SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
What Biden Means
I was on Fox News this morning about what the Biden VP nomination means. You can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2U62uk5cZs
If you don't want to watch the clip, let me summarize my thoughts
with a quick rundown of the good, bad and ugly of Biden's nomination.
Aug 23, 2008
I was on Fox News this morning about what the Biden VP nomination means. You can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2U62uk5cZs
If you don't want to watch the clip, let me summarize my thoughts
with a quick rundown of the good, bad and ugly of Biden's nomination.
The Good: As the Drum Major Institute shows, Biden has a fairly
progressive record on basic economic issues, and has gotten more
progressive on specific issues like trade. He's also been a strong
voice opposing unilateral war against Iran. And rhetorically, he seems
comfortable painting a stark contrast between Democrats and Republicans
on issues.
The Bad: He is one of the most arrogant and conceited people in
Washington - one of the jokes in D.C. when I was there is that Biden
uses the term "I" more than anyone else. Because of this
self-importance, he consequently shoots his mouth off in ways that can
undermine progressives. For example, he has made insulting racial
comments about African Americans and Indians. This might not only be
dredged up by Republicans, but Biden may commit additional errors in
his new platform as VP nominee. Additionally, Biden is an insider's
insider, having spent most of his life in Washington, D.C. That doesn't
exactly underscore Obama's message of change.
The Ugly: He was one of the most ardent supporters of the credit
card-industry written Bankrupty Bill of 2005, which was one of the most
regressive pieces of economic legislation in the last generation. And
though he cites his foreign policy experience as an asset, he used his
position as one of Democrats' top foreign policy voices to support the
Iraq War.
So, all in all, the Biden choice is a shade on the good side of
mediocre, though Obama's willingness to anoint a senator who voted for
two landmark travesties - the Bankruptcy Bill and Iraq War - gives us
some disturbing clues about the Illinois senator's attitude toward the
economic progressive movement and the antiwar movement. It also shows
how much work those movements have in front of them - and how, in
particular, the antiwar movement's strategy of focusing all attention
on Republicans has actually helped create the situation whereby the
Democratic Party feels perfectly comfortable rewarding supposed Serious
Foreign Policy Voics like Biden even after they voted for the war.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
David Sirota
David Sirota is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author living in Denver, Colorado. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work helping create the story for the film DON'T LOOK UP, which became one of the most widely viewed movies in Netflix's history. He is the founder and editor of The Daily Poster, an editor at large at Jacobin Magazine and a columnist at The Guardian. He served as Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign speechwriter in 2020. Sirota is the author of "Back to Our Future" and "Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back". His website: www.davidsirota.com.
I was on Fox News this morning about what the Biden VP nomination means. You can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2U62uk5cZs
If you don't want to watch the clip, let me summarize my thoughts
with a quick rundown of the good, bad and ugly of Biden's nomination.
The Good: As the Drum Major Institute shows, Biden has a fairly
progressive record on basic economic issues, and has gotten more
progressive on specific issues like trade. He's also been a strong
voice opposing unilateral war against Iran. And rhetorically, he seems
comfortable painting a stark contrast between Democrats and Republicans
on issues.
The Bad: He is one of the most arrogant and conceited people in
Washington - one of the jokes in D.C. when I was there is that Biden
uses the term "I" more than anyone else. Because of this
self-importance, he consequently shoots his mouth off in ways that can
undermine progressives. For example, he has made insulting racial
comments about African Americans and Indians. This might not only be
dredged up by Republicans, but Biden may commit additional errors in
his new platform as VP nominee. Additionally, Biden is an insider's
insider, having spent most of his life in Washington, D.C. That doesn't
exactly underscore Obama's message of change.
The Ugly: He was one of the most ardent supporters of the credit
card-industry written Bankrupty Bill of 2005, which was one of the most
regressive pieces of economic legislation in the last generation. And
though he cites his foreign policy experience as an asset, he used his
position as one of Democrats' top foreign policy voices to support the
Iraq War.
So, all in all, the Biden choice is a shade on the good side of
mediocre, though Obama's willingness to anoint a senator who voted for
two landmark travesties - the Bankruptcy Bill and Iraq War - gives us
some disturbing clues about the Illinois senator's attitude toward the
economic progressive movement and the antiwar movement. It also shows
how much work those movements have in front of them - and how, in
particular, the antiwar movement's strategy of focusing all attention
on Republicans has actually helped create the situation whereby the
Democratic Party feels perfectly comfortable rewarding supposed Serious
Foreign Policy Voics like Biden even after they voted for the war.
David Sirota
David Sirota is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author living in Denver, Colorado. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work helping create the story for the film DON'T LOOK UP, which became one of the most widely viewed movies in Netflix's history. He is the founder and editor of The Daily Poster, an editor at large at Jacobin Magazine and a columnist at The Guardian. He served as Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign speechwriter in 2020. Sirota is the author of "Back to Our Future" and "Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back". His website: www.davidsirota.com.
I was on Fox News this morning about what the Biden VP nomination means. You can watch it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2U62uk5cZs
If you don't want to watch the clip, let me summarize my thoughts
with a quick rundown of the good, bad and ugly of Biden's nomination.
The Good: As the Drum Major Institute shows, Biden has a fairly
progressive record on basic economic issues, and has gotten more
progressive on specific issues like trade. He's also been a strong
voice opposing unilateral war against Iran. And rhetorically, he seems
comfortable painting a stark contrast between Democrats and Republicans
on issues.
The Bad: He is one of the most arrogant and conceited people in
Washington - one of the jokes in D.C. when I was there is that Biden
uses the term "I" more than anyone else. Because of this
self-importance, he consequently shoots his mouth off in ways that can
undermine progressives. For example, he has made insulting racial
comments about African Americans and Indians. This might not only be
dredged up by Republicans, but Biden may commit additional errors in
his new platform as VP nominee. Additionally, Biden is an insider's
insider, having spent most of his life in Washington, D.C. That doesn't
exactly underscore Obama's message of change.
The Ugly: He was one of the most ardent supporters of the credit
card-industry written Bankrupty Bill of 2005, which was one of the most
regressive pieces of economic legislation in the last generation. And
though he cites his foreign policy experience as an asset, he used his
position as one of Democrats' top foreign policy voices to support the
Iraq War.
So, all in all, the Biden choice is a shade on the good side of
mediocre, though Obama's willingness to anoint a senator who voted for
two landmark travesties - the Bankruptcy Bill and Iraq War - gives us
some disturbing clues about the Illinois senator's attitude toward the
economic progressive movement and the antiwar movement. It also shows
how much work those movements have in front of them - and how, in
particular, the antiwar movement's strategy of focusing all attention
on Republicans has actually helped create the situation whereby the
Democratic Party feels perfectly comfortable rewarding supposed Serious
Foreign Policy Voics like Biden even after they voted for the war.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.