Why we call him Joe Biden (D-MBNA) - this copy posted to Delaware forum-

[cyberpj]

The Bankruptcy Bill:
Biden and Carper (both DE Senators) were two of the 14 Democrats who thwarted efforts to prevent passage of the federal bankruptcy bill.

Biden's been carrying MBNA's water on this issue for years. In 2000, when the plan was effectively stalled because a real Democrat named Bill Clinton was in the White House, he even tried to attach the bankruptcy changes to a foreign aid bill.

Campaign Contributions:
MBNA does employ a lot of people in Delaware. True -- but could it also be because MBNA is Biden's biggest contributor -- by a good margin. According to Opensecrets.org, Biden raised some $147,700 in contributions from MBNA employees from 1999-2004, his biggest source of campaign cash.

Private Personal Profits:
If you're not troubled by campaign contributions, there's more. Eyebrows were raised in 1996 when Biden sold his house for $1.2 million -- his asking price and more than a couple of a similar neighboring homes went for around the same time -- to an MBNA executive named John Cochran.

Family Employment:
In 2003, the New York Times reported this:

The company also has ties to Senator Biden's son, R. Hunter Biden, a lawyer in Washington. Hunter Biden joined MBNA as a management trainee after graduating from Yale Law School and rose to be an executive vice president. Now a partner in Oldaker, Biden & Belair, a lobbying and law firm, he receives a $100,000 annual retainer from MBNA to advise it on "the Internet and privacy law," Mr. Freeh said. He added that Hunter Biden was not a registered lobbyist and did not lobby on legislation for the company.

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/001551.html

By the way, keep an eye out for another son, Beau Biden, who is currently being groomed to take over Dad's political career:

Upcoming 2006 Delware Elections:

For ATTORNEY GENERAL:
Currently M. Jane Brady (R)
Joseph "Beau" Biden III (D) - Attorney, National Guard Veteran & Son of US Sen. Biden
http://www.politics1.com/de.htm

Posted: March 28, 2005
POLI-TICKING
Speech? Speech?
Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III flew solo the other night, speaking for himself and not for his father-the-senator when he keynoted the Sussex County Democrats' spring dinner in Seaford.
http://www.delawaregrapevine.com/3-05politicking3.asp

Posted: Oct. 19, 2004
IT'S FATHER-AND-SON POLITICS FOR THE BIDENS
By Celia Cohen
Grapevine Political Writer

U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. is out there making the political headlines he always does in an election season, but this time his son Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III is turning up increasingly in the fine print.

Joe and Beau. Joe Biden is two years into his sixth term, a state record, and so much a part of the national Democratic constellation that he keeps getting mentioned for secretary of state if John F. Kerry can pull this election out. Beau Biden is a Wilmington lawyer, a former federal prosecutor almost universally regarded as being on the threshold of his own political career.

(snip)
Almost standard these days, Joe Biden invoked Beau Biden's name as a means of personalizing why foreign policy is so critical in the presidential election. Beau Biden is a lieutenant in the Delaware Army National Guard, and Joe Biden said the decisions the country makes will determine whether his son goes to Iraq and gets the support he needs if he does.

http://www.delawaregrapevine.com/10-04joe&beau.asp

? Late 2004 ?
Delaware Senator Joseph Biden's son Beau is on active duty; although Beau Biden has no control over he is deployed, he has not been sent to Iraq...
http://www.bowlingfortruth.com/fahrenheit911/warsignup.htm

[gulfcoastliberal]

1. Scumbag?

Dem pols like him are the reason I've changed my registration to Indpendent.

[peacetalksforall]

2. As another Independent (who is a Wellstone Democrat which

carries a grand distinction with being a Biden or Leiberman Democrat), I say a big NO to Biden.

When Republicans favor certain Dems...be forewarned.

I don't get the Hillary thing....they may want to set her up to bring her down. Who knows. Maybe she has morphed.

Biden only rises to the occasion on occasion.

That MBNA fiasco was the last.

NO TO BIDEN. His alliances are scary. Deep pockets.

[cyberpj]

4. I don't get the Hillary thing either - not sure if it's time and she could

do it or if it's a set up to bring her down. Because of this administration and all I've learned I don't trust anyone now.

Ultimate desire - NO PARTIES. Equal campaign funds for all and every man runs on his own resume, issues and ideas. Wow. what a concept - sort of a Democracy, huh?

[cyberpj]

3. well...at worst, he's dealing with The Dark Side anyway...

I have tried to cultivate some understanding of the power of having power and "capital" but I admit I find it hard to forigive those who abuse those things. In other words, I am sympathetic to the pull to "take advantage" but still don't want to believe people are ultimately powerless to avoid it.

I'm thinking of the difference between Biden and Conyers. Who has served longer? Why does one bow down and the other continue to defend the meek? Is it really still a race issue? Will wisdom come with age? Can we offer a "snap out of it" moment before we write these people off?

Hmmm.......

[LynneSin]

5. Then I'll share my link of how most pols are in bed with some evil corp.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x1870613

I get so tired of everyone acting like this is a shock that a democrat gets money from a corporation. THEY ALL DO. And if you look at their voting record vs. their contributions - they're all evil.

I find this the stupidest reason to not vote for Joe Biden because if I don't vote for him I'll probably end up voting for some other 'corporate whore'. I had a comment from a Pennsylvania which basically said that DE senators are just evil because they support Finance/CC companies but he/she was somehow ok that his/her representative was in bed with the pharmaceuticals. How that makes sense is beyond me since we really don't need credit card bills but many of us do need the drugs that Pharma make so expensive for us to afford.

I've met Joe Biden and he's a really decent person, smart as hell and a good speaker. However, despite that I have no desire to vote for him for president. I'm tired of these 'elitist' style senators running for president. Although we could get into the problems with election fraud as the cause for loss, in reality Gore and Kerry should have whooped Bush's butt but failed to because they seemed so scattered when the right was targeting them on harsh issues (example Kerry and the Swift Ass idiots). If we've learned anything from the last 10 elections and that is we need a charismatic candidate preferably someone who is a governor (my support is strongly for Ed Rendell, but Bill Richardson and Wes Clark stand strong with me too).

Biden is a decent, but flawed senator. He'll piss me off but I'll vote for him as senator again because I've lived in Pennsylvania and I've had Rick Santorum as my senator. Every politician out there (cept maybe Corzine - he bought his seat with his own money) has a close personal relationship with a corporation. So if we apply the Joe Biden standards to just about every candidate we might as well just repeal the 22nd amendment as ask George Bush to be 'King for Life'. Personally, I like to make mental lists of the candidates and look at all aspects before I make a consideration. Joe just isn't strong on that list for a potential candidate, but like Kerry & Gore before him - I'll support him if he would happen to become the Democratic candidate

[cyberpj]

6. Hi LynneSin - But just because they all do it doesn't make it right...

Remember our Moms? "If your friend jumped off a bridge would you do it too?" ;)

I've met Joe as well and he's done a good job for Dems here but I have a couple of problems with him and many others "serving". (Because, as you said, 'they're all evil'.)

First, it's not exactly the public service it used to be. These guys not only make good money with good benefits and lots of freebies but now they can line their campaign coffers with corporate funds that never come without strings attached (seen or unseen). Even after leaving this so-called public service, they get a cushy job and big money to have their name added to some company's letterhead and then make even more money writing books about their experiences. Our once humble public servants have been turned into money hungry media whores.

Second, unless we start somewhere by calling them on it and highlighting the fact that it's wrong it will never change. Unless we start withholding votes based on some blatent conflict of interests they'll never understand how angry it makes us that they have placed themselves in a position to choose corporate benefits over benefits for the people they are supposed to serve.

Last, for now anyway, I continue to desire term limits because these guys get too entrenched in the game there when they stay so long. Making buddies and getting a rep can help, I agree, but it also hurts when that person continues to be re-elected just because he's been there so long and has connections. It encourages lazy voting by people who just pick the one who's already there. Fresh faces every couple of terms would encourage more people to get into it, would encourage more voters to learn about the candidates, and would encourage the end of long-term buddy relationships in the beltway that corrupt honest work on legislation. These guys should volunteer to serve and then move on --not make it their lifetime career and become identified with the position for life.

Joe is considering the run now because he's made lots of good press on Bolton and his Iraq commentary and because he's a Dem who's considered moderate enough to bring in the disgruntled Republicans. And I think he's also ready to open the Senate position to the next Biden...Beau. He's learned so well how to play the game that he's even setting up his own little Delaware dynasty and that also bothers me because the son will come into the game already holding the same cards his father held.

Maybe we shouldn't pick on Joe but we've got to start somewhere and Joe is the one I know best. Real campaign finance reform and term limits would go a long way to clean up Washington politics and I think we have to put that up there right after fixing the election fraud even though I know it will be even more difficult since the fixers are the benefactors.

[LynneSin]

7. You're absolutely right but...

...instead of lodging all the blame on Joe Biden and his association with MBNA, why not instead pull our focus where it's really important and that is the corporations buying of our government.

As for Beau taking over dad's position (and I've met Beau and seen him around a few times - that guy is a campaigner), I've come to conclusion that the Delaware democratic party is a lost cause. I mean, they won't even try to run someone against Mike Castle and there are no primaries - pretty much you're told when it's time to move up to a bigger position. We can pretty much guarentee that Jim Carney will be our next governor and Jack Markell will take over after Carney.

I figured at least in Pennsylvania or Maryland I can make a difference getting horrible repukes out of office!

[cyberpj]

8. Good point. Is there some organization working on this?

I would love to add my support.

One other problem I have is too many action groups and not enough focus. I get swamped by DNC, PDA, moveon org, act for change, common cause, impeach bush, raw story, buzz flash, thedeanpeople, not to mention the individual congresspeople (Kennedy, Kerry, Edwards, Clark, Boxer, Conyers, and on and on...) ---well, you get my drift, right? --you probably get many of the same mailings.

Then there are the election fraud groups (too many to list) and the 9-11 Truth groups (also numerous) in which I also participate.

I want ONE PLACE to throw my money and support and ideas and actions and for some reason that feels impossible lately. Could be I'm just feeling frazzled lately but am I wrong?

All of this is one reason I love supporting ACLU. They're one huge group into almost everything I'm into and I know any money I give them will really make a difference.

Don't we need to round up and unify so many liberal, progressive and Dem groups to have more impact?

[cyberpj]

9. Found one - I think.

http://www.corporatepolicy.org/