This IS another of many things that WILL come up in Joe Biden’s journey to thru the 2019/2020 Presidential nomination race…
It isn’t gonna derail his efforts….
Biden’s point is in order to get things done in Congress?
You sometimes have to work with people who see things different…
Doing what Donald Trump is doing won’t get you very far…..
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and a few other 2020 presidential candidates have criticized Joe Biden for bragging about how well he worked with segregationists, but for the most part, his fellow Democratic politicians have given him a pass.
“I think that authenticity is the most important characteristic that candidates have to convey to the American people, and Joe Biden is authentic,” House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday morning.
She added that while “an issue like this” is “important,” it’s “not central to what the election is about.”
“I’m not sure he needs to apologize,” said Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who has endorsed the former vice president.
House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking African American member of Congress, said he worked with the notorious segregationist senator Strom Thurmond his whole life: “You don’t have to agree with people to work with them.”
At a fundraiser Tuesday night, Biden talked about the importance of reaching a “consensus” in politics and being civil to one another, using his relationships with the late Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.) as a model. The two men both fiercely opposed desegregation.
Biden, who was elected to the Senate in 1973, bragged about how Eastland treated him with respect: “He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’”
A major part of Biden’s pitch to voters is that he’s able to work across the aisle and get things done. And he’s long touted his relationships with unlikely allies, including former segregationist Sen. Jesse Helms and former Vice President Dick Cheney. In 2003, he delivered a eulogy at Thurmond’s funeral, calling him “a product of his time” who later moved “to the good side.”
But the part of Biden’s comments that was newer ― and made him seem more tone-deaf ― was his boast that Eastland never called him “boy.” And it’s a comment that many Democrats, conveniently, aren’t addressing…..
image…thegriuo.com
It’s the last part of the paragraph that matters.
Completely tone-deaf and should be a warning sign.
“He never called me boy.” Gee Joe, I wonder why..
If he wanted to talk about bipartisanship he could have talked about working with respected Republicans, not disgraced segregationists.
You should also fix the headlines.
Bipartisanship? No.
He was in the same “party” as these segregationists while serving in the Senate together.
his point is about now CG…
If he wants to talk about now, he could have talked about now.
He was talking about the early 70s, wistfully, reminding people that he is actually very old to be running for President.
The problem is he likes to talk and reminisce about the past so much.
He’s going to get hammered for that by his fellow Democrats.
Well yeah see he’s the leading candidate so of course he is going to get “hammered” by the other candidates.
You find something odd about that?
We will have to see how he reacts to it.
They will be coming for him far harder than Bernie came for Hillary or the ’12 GOP crowd came for Romney at first or how everyone except Jeb just ignored Trump at first in those debates.
By the way, the local Republican organization, of which I am no longer a member, (but remain on the email list) is hosting “watch parties” for the Democrat debates the two nights next week.
They are really looking forward to it. That’s how (over) confident Trump supporters are about this field. They think it’s going to be a hoot.
My hunch is that they are not going to find watching the debate to be that fun and they are likely to be pretty annoyed by the whole thing.
Agreed on the debates and GOPer’s CG….
Joe Biden has reached out to Cory Booker…
He will NOT be doing many apologies …
But will seek to explain his point of view on things….
“Joe Biden called a rival in the 2020 presidential campaign, Sen. Cory Booker, to try to smooth over tensions late Wednesday night after Mr. Booker said that the former vice president should apologize for his warm comments about segregationist senators,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Biden made the call after Mr. Booker spent 20 minutes on CNN lambasting his remarks… While the tone between the men was conciliatory, the former vice president stood by his remarks Thursday while his allies defended them.”….
Politicalwire….
Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus huddled with Joe Biden Thursday night, as the former vice president and 2020 hopeful remained defiant amid criticism over his comments about working with segregationists in the Senate.
Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), who serves as co-chairman of Biden’s campaign, confirmed the meeting to POLITICO as he left the Capitol Thursday night after a lengthy vote series.
“It’s just a few people,” Richmond said.
The meeting had been previously scheduled for members to discuss criminal justice reform….
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Members of the CBC jumped to Biden’s defense on Wednesday, even as other Democratic presidential candidates piled on, demanding he apologize….
More…