Why is Joe Biden so unpopular here on DU

[Auntie Bush]

or with the electorate as a whole? He's very qualified...so what's the beef? Curious minds want to know. :shrug:

I know a lot of people have bad mouthed him but let's have a calm cool discussion. I personally think he'd make a good VP. Flame away!

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. The bankruptcy bill

[AlCzervik]

2. bingo.

[Raster]

27. The bankruptcy bill is aimed to benefit one group and one group only:

The credit card companies and their extortion-level interest rates. To hear it from the credit card banks, they were losing exorbitant amounts of money from all the bankruptcy defaults. And that just wasn't true. Senator MBNA was THE Democratic champion that moved this piece of financial slavery legislation through the committees and finally to a full vote. The bankruptcy bill WOULD NOT be on the books except for biden's efforts. He is a prime example of what's wrong with our money-grubbing congress and their corporate masters.

[Mojambo]

37. Exactly.

We found out during that episode exactly WHO Joe Biden really represents, and it ain't the people.

That's not to say that Biden doesn't have something to offer the party. He's a pretty effective communicator on foreign policy issues.

But yeah, his support of that Bankruptcy bill is a dealbreaker for me. I cannot support him for higher office.

[Muddy Waters Guitar]

52. Ditto. That and the Iraq War support

That was a truly awful bill and Joseph Biden showed himself to be one of the worst of the DLC corporatist shills, working for rich corporations at the expense of the middle class. That bankruptcy bill was reprehensible, and Biden will continue to pay a severe price for it.

[Vinca]

53. The bankruptcy bill is my biggest complaint about Biden.

It might have been easier to swallow if they put some constraints on the credit card companies, but it opened the flood gates for more aggressive screwing of the public with additional fees, excessive fees, etc. You can only assume Biden was beholden to contributors. I wouldn't support him under any circumstances.

[WildEyedLiberal]

3. His personality.

From what I've seen, he's exceedingly full of himself, loves to hear himself talk, loves to tell rambling stories that are all mostly about him... he's very much a bloviating windbag. In the latest issue of Mother Jones he talks about how he would rather be "making love to his wife while his children are asleep downstairs" - because Joe Biden really thinks America needs that mental image.

I just think he's a pompous blowhard.

[AlCzervik]

4. that too.

[MrTriumph]

8. Focus group meets to consider Biden visuals...

At times Joe is right on the mark, although his plan to divide Iraq is a impossible solution to an impossible problem.

To be fair, he is too much a senator and too little a Democrat.

[orleans]

30. oh my god. did you have to get that freakin graphic??? yuck!! n/t

[WildEyedLiberal]

34. Blame Joe, not me

He wanted the whole world to know! :eyes: :puke:

[orleans]

47. such an exhibitionist! he loves sharing these little personal details

(about his youth, his mom, his old neighborhood, etc). damn! if he could show us without getting busted he would!

i wish joe would spare us the gorey details sometimes.

[WildEyedLiberal]

49. I read once

That when Joe was in Iraq at one point, there was some sort of biohazard treatment where they had to take off their clothes, or something - I don't remember exactly what - all I remember is that Joe had no hesitation in baring all and engaging in conversation with the soldiers while in the nude. I wish I could remember where I saw that - I read it on DU a long time ago, I think.

So now you have to imagine Joe Biden standing naked in an army base hamming it up with several (no doubt horrified) soldiers. :evilgrin:

[Greeby]

5. He's like the Paris Hilton of the Senate

Noone is quite sure what he's there for, but he seems to be on TV no matter where you turn. :shrug:

[AlCzervik]

9. it wouldn't be Sunday without the self uber important mugging it up in tv.

[WildEyedLiberal]

11. LOL

Best analogy ever.

:rofl:

[niallmac]

6. Who? n/t

[phillysuse]

7. Plagiarism

Remember the speech he lifted from Neil Kinnock the last time he tried to run.

[orleans]

31. that killed my love for him way back when. i was terribly disappointed in him. n/t

[LittleClarkie]

10. It seems he often talks a good game and then doesn't vote that way

And he's something of a glory hound. He went around saying that he'd told Kerry how to respond to the bin Laden tape in 2004, when there was no way he could have. The article that reported this (can't remember which one now) sort of chortled about it, actually. It is also said that the most dangerous place in Washington is between Joe Biden and a camera. And watching him in committee I can just imagine.

On a more personal note, I hate it when people smile at you when they don't mean it. Sometimes when he's questioning a nominee in committee, he'll smile when he's trying to back them into a corner with his questions. I find that annoying.

Oh, and one more thing. He announced way to early, as if being a nominee for president would mean that people would listen to him. He likes it when he's getting attention. But a serious candidate for president wouldn't have announced before 2006.

[Sadie5]

14. Big Corporate money

Helps Joe get elected. Especially MBNA which has now been sold to another credit card company. Those sky high interest rates made me take a second look at Joe's rhetoric.

[Coexist]

57. right on the money - that is my beef with him

he also seems to enjoy hearing himself speak. Sort of "I am the smartest person in the room, listen to what I have to say."

And his overexposure on Sunday talk shows is mind-numbing.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

12. He makes used car salesmen seem honest. n/t

[hexola]

13. The Rave Act...

Kind of blew it with the younger crowd...

http://www.drugpolicy.org/communities/raveact/

The RAVE Act which threatens to squash live music and free speech was passed in 2003 when it was tacked onto an unrelated child protection bill. In 2004 there were two additional pieces of legislation considered - the CLEAN-UP Act and the Ecstasy Awareness Act - that threatened to widen the laws to prosecute anyone who holds an event and fails to prevent illicit drug use.

Senator Joe Biden (D-DE) forced the controversial legislation commonly known as the "RAVE" Act through both houses of Congress as an attachment to an unrelated child abduction bill.

[FrenchieCat]

15. a Self promoting big mouth who votes wrong on important issues....

Joe Likes to carry a big stick called his mouth....but when it comes time to actually get something done, Joe is nowhere to be found.

He's been in the senate since 1972. Got elected when he was 29, his claim to fame. Total Washington insider, far as I can tell.

Kept seeing him on Charlie Rose during the lead up to the Iraq War back in 2002-03...and I remember him being so very scared to speak up against what was happening...he would say one thing, another guest would counter him and he'd agree. So he was soft when he could have been strong! That's not a leader in my book....

Plus he also hogs Sunday morning Teevee to the point of adnauseum.

add to that a Lousy Iraq plan...."we should carve up their country for them" (speaking like a real occupier)....

Calls himself a Foreign policy expert, but I'm missing to what he's ever really done to have earned that title besides sitting in some rooms talking....and jetting to some foreign countries every now and then.

I heard his son is serving, so I guess that would make him an expert....or so he thinks! :eyes:

In other words, I ain't impressed!

[Erika]

16. I wasn't impressed with his handling of the Thomas hearings

At all.

[bemildred]

17. Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas hearings.

That was all I ever needed to know about Joe.

[Auntie Bush]

18. OK...I'm convinced!

At least I know WHY no one seems to like him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

19. The most dangerous place in Washington, D.C.

is between Joe Biden and a TV camera. The guy is such a publicity hound, and he's so full of himself... I'm surprised he isn't airborne most of the time from the hot air he generates. Tie a wicker basket to his feet and he'd win first place in the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

[beaconess]

20. Three Words: Justice Clarence Thomas

How a Democratic chairman of a Democratic-controlled Judiciary Committee in a Democratic Senate could have allowed that man to get out of Committee is beyond me.

I will never forgive him for that.

[wordpix]

22. that really IS an issue---Big Baggage

[Erika]

23. Yep

It was like he slapped Anita Hill in the face.

[wordpix]

21. at risk of being flamed: he says he has been to Iraq and ME many times & comes off as an expert

I think he's been there about 20 times. He has sounded very knowledgeable to me on Iraq and I do think he's working on a solution to BushCo's Quagmire. He has certainly savaged BushCo for their dangerous moronic war and bungling of it.

[FrenchieCat]

25. He's an expert cause the

Media says he is.....which is why he's on all of the talk shows all of the time. Was he on last Sunday? I would bet he was. Hell he made me stopped watching them...well him and Lieberman.

Going to a country 100 times doesn't neccessarily make one an expert....it's what you do once you get there. Photo ops don't teach you much, last I heard. Hell, O'lielly's been there, and so has Hannity, and...?

[Atman]

59. Been to IRAQ or "The Green Zone?"

All of these bloviating congressmen who claim they know the situation in Iraq because they've visited, are full of shit. The military flies them in, they get the harrowing ride from the airport to the Green Zone, during which they're told how scary it is, and from that they think they've "been to Iraq, and seen the horrors." Which is when they inevitably say "But I've seen all the good being done, too!" Which actually is just a reference to what they say in the GZ, because damned sure none of them is actually being allowed in country to see the real deal. All BushCo would need is one of his money changers to get killed by a roadside bomb while touring a village, and Bushie's funding would be cut faster than you can say "Bush is a liar." So they're sequestered in the GZ, where they enjoy bowling, nice restaurants, a fancy hotel...and then wonder why everyone is so upset at the progress in Iraq. Hell, it's just SWELL over there. As long as you're on the correct side to the wall.

.

[leftofthedial]

24. he is a whore for the banking/credit card/insurance industries

and with the bankruptcy bill, sold the American public down the river to benefit his real constituents

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

26. Because his hat size and IQ match. (nt)

[thereismore]

28. his sucking up to Torquemada Gonzales during senate hearings. nt

[1932]

29. Clarence Thomas

The corroborating witnesses were ready to testify, but Biden called an early vote. He didn't care about the truth. He probably cut a deal and let Bush have Thomas in exchange of who knows what. But, considering Bush v. Gore went 5-4, I wish Biden hadn't made that deal.

[orleans]

32. exactly. why does biden hate america?? n/t

[IndianaGreen]

33. Are you familiar with Biden's record?

I suggest to look at that first before wondering about his lack of popularity.

[Auntie Bush]

35. Well if I followed your lousy advice

I would be the ONLY one to have found out about his major short commings...but since I didn't ...now many more people also learned a lot more about him. Also, look at all the posters who got to ridicule him and I bet they feel better. How many people would have bothered to look up Joe's record? I'm open to apologies.

[DeepModem Mom]

36. IMO...

1. Biden is a bit of a showboater, and because of that is ridiculed by many political observers. 2. Very few in the political arena meet the narrow ideological boundaries and standard of perfection imposed by many here at DU.

That said, Biden is, in fact, a Democrat, with experience and valuable expertise garnered from his years in the Senate.

[LoZoccolo]

38. Because everybody is unpopular here on DU.

When someone's idea is "activism" is sitting around complaining with a bunch of like-minded people, the act of "disapproving" is like one of the most powerful things they can do.

[Hippo_Tron]

40. IMO, allowing Clarence Thomas through is a good reason to disapprove of Biden

Some of the complaints on DU are a bit ridiculous but there's no excuse for allowing Clarence Thomas to get on the bench.

[LoZoccolo]

41. Paul Wellstone's a bigot, voted for the Defense of Marraige Act. n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

43. He also honestly admits that he did it to get re-elected and regrets it

He says that he couldn't oppose Welfare Reform and DOMA at the same time and win re-election. Biden's been in a safe seat for years so what is his excuse?

[LoZoccolo]

44. Wellstone's a spineless flip-flopper.

See? You can do that with anybody.

[Hippo_Tron]

45. That still doesn't explain Biden's allowing Clarence Thomas on the bench

[LoZoccolo]

46. No, it doesn't, does it. n/t

[lwcon]

39. I used to like Biden until...

...this: http://vastleft.blogspot.com/2006/04/hey-bigotry-lovers.html

[wisteria]

42. He is a long winded ham IMO. n/t

[Bombtrack]

48. No member of the Imus-ass-kiss crew is popular with me.

Of its ranks I actually am a much bigger pseudo-fan/tolerator of Tweety Matthews than someone like Biden.

[Senator]

50. January 7th, 2001 -- "Nobody asked us."

On Meet the Press, Russert asked why no Senator would support the challenge to the unlawful Florida electors made by the Cong. Black Caucus and others in the House.

Two Senators said in unison, "Nobody asked us." They were Biden and Kerry.

Aside from the veracity of their answer (they were begged, by thousands, myself included), it betrayed dereliction of their duty to make an independent judgement -- as detailed in Justice Breyer's dissent to the BushvGore edict.

Biden is among the most craven of the LieberDem members of the DC/Euphemedia Analstocracy.

----

[Donna Zen]

51. Fact:

Those challenges were written at Salon's Table Talk. I know because I played a very small part in their creation. Very small. But I do know that the product, that which was eventually read, was hand delivered to every member. The delivery of those papers was no small matter. In fact, I was amazed at the connections that were made in DC.

At the time, I really thought we would be successful because we had some positive feedback coming in from various offices. Ha! Little did I know.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

54. Corporate whore sell-out. nt

[laylah]

55. Being owned by the credit card companies

benefits HIM while hurting many Americans (re: Bankruptcy bill).

[Human Torch]

56. The Condi confirmation hearings...

...his "I want you to know that I am going to vote for you, but first I am going to admonish you" crap.

Also his "It seems that you and I are engaged in some kind of intricate Kabuki dance" comments during the Roberts SCOTUS confirmation hearings.

There's more, but those two will do for starters.

[Buzz Clik]

58. Unpopular? Not necessarily. There are a lot of noisy people here and a lot of sheep.

Somebody says something horrible about anyone, and the gang bang starts.

It's meaningless.