Say it ain’t so, Joe! Praising Jeb Bush?
Appearing together at a panel on opioid addiction in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden made a point to give a big shout out to Jeb Bush:
Biden, appearing at a University of Pennsylvania panel on opioid addiction with Jeb Bush, complimented Bush as “a hell of a governor.” From the Democratic perspective, Bush’s tenure as the governor of Florida was probably most notable for his relentless effort, supported by right-wing evangelical groups, to prevent Terri Schiavo’s husband from removing her feeding tube after she’d been in a vegetative state for 15 years; Bush also signed the “stand your ground” law that came under national scrutiny after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin.
As governor of Florida, aside from helping to hand the 2000 election to his bro’ George W, one of Jeb Bush’s greatest achievements was implementing the pro gun “Stand your Ground” law (aka a license to kill). SYG played a role in the George Zimmerman case, (yes that Zimmerman who murdered 17 year old Trayvon Martin). Wannabe cop and racist Zimmerman was acquitted of murder after he hunted down and brutally shot the unarmed teenager for the crime of walking to his dad’s finance’s home.
If this weren’t offensive enough, on the same day, newly released letters Biden wrote to segregationists asking for support for his anti-busing measure were published.
CNN published a piece about letters that Biden, then a young senator from Delaware, wrote to Mississippi Democratic Sen. James Eastland in 1977. Eastland believed that desegregation would “mongrelize” the white race and had denounced the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, calling it a “monstrous crime“; in 1977, Biden sought his support for a bill that would cut down on the practice of busing students between neighborhoods to integrate schools. Wrote Biden to Eastland: “My bill strikes at the heart of the injustice of court-ordered busing.” (It doesn’t appear that the bill in question was ever passed by the full Senate, but other anti-busing measures that Biden pursued were successful.)
Remember, it was not long ago that Biden praised VP Pence:
Although Biden has yet to formally announce his run for president, a theme is already emerging, can you hear the dog whistles?
Joe Biden’s presidential campaign hasn’t been formally announced, but it already has a theme, which is that Biden is the only Democrat with the kind of bipartisan appeal and common touch needed to win white working-class voters in key swing states back to the Democratic Party. Two events on Thursday underlined that theme, then circled it in red ink and drew a bunch of big exclamation marks around it.
Please clap.