Senator Joe Biden..Take a good hard look, you might like.....

[monmouth]

This post is not about bashing any other candidates. I refuse to do that, but I would like those of you who are not exactly enthralled by the top tier to take a good hard look at Senator Joe Biden. I read an interesting thread a while back depicting Joe’s first run for the senate. He wasn’t even on the charts, but slowly, surely, and with good organization backing him, he won.

I resent, in a way, the media and many of the Democratic operatives doing their best to foist the top tier candidates on me. I’m no longer interested, they’ve made their game plan known, and for me, the thrill is gone. The top tier have become predictable, hard to believe at times with the promises of everything from immediately stopping the war, pulling out in a year or two, more benefits to the middle-class and so on. It has become rhetoric and doubtful.

I want experience, I want someone who needs no “on the job training”, I want a candidate who knows how to talk and compromise with the other side of the aisle. If thirteen politicos from MA alone saw fit to endorse him, I want to take a second, perhaps third look at Senator Biden. Condoleza Rice could take lessons from this man. Joe is highly respected in the circles of foreign diplomacy, generates interesting and workable new ideas. Senator Biden has been around Washington a long time, he’s overcome staggering obstacles. He has probably forgotten more than we will ever know of what that mess involves and what it will take to clean it up. I like his straight and frank manner, you’re going to hear the bad news along with the good, and he’ll let you know in advance.

An enormous job awaits the new resident going into the WH January, ‘09. Joe knows “who’s good at what”, listens to his constituents and appreciates what they have to say. I’m just saying, if the top tier is no longer “thrilling” you, take a look at Joe. You might like what you see..

[Tejanocrat]

1. I can't evaluate Biden without considering his role in depriving the middle class of bankruptcy

Like nearly all legislation supported by the Bush administration, there is keen irony in the title of the Bankruptcy "Abuse" Prevention and Consumer "Protection" Act of 2005.

Make no mistake, the Act was passed to address a completely phony "crisis" of "bankruptcy abuse" (the only bankruptcy crisis was the crisis of increasing bankruptcies sought by good tax-paying citizens whose financial collapse was precipitated by exploding health care costs and by single parents who ex-spouses had reneged on their child support obligations). Likewise, this Act did nothing to "protect" consumers; it was a pure giveaway to the Credit Card industry at the expense of the most vulnerable American consumers (disproportionately affecting racial minorities at five times the rate of other Americans).

All the Republicans in the Senate voted for this hideous law, and they were joined by 18 Democrats (Baucus, Bayh, Biden, Bingaman, Byrd, Carper, Conrad, Inouye, Johnson, Kohl, Landrieu, Lincoln, Nelson, Nelson, Pryor, Reid, Salazar, and Stabenow).

But that's not the worst of it. There were numerous amendments to the law proposed by Democrats to make the bill less anti-consumer, and Biden voted against most of them.

Biden rejected Kennedy's amendment to preserve the old bankruptcy protections for people who had been bankrupted by medical expenses.

Biden rejected Akaka's amendment to require the Credit Card industry to fuller disclosure of the risks of bankruptcy from overextended credit.

Biden rejected Durbin's amendment to preserve the old bankruptcy protections for people serving in the military.

Biden rejected Fiengold's amendment to protect the homes of the elderly from foreclosure.

Biden sat silently through the debate on other equally significant amendments which would have mitigated the effect of this horrible law and then didn't vote either way on those amendments as they failed along party lines.

There is good in Joe Biden, but he doesn't share my values.

[PatSeg]

3. Like many Democrats, I was against the bankruptcy bill

When I look at the candidates, I first look at individual aspects of their careers such as voting records. Then I step back and get the overview, comparing the pros and cons, along with the candidates character and electability. They all have things I disagree with, but I can't discount them all.

We tend to look at voting records in terms of "yea's" and "nays", but legislation is far more complicated than that. There often are a lot of compromises made in order to get something you think is right. In the case of the bankruptcy bill, Biden's first concern was how it affected women who relied on child support to survive. The old bill often allowed deadbeat fathers to write off past child support payments. The woman had to hire a lawyer and go to bankruptcy court and even then she had to wait behind major creditors to get her share, IF she got anything at all.

With the old bill, the debtor could stop making child support payments during bankruptcy proceedings. An abused woman couldn't even file a restraining order against her ex-husband until the bankruptcy was completed.

I do not like the bill as it stands right now and it clearly needs to be changed, but when I look at Joe Biden's record overall, he surpasses the other candidates by a long shot.

[ginchinchili]

5. I've heard enough criticism about Biden and the bankruptcy bill.

a few years ago I went into business with my brother-in-law and his brother. It was a small gas station. I owned 24%, my sister & brother-in-law 24% and the brother, Rick, 51%. I invested a big chunk of change into this thing and just after I did profits began to decline. As it turned out, Rick was skimming money off the top. In addition to this, he was running up bills with our vendors, including our gas supplier. With our gas supplier alone we owed over $150,000. He was doing this without our knowledge, every week taking the money out of the profits leading us to believe he was paying our bills.

Then one day he announced to us we were closing down. Soon afterward we learned that he was filing for bankruptcy and that all the money we thought was going toward our expenses was actually going into his pocket. This was just months before the bill Biden voted in favor of went into effect. Had it been in effect, he wouldn't have been able to file for bankruptcy. He did, got away with it, and is now debt free, thanks to some well-planned help from his banker wife, not considered a partner in our business. He's now living good and working on new get-rich-quick schemes. Now I ask you, why shouldn't people be responsible for the debts they run up? Now if those are your values, I'd much prefer Sen. Biden's, because I believe that personal responsibility is as good thing. John Kennedy was a strong believer in personal responsibility and so is Sen. Biden. I agree with them.

The bill has problems, I agree, but those can be revisited while the Democrats are in charge. And I remind you, the Democrats ARE in charge and I haven't heard any clamor for revisiting this bankruptcy bill. So if you don't like it, why put it all on Sen. Biden? What's Hillary done about it? Obama? Anyone? I think to pass on a Democrat who has proven his stripes again and again and is the most experienced of all the candidates, particularly at foreign policy, at a time when we are at war that could easily spread into a regional conflict if not worse, is simply very, very unwise. Please, consider your priorities.

[murbley40]

12. Let me tell you ......

I am one of those moms who would have benefited from this bill if it had existed during the time I was raising my kids. It is frustrating enough to have your ex making it as hard as he can by not paying child support in a timely manner,but when my children were growing up,in my state it was very difficult for a woman to collect back support,all the judges were men,and usually ruled in favor of the men. My children's father would only pay just before he was to appear in court and then only a pittance of what he owed and the judge would say he was trying. He had a small business and guess what,you guessed it, if not for my family and friends heaven only knows what would have become of my children. This very bill would have prevented them from having to get in line behind all of the creditors. By the way he only paid $15.00 per child a week and he was thousands of $ in arrears. We had 2 daughters who are now 44 and 40 years old and doing very well.
By the way I lived in Delaware and still do.

[PatSeg]

14. Yours is not an uncommon story

I was fortunate that my ex was very dependable when it came to his children, but I had many friends who were not so lucky. Too many men withhold child support to punish the ex-wife, but often show up with lavish gifts for the kids on holidays. Even that is sporadic though.

[gateley]

10. I wouldn't be so sure Biden doesn't share your values. He has consistently

authored and sponsored bills which are supportive and protective of people in need, including victims of crime and abuse, veterans, teachers.

I also believe if one were to look further into the bankruptcy bill and follow its progression, more extenuating circumstances would become apparent.

There are parts of the bill that I, too, strongly disagree with, but I have faith in this man to rectify those.

He is a person of great integrity and sense of right and wrong - there is much more to him than this one issue.

If you were truly "evaluating" him, you would have discovered much to admire and support.

[PatSeg]

2. I agree

You summed it up very well.

I'll respond the the first comment on this thread later as I do not have time right now.

[mrigirl]

4. I agree w/ you also but...

when you step back and look at all that Biden has accomplished in his career, the good he has done, to me in my eyes, outweighs this one lousy bill. I agree it could use some changes but I understand completely why Biden voted for it. It was to protect women against non-paying fathers for support and to protect abused women who had exes dealing w/ bankruptcy.

I work in medicine and I understand completely how much a MRI and CT scan cost the comsumer. I know how much it costs to care for a terminal patient or special needs patient. Even w/ the best insurance, co-pays, etc are sky-high. Filing bankruptcy due to medical costs in my opinion should be allowed. Filing Bankruptcy for being irresponsible w/ your debt, no way! I think if this bill where to be amemended to allow bankruptcy for catastrophic illness and expense, everyone would feel a little better.

[PatSeg]

6. Also, I think congress needs to take on the credit card

industry. They are out of control and need to be regulated. They can change interest rates whenever they like and for any reason, which often can push people into a bankruptcy situation. I think before congress revisits bankruptcy, they should first pass stricter laws regarding these lone-shark practices. With new and fairer regulations in place, then they can go back to the bankruptcy bill and make it more balanced.

[jillan]

7. They started to do that about one year ago. I wonder what ever happened to that.

[PatSeg]

9. We probably won't see it again until a Democrat is in

the White House.

[jillan]

8. Great post monmouth!

:toast:

[monmouth]

11. Thank you..

[Froward69]

13. Having been on a road trip yesterday

I am slow to reply. Apologies. I was at a regional meeting with Other Democrats, Discussing The National convention next year. one of the topics during the meet-n-greet was the plight of the republicans in our state. It seems they are $300,000 in Debt, just a trickle of donations coming in. They are getting thrown out of their rented headquarters, and under the new Bankruptcy bill Cannot file. Under the old rules they could file bankruptcy and get out of the debt they have accumulated. It was speculation as to how the Repub party chair was getting paid??? if at all.
If you got caught with heavy debt, I am sorry, vote how you feel. however vote democrat. as once we have a like minded individual in the WH. Credit cards, banks, and greedy Insurance comps will have to become consumer friendly again. as we all know their is no such thing as "Market forces" to regulate these industries. I believe once in position to better regulate these industries without repube compromise Joe Biden would be the president to sign thoughtful regulation. to reign in these runaway crooks.

[PatSeg]

15. Oh my

That's a story we won't hear from the media! Thanks for sharing. I feel so badly for those guys being thrown out and all. Gee maybe I should send them a few bucks. Wait a minute let me check......nope, no pigs flying. Guess they're out of luck.