August 16, 2012--Biden In Chains
At a rally in Danville, Virginia on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden stepped in it. Again. This time, really stepped in it.
The Obama team had Mitt Romney and his vice presidential candidate on the ropes--Romney was being subjected to an ongoing, appropriate attack on his personal fiances and taxes; Ryan for his draconian budget with its dire implications for Medicare, veterans, middle income people, and particularly those who depend on government help to survive.
Now everyone on TV is talking about Biden's comments.
Here they are in full--
Just as we should beware of anyone who compares any current situation to the Nazis or communists, just as we should not allow anyone to get away with comparing anything contemporary to the Holocaust, we should not allow anyone to get away with comparing something like tax policy or bank regulations to slavery.
But that is exactly what Biden did.
Accusing any Republican of wanting to put people (read black people) back in chains goes beyond, way beyond extreme political hyperbole.
He can issue a "clarifying" statement, he can try to revisit and revise his comments, but this outrageous calumny cannot be walked back.
It cannot be explained away because we know exactly what Biden was doing when he spoke before a mixed-race crowd. And he knows exactly how he was pandering and inciting them. The tagged-on "y'all back in chains" delivered in dialect with a wink is a dead giveaway.
If Paul Ryan had uttered these words it would have been a New York Times front page story and in the liberal community there would be pressure on Romney to drop him from the ticket.
This is probably too much to expect, but minimally Biden should be called to the woodshed and made to apologize for "misspeaking." It's that big a deal.
The Obama team had Mitt Romney and his vice presidential candidate on the ropes--Romney was being subjected to an ongoing, appropriate attack on his personal fiances and taxes; Ryan for his draconian budget with its dire implications for Medicare, veterans, middle income people, and particularly those who depend on government help to survive.
Now everyone on TV is talking about Biden's comments.
Here they are in full--
Looking at what [Republicans] value, and take a look at their budget. And look what they're proposing. [Romney] said in the first 100 days, he's going to let the big banks write their own rules--unchain Wall Street.
They're gonna put y'all back in chains.
Just as we should beware of anyone who compares any current situation to the Nazis or communists, just as we should not allow anyone to get away with comparing anything contemporary to the Holocaust, we should not allow anyone to get away with comparing something like tax policy or bank regulations to slavery.
But that is exactly what Biden did.
Accusing any Republican of wanting to put people (read black people) back in chains goes beyond, way beyond extreme political hyperbole.
He can issue a "clarifying" statement, he can try to revisit and revise his comments, but this outrageous calumny cannot be walked back.
It cannot be explained away because we know exactly what Biden was doing when he spoke before a mixed-race crowd. And he knows exactly how he was pandering and inciting them. The tagged-on "y'all back in chains" delivered in dialect with a wink is a dead giveaway.
If Paul Ryan had uttered these words it would have been a New York Times front page story and in the liberal community there would be pressure on Romney to drop him from the ticket.
This is probably too much to expect, but minimally Biden should be called to the woodshed and made to apologize for "misspeaking." It's that big a deal.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
2:23 AM
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