said he supports Steyer).  Biden was pretty pissed off about that and told him to go vote for someone else.  But he kept a measured tone throughout.

Given that Sanders supporters have spent the entire primary using these kinds of tactics to try to embarrass other candidates with on-camera gotcha moments, tough to blame Biden for assuming he was just another Sanders supporter trying to pull the same crap.  I don't think the guy meant any harm.  Just a misunderstanding and Biden was probably a little too quick to jump to conclusions.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Love how Biden's the only candidate who can have a senile freakout at a voter and the media doesn't care. The establishment media is so in the bag for Biden it's hysterical. A benefit of Trump winning is that the influence of traditional media has been greatly reduced, so nobody cares what the talking heads on CNN have to say anymore. This candidate is so unfit for office, and really he's unfit to speak with American voters.

This is the furthest thing from a senile freakout.  You Bernie people just keep lying about Biden videos to trick people who haven't actually watched them.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Love how Biden's the only candidate who can have a senile freakout at a voter and the media doesn't care. The establishment media is so in the bag for Biden it's hysterical. A benefit of Trump winning is that the influence of traditional media has been greatly reduced, so nobody cares what the talking heads on CNN have to say anymore. This candidate is so unfit for office, and really he's unfit to speak with American voters.

This is the furthest thing from a senile freakout.  You Bernie people just keep lying about Biden videos to trick people who haven't actually watched them.

Yeah, it's totally normal for a candidate to repeatedly touch a voter and tell him to vote for someone else as soon as the voter asks a question. Nothing to see here! Joe is totally mentally stable.

Yes, it's totally normal for a candidate to repeatedly touch a voter.

Telling a voter to vote for someone else is nicer than telling him to f*** off, which is what Biden really wanted to say.

Biden's up there letting people take pictures with him and this guy comes bounding up, tells him he's voting for someone else, and starts on some gotcha question about pipelines.  Then when Biden calls him out for being a Sanders voter, he lies and says he's not, even though on his blog he says he supports Sanders.

The worst part?  This poor, sweet, sensitive soul was just so shooketh by Biden that he still thanks him and asks for a picture afterwards.  Then goes and posts on social media about how traumatized he is.  That's really the worst sort of person where you do something nice for them and they still go dump on you afterwards.

Biden is totally calm and in control throughout the entire thing.  Not senile at all.  But if you want to just lie about things that are in the video, I'd also like to add that after taking a photo, the voter gave Biden a big bear hug and told him "I'd die for you, sir, you are my hero, and Bernie Sanders thinks orgasms cause cancer and women want to be raped."  Not sure why someone who loves Biden so much would post nasty things on social media afterwards, very strange!

[GeneralMacArthur]

One more thing I want to add.  The other time Biden famously told a guy to "go vote for someone else" was this really obnoxious latino guy who had been following Biden to all his events to harass him with questions about immigration and try to get a viral moment.

Guess what that guy's doing now?  He's being paid by the Sanders campaign.  What are the odds he was secretly working for Sanders the whole time?  Wouldn't be the first time Sanders has pulled that trick.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Oh man, it just keeps getting better.  This moron the Sanders people are trying to turn into a martyr is a self-described "agitator-in-chief" and ran a climate change protest a few months ago that used racist imagery and was condemned by the NAACP.

https://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Cedar-Rapids-climate-change-protest-condemned-by-civil-rights-progressive-organization--512759981.html

Gotta respect Biden, he knows a rat when he sees one.

When the Sanders campaign sends their people to disrupt our events and sabotage our photo-ops, they're not sending their best.  They're racists, they're sociopaths, they're hysterical clueless teenagers.  And some, I assume, are good people.

[GeneralMacArthur]

https://twitter.com/CleveWootson/status/1223660471305363456?s=20

Get em, Joe!

Who says Biden's events are boring!

[GeneralMacArthur]

This is some funny sh*t right here

https://twitter.com/jeneps/status/1223661114594070529

https://twitter.com/jeneps/status/1223661543142973441

[GeneralMacArthur]

Actually Buttigieg was very cool about these disruptors as well.

Bernie, as far as I know, only does rallies and never has to deal with this kind of thing.

[GeneralMacArthur]

Actually Buttigieg was very cool about these disruptors as well.

Bernie, as far as I know, only does rallies and never has to deal with this kind of thing.

Butti seems to be pretty thin-skinned at times, at least in debates. I won't go through his events, but I do not think he would be totally cool about stuff like this. Not necessarily blaming him, I just think Biden has over time become more comfortable with the fact that half the country will always hate him and doesn't freak out about it.

Here's an example

https://twitter.com/jackturmaniii/status/1203100073888026625?s=21

[GeneralMacArthur]

The problem with that tweet is that Biden's support could be too thin.  He could end up getting like 13% in a bunch of those spread-out areas and ending up with no delegates.

[GeneralMacArthur]

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1225240523151114241

Presidential material.  Powerful, moving, heartfelt and right.

[GeneralMacArthur]

I'm sure 85% of Iowans were saboteurs employed by the Sanders campaign (two cases) or Trump supporters (the other case).

[GeneralMacArthur]

What the hell?

Biden calls NH woman a “dog faced pony soldier” after she asks question about his Iowa performance

The whole tone of this is weird.  Is it some sort of local NH reference?  She seems very friendly to Biden and he immediately precedes this with "it's a good question" and says it in a friendly way.