I love Joe Biden and there are several reasons to love the guy. The Fix provides 7 new reasons to love our Veep even more. The provide 7 great quotes he made at Congressman Ed Markey's (D. MA) fundraiser yesterday:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
First, Biden touched on Democrats concerns the minority voter turnout could be low on Election Day and we need to be ready for that:
“There’s a big difference in this race,” Biden said. “Barack Obama’s not at the head of the ticket. And that means those legions of African Americans and Latinos are not automatically going to come out. No one has energized them like Barack Obama. But he’s not on the ticket. So don’t take this one for granted.”
Then he pointed out how Senators Rand Paul (R. KY) & Ted Cruz (R. TX) are making the GOP their bitch:
“Think about this,” he said. “Have you ever seen a time when two freshman senators are able to cower the bulk of the Republican Party in the Senate? That is not hyperbole.”
“On the gun issue, I don’t care what your position is — I called 17 senators out, 9 of whom were Republicans,” he added. “Not one of them offered an explanation on the merits of why they couldn’t vote for the background check. But almost to a person, they said, ‘I don’t want to take on Ted Cruz. I don’t want to take on Rand Paul. They’ll be in my district.’
“I actually said, ‘Are you kidding? These are two freshman,’” Biden added. “This is a different, party folks. They’re not bad guys, and they’re both very bright guys. And I’m not questioning their motive.”
Joe then pointed out how the GOP has just gone off the deep end:
“It’s a pretty simple proposition: The United States of America, and the state of Massachusetts, does not need another Republican in the Senate,” Biden said. “I’m being straight about this. This is not your father’s Republican Party. It really is a fundamentally different party. There’s never been as much distance, at least since I’ve been alive, distance between where the mainstream of the Republican congressional party is and the Democratic Party is. It’s a chasm. It’s a gigantic chasm.”
Biden then had some great things to say about Markey's wife, Rear Admiral Susan J. Blumenthal:
“Folks, Ed Markey has a distinct advantage over the rest of us: He has a psychiatrist for a wife,” he joked. “It’s not often noted, but it is very important. I can think of at least a half a dozen people who I wished had a psychiatrist for a wife.”
And even though he didn't say his name, Biden took a jab at Newt Gingrich:
The vice president described how he, Markey and their wives were standing in line waiting to take a photograph with President Clinton.
“I won’t mention his name, but a very distinguished – not that, a very important congressman who was beating the living devil out of the president, it turned out he had an affair with one of his interns,” Biden said. “I turned to the doctor and I said, ‘Can you explain that to me?’ And she explained it to me. I find it amazing. I find it amazing how she knows human nature so well.”
Note: Gingrich’s second wife Marianne Gingrich has said he had an affair with then-House staffer (not intern) Callista Bisek, who is now his third wife.
Biden also joked with his old pal and former Vice President Al Gore who was also at the fundraiser:
When Gore remarked, “We ran against each other in 1988 for president,” Biden called out, “And you didn’t even notice!” from the side.
“Oh yeah? The hell I didn’t, the hell I didn’t,” Gore responded. “That was quite an educational experience for all of us, and a great campaign.”
And in a "who's cuter" contest between Gore and Vicki Kennedy, Biden gave the title to Kennedy:
After Coopersmith accidentally introduced Gore when it was Kennedy’s turn to take the stage, Kennedy played it up for laughs. “Here I am, Al Gore,” she said.
“Al Gore never looked so good,” Biden quipped in response.
Again, I love this guy and I am seriously considering throwing my support behind him if he runs for President in 2016 but that's a while away. Biden's also had some wonderful things to say about Ed:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/...
“Ed Markey in the Senate is not a single vote; Ed Markey in the Senate is part of a movement,” Biden said at an event that raised $250,000 for Markey’s campaign. “Ed Markey in the Senate will command respect and attention the moment he stands on the floor to speak for the first time.”
Biden repeatedly praised Markey, saying “few have the quality of character and intellect and emotional IQ that Ed Markey has.”
He saved some of his most biting rhetoric for the Republican Party.
“It’s a pretty simple proposition: The United States of America, and the state of Massachusetts, does not need another Republican in the Senate,” Biden said. “I’m being straight about this. This is not your father’s Republican Party.”
“They’re not bad guys. They don’t get it!” Biden added at another point. “But Ed does. In his gut, Ed gets it.” - Boston Globe, 6/12/13
Even though Markey was the big name of the fundraiser, Biden gave a great shout out to Al Gore:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
When he took the microphone, Biden took time to remind Democrats of what could have been in 2000 if the Supreme Court had ruled differently in Bush v. Gore.
“This man was elected president of the United States of America,” Biden said to Gore after joking that he was "lobbying for a job" with him, according to the pool report. “No, no, no. He was elected president of the United States of America. But for the good of the nation, when the bad decision, in my view, was made, he did the right thing for the nation.”
Biden continued: “I’ve served longer than all but 13 members of the United States Senate. I can’t think of very many who would put his country first like that, at a really, really, really difficult time. There’s an awful lot of folks Al and I both know who have run for president and still haven’t gotten over it.”
Biden gave Gore one final compliment before shifting his focus to Markey.
“Al, you set an example for this country that is going to live as long as recorded history, about the man who won by a decision that I think constitutional scholars now and in the future will conclude was an ill-fated decision,” Biden said. “The way you stepped up, it was amazing.” - Huffington Post, 6/12/13
Again, it's hard not to love Joe Biden. By the way, Markey's supporters were jubilant about Ed's performance in last night's debate with Gabriel Gomez (R. MA):
http://www.masslive.com/...
At McCaffrey’s Public House in downtown Springfield, where several dozen supporters of Rep. Ed Markey, Democratic candidate for Senate, camped out to watch Tuesday’s Massachusetts Senate debate, spirits were buoyant during the debate and even more so afterward.
The celebrating reached a fever pitch roughly 40 minutes after the end of the debate when Markey stopped in for a brief visit and an impromptu campaign rally.
“Let me ask, do you think I did OK in the debate tonight?” Markey asked as his supporters cheered.
For the hour length of the debate, televisions in the bar that would normally be turned onto the Red Sox or ESPN were instead showing the debate between Markey and Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez.
The 50 or so people packed into the front room cheered and jeered as if they were watching a heavyweight prize fight. But if you asked any of them, the fight was a mismatch between a heavyweight and a lightweight.
“Gabriel Gomez is not ready for prime time,” said Sheila Murray of West Stockbridge. “He may have been a Navy SEAL and that prepared him for war, but this is not the same thing.” - The Republican, 6/11/13
And since he keeps trailing in the polls, Gomez is really getting desperate with his attacks:
http://www.politico.com/...
Underdog Massachusetts Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez went all out in a debate against frontrunner Ed Markey Tuesday to pin Washington’s ills on the longtime Democratic congressman.
Gomez said the national debt, now $17 trillion, was $680 billion when Markey came to Congress in 1976.
“You are Washington, D.C., and you own the national debt, sir,” Gomez said during the second of three debates ahead of a June 25 special election.
Markey sought to nationalize the race the night before President Barack Obama flies to Boston for a campaign rally on his behalf.
“My job has been fighting the tea party Republicans,” said Markey. “These people arrived committed to making sure that President Obama’s agenda doesn’t move at all.” - Politico, 6/11/13
And speaking of Obama:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
President Barack Obama travels to Massachusetts on Wednesday to offer a boost to U.S. Senate candidate Edward Markey in a special election this month that could be a gauge of public reaction to controversies plaguing the Obama administration.
Polls show the lead held by Democratic congressman Markey over Republican challenger Gabriel Gomez is narrowing ahead of the June 25 election for the Senate seat that was vacated when Obama picked John Kerry as his secretary of state.
Obama is to speak at a rally near Boston. - Huffington Post, 6/12/13
The Special Election is Tuesday, June 25th. If you want to get involved with Markey's campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.edmarkey.com/