Stephens (and quite a few commenters) have got this all wrong. This isn't a Democratic Party "thing" or a Progressive "thing." It's generational and historical. It's how Americans regard the rabid segregationists of the Deep South and their place in our history.
When Trent Lott of Mississippi praised Strom Thurmond of South Carolina upon his retirement, all hell broke loose in the press and amongst REPUBLICANS for praising a Dixiecrat and rabid racist.
Lott quite reasonably pointed out Senate comity required nothing less but the press and public weren't having it. Lott never recovered.
Lott had to "clarify" and then half-apologize-- "if he had offended anyone." As early as a decade ago these white supremacist Senators were, and have remained, anathema to a large part of the American public. In my opinion, rightly so. It is very easy to promote bi-partisanship without coddling racists--how about all those Republicans who helped pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964? A far better example of comity and civility across Parties.
So, by all means continue your Iranian/Utilitarian friendships, Bret Stephens. But get your recent American history in order. This is broader than leftie Democrats and deeper than the present moment. These people are a stain on our history--rather like Germans suggesting they were able to work well with Hitler. How would that go down?
22
gee, how many misogynistic superlatives fit into a title? anything to denigrate the new left.
7
It's was Biden's clueless use of the word "boy" that was a problem. Of course you won't be called "boy" when you have his kind of white privilege.
16
Biden and Winston Churchill have much in common. When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, a communist country, hated by Winston Churchill, he never the less did his best to come to their aid. “If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons”.
13
Maybe Brett has a few words for the fascist Republican White supremacists in Oregon’s legislature who hate democracy:
“Send bachelors and come heavily armed,” a Republican representative said. “I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple.”
Yeah, we can work with these clowns. Laughable.
17
And Stephens claims all of that for progressivism just from reactions to Joe Biden's comments!
Wow! talk about an apocalyptic vision!
Sort of like the apocalyptic histrionics of claiming a Muslim congresswoman is an anti Semite because she referred to Jews and money in the same sentence.
15
Why did Bret leave out the comments by Biden that were so offensive? Perhaps if he were African-American, he would understand why reminiscing about the good old days when black men were called "boy" is problematic. But heck, he's a white guy, so we'll just pat him in the head and call him "son."
Bret's trying to create a narrative about a "histrionic and hysterical" Democratic Party. Speaking of ... if Bret had his way, we'd all be at war right now with Iran over a drone. "Remember the Drone!" -- the histrionic, hysterical cry of neocons who are too foolish to realize the U.S. hasn't "won" a war since 1945.
21
Unfortunately, I see Mr. Stephens defense of Joe Biden's latest political campaign (#3, I think) as not only purposely evasive by omitting Biden's historically deep and offensive corporate ties which provide excellent clues to his true alliances (not the people), but also mean spirited, in his ease in which he refers to anyone who disagrees as- "histrionic"- a true low blow dog whistle aimed to achieve the maximum stereotypical put-down of non-Biden voters. Say it ain't so Bret.
Bret Stephens loves Joe. But, Bret is part of the corporate elite, like Joe. He likes things the way they are. He has good health insurance. Most of the rest of us don't. He's not at risk of having his income taxes rise. The rest of us have watched ours rise, while our salaries stagnate.
The point is this. Writers like Mr. Stephens don't much agitate for too much change and so defending someone like go-with-the-flow -Joe makes perfect sense. Joe Biden, sadly, is the olde guard pretending to want to exact change, but as Joe's (long) record shows, his "I'm a good guy" excuses for doing nothing in the face of a closed minded, hateful GOP cabal, agitation and "hystrionics" are exactly what the Democrats need right now. Sorry.
19
Amazing how a white man feels it's his duty to call the legitimate concerns of black people and anti-racists "histrionic."
Mr. Stephens, you've certainly shown that you care more about some illusion of civility than black people. Do you believe that Eastland or Talmadge or Thurmond would have extended civility to the black constituents they were supposed to be serving? The answer for these racists was clearly no, and that fact is what is uncivil, grotesque, and undemocratic. That Biden doesn't see his cooperation with such Klan-headed ghouls as a problem is telling.
18
I love this dude using the word "hysterical" to describe left-leaning, often female, dems. Mr Stevens, look up the origin of the word--then you might understand why your rants sound like a hype-misogenist.
16
A whole lot of hoo haa on this, our first Make sure your family members have their 'papers' Day.
1
Yup. Progressives will, once again, find a way to lose an election that is unloseable.
Like Naderists who lost Gore the election to W, these “I want the WHOLE pie or I’m going home” progressives will hand reelection to Trump.
Against the wall, my head I rammed...
Now I’m dead, well I’ll be Da#�!
36
Today's "progressivism" is a think mantle for the power play by special interests - the blacks, the feminists, hard core identitarians, to take control of the Democrat party. Biden - a bedrock of decency, experience and common sense - is in the way. Hence, the attacks.
22
If you stand for nothing, what will you fall for?
6
Would it not be our collective nightmare if the leftist, socialist sentiments so skillfully put forward by a Bernie or AOC or Corey Booker in his unforgiving onslaught of “righteous attacks” of Joe Biden, end up being the new fascist party of America; and not Trump.
Think before you pile on the shaming.
13
Gobbledygook....people just want good schools and trashed picked up. Nobody pays attention to all the crazy political pontification..
11
Is it "histrionics" when a major newspaper (The Washington Post) located Biden's letters to fellow Democrat James Eastland clearly showing that he sought him to and supported his position to oppose school busing to remedy "de jure" segregation" in the South that had been voided over a decade earlier by the landmark 1954 Brown decision by the Supreme Court? Is it "hysteria" to call Biden out for working with a man whose virulent opposition to civil rights led to a murderous situation in Mississippi where three Freedom Riders from the North--James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner--were murdered and their bodies hastily buried in an earthen dam in Philadelphia, MS or where local NAACP field director Medgar Evers was gunned down outside his home in Jackson, MS? Really? Do you ever want to work with such people? And, if you did, wouldn't you be willing to apologize not just to Corey Booker, but to all African-Americans in Mississippi and elsewhere for having done so? "Histrionics"? "Hysteria"? No, it's insensitivity, incivility, immaturity, and intolerance. Biden has clearly disgraced and disqualified himself by his inability to distinguish "America's original sin" as Barack Obama called it and to show the maturity and stature you'd expect from all his years in politics. No wonder Obama supported Hillary and has not come forward to defend or support him.
20
I don’t really agree with Stephens—for one thing, a lot of today’s Republicans are way crazier and far more nuttily ideological than somebody like James Eastland, and for another most lefties don’t actually run about screaming. A lot of this stuff is exaggerated.
But there’s no getting around the fact that there’s a lot of lazy sanctimony out there, coming from people who’ve never done the long, slow, aggravating work of bargaining with people who just...plain...don’t agree with you. Some of them just seem to be living in la-la land, and some, fortunately not many, really do seem to want to run the future POUM. And go after, say, George Orwell for impurity.
About all you can explain this with is stuff like ignorance, a lack of practical work, and also reaction formation and good old Nietszche’s slave mentality. You know...”Magua’s heart is twisted...he has become what twisted it.”
There there’s the other thing: i swear, half of the prob is alibi-making. The POUM types, I’ll betcha, didn’t vote in 2010 or 2012 or 2014 or 2016, or voted for the like sof Jill Stein, and now that the consequences of that laziness are clear, why heck, that has GOT to be somebody’s fault but it sure ain’t mine.
Oh, and this drained off my last interest in Cory Booker. Who is yelling because his candidacy is going noplace fast, and who more and more clearly just doesn’t have the chops to be Prez.
10
It seems that Biden's political instincts always fail him in a presidential election. I have no problem with politicians trying to work across the aisle, but for Biden to highlight his collegiality with egregious racists when he is running against two blacks in a racially riven country is just stupid. It is still early in the election cycle but based on his past performance I fear that Biden will step in many more potholes before it is over.
9
The toxic mix of deceptive and lying Republican outfits mixed with the Democrats' circular firing squad will lead to a Trump victory in 2020 unless people start thinking for themselves and reject all electronic echo chamber input. Do I have hope such will occur? Definitely yes! Do I expect such to occur? Sadly, no.....
Where does much of the anti-Biden "criticism", including in these pages, come from? The following is from a current Reuters article:
"Club for Growth, a conservative political group, will launch new attack ads against Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden targeting his past statements about race that will run during his first debate appearance next week.
The decision by Club for Growth to attack Biden is based on internal polling the organization conducted that was viewed exclusively by Reuters. The ad will air on MSNBC and NBC stations in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the organization.
Club for Growth, whose stated top policy goals include reducing income tax rates, a full repeal of Obamacare and reducing the size of the federal government, will never back a Democrat for president, but it is wading into the Democratic primary likely because Biden poses the greatest risk to Republican President Donald Trump's reelection bid."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-conservative-group-to-launch-attacks-ads-against-biden-during-democratic-debate/ar-AADgr5b?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout
10
AOC can compromise with creepy Republican Ted Cruz today, and that’s OK. . Why is it not OK for Biden to have compromised with creepy Democrats dad in the past?
18
Biden is a political lifer, a chameleon. Having gotten by for years by guile and simply good fortune he remains an empty suit. He found his Nirvana when another empty suit bestowed him a VP position, an epitome of a zero responsible assignment.
His Cheshire smile gives me the creeps, makes me want to hide him from my wife and kids.
That he is leading the Dem hopefulls is simply hilarious underscoring just how futile the Dem leadership is heading towards 2020. An army of wannabes with nothing but Obamaesque ambitions to offer the country. Our global adversaries are likely licking their chops at the notion of Biden in the White House and the opportunity to run him over as he maintain as his stupid smile.
1
Brett, progressives aren’t upset that Biden engaged in “friendships of utility”. And you left out the most offensive quote: “he never called me ‘boy’; he always called me ‘son’”.
Come on, Joe, you should know well he didn’t call you “boy” because you are white.
Furthermore, evoking the era of congressional segregationists as a time of comity is fundamentally offensive, because, well... need it be explained? To call it tone-deaf is a criminal understatement.
Also, it’s not even a good analogy because Eastland was a Democrat.
Most importantly, it confirms many progressives’ worries that Biden simply misunderstands the political reality of today; did he learn nothing from 8 years as Obama’s VP?
McConnell’s agenda wasn’t simply diometrically opposed to Obama’s - his agenda, self-professed, was explicitly NOT to cooperate on ANYTHING.
Good luck, Joe, if you think that has changed.
9
The problem here is not that Biden once worked with racists a long time ago to get legislation passed (although I would like to know just which laws resulted from this alliance outside of anti-busing bills). The issue is that he picked these despicable racists as his example, not in response to a question, but on his own volition, rather than regular conservative Republicans. As a Jew (as is Mr. Stephens), I know how I would feel if a candidate bragged about working with an avowed anti-semite who excused Nazis but didn't call him (fill in the blank antisemitic name) in order to pass a road construction bill. Before we judge Mr. Booker or Ms. Harris let's imagine our reaction in such a case.
9
This article explains it best “The White Man’s Biden”
https://truthout.org/articles/the-white-mans-biden/
“Biden attended a big-dollar fundraiser at the Carlyle hotel in New York on Tuesday, one of several he graced with his presence that day. While unspooling his boilerplate spiel about “civility” and working with hidebound Republicans who are really great you guys, trust me, Delaware’s erstwhile favorite son got lost in the weeds of history, white supremacy and institutional racism.”
“With his fat cigar and benighted views, Eastland was for many long years the living essence of institutionalized, violent white power in the U.S.”
“He often appeared in Mississippi courthouse squares,” wrote The New York Times in its obituary for Eastland after his passing in 1986, “promising the crowds that if elected he would stop blacks and whites from eating together in Washington. He often spoke of blacks as ‘an inferior race.’”
“Biden’s verbal slap at the “new New Left,” delivered before a roomful of wealthy donors, is actually an attack against voters seeking relief from the policies he championed. They want an end to the wars he voted for, an end to the carceral system he helped build, and relief from the bankruptcy laws he wrote.”
7
What you are calling Progressive I call liberal and they are not the same. Please do not confuse them.
Joe Biden is a clubby institutionalist who will not kick butt and take names because they are his “friends”. He is beholden to and comfortable with the monied interests that are in opposition to the needs and desires of the people who make up the base of the Democratic Party.
Back in the day Biden would be called a limousine liberal- someone who told you how good bussing would be for your kids even as his own went to private schools.
I find it interesting in this time of extreme dysfunction within the conservatives that a conservative like yourself keeps trying to tell the Democratic base and those who lean that way how to act and who they should vote for. If you are uncomfortable with the positions and stances of the base- then don’t join the party and go fix your Republican Party that gave America Donald Trump.
As to your criticism of those opposing Biden’s chumminess with the old segregationists, that is not an opinion anyone who will be working and voting in the Democratic primaries solicited. Biden liked the Senate club and would still be back slapping and selling out to the conservatives had Obama not picked him to be his errand boy.
There is a generational turnover of power happening within the Democratic base from Boomers and older to the Gen Xers and Millennials. They will not be supporting Mr Biden- his time has passed. Get used to it.
7
The problem with Biden is not, as the press and hysterical left see it, the civility or shmoozing with the right, including in times past when the Democrats harbored racist bigots. It's that he has enjoyed white male privilege over his entire life, and even today, is blissfully unaware of it. This is what stinks to high heaven. It is the good ol' boy, white men only patriarchy all wrapped up in an unthreatening, congenial package, a pig with lipstick. When will Americans get over their love affair with patriarchy, white privilege, veiled racism, and neoliberalism? Biden believes that if you smile and are congenial and 'nice,' haters will give you what you want. No, Mr. Biden, they will not. How did this idiotic game play out with Mitch McConnell and his vow to block every single thing Obama every tried to do? Biden encapsulates everything that is wrong with this country and is dangerous because he
claims and appears to be 'liberal.'
His story that the racist bigots he 'got along with' did not address him as "boy" just shows how he subconsciously conflates his own white minor fears of humiliation with the very real and frequent debasement of people of color and women in this country.
Believing that somehow his treatment at the hands of Democratic racist pigs is the equivalent of the experience of black Americans should be disturbing indeed, and indicates that the good ol' boy, Biden, is simply another white man whining that he, too, is a 'victim.'
5
Hey, civility is great. But I wish white people would stop telling black people how to feel.
83
The more the Democrats continue to devour themselves, the more Trump's reelection is ensured. Some might call that 'apocalyptic.' I'd call it stupid. Especially when your party is out of office and our democracy is being destroyed by a despot. Ironically, it's also 'prophetic.'
18
Dear Mr. Stephens,
Wouldn't it be helpful if the NYTimes published a "big picture" list (Good Outcome/Bad Outcome) of the the 10 things the whole world needs to think about right now?
Good: Adults take back US Government, make up with friends, play well with others, clean up planet, do humane things.
Bad: Let idiots do stupid, harmful things to us all (to make $), and ruin our chances to overcome tribalistic behavior that will be the death of us all.
Think about it. Time's Up!
8
Neil Young wrote a song titled "Alabama " which essentially a protest song chastising the south in general for its racist, segregationist past. Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote a song in response/rebuttal titled "Sweet Home Alabama". If you ever danced to that Skynyrd song, does that make you a racist ?
Joe Biden danced with segregationists to get things done for the common good. To attempt to paint him as a racist is pure ignorance.
16
Well done.
11
Biden's main point -- the need to compromise and work with others in politics -- is indisputable. But he is, I'm afraid, a bit boneheaded when he starts trying to explain himself. I'm certainly still willing to vote for him (of course), but he does need to sharpen up. Booker et al are not helping, but I never thought they would -- they are, after all, rather ambitious and self-righteous.
235
@Curtis Hinsley Biden is "bone-headed when he starts trying to explain himself." Have you listened to the current president, who seeks reelection?
20
I don’t agree that the Democratic Party has been taken over by screaming commie loons—but I do think that there’re too many lazy leftists, acting like they are gonna do heart surgery without getting any blood on them.
Booker, for example, doesn’t look like he sounded off on principle. He looks like he sounded off because his campaign’s going noplace fast, and he needed some way of taking advantage of any opportunity among black voters in South Carolina. I don’t think it’s gonna work, any more than St. Bernie’s little lectures on how Southern blacks needed to understand who they should vote for, or what he was doing in 1964.
Oh, and one other prob. None of these folks are particularly good speakers. They just don’t have Barack Obama’s gifts for speaking, writing, and almost always knowing what to say.
Biden’s prob is, the only way he can move an audience is to be passionate, personal, and kind of shovel-mouthed. So from time to time...
9
Biden is a gaffe machine who is hopelessly old and out of touch. He needs to step aside and move on. His time came and went. Nobody cares about you Joe, 37 years in Washington is ridiculous.
1
You do not even articulate why some people found Biden's remarks offensive. You do not get it, Mr. Stephens.
Apparently, you are unaware of a lot you do not know. I find this a common theme in your columns.
Just as Biden was unaware of the the privilege he embraced when he said he was called "son" and not "boy" by Eastland, you are unaware of your own privilege which entitles you to critique "left" perspectives without nuance.
7
Biden's ability to be civil with people he disagrees with is a feature not a bug.
11
He must apologize for Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas.
2
It is impossible for a white person to understand why Biden's remarks are so outrageous and painful. As a Jewish person, Stephens should replace Talmadge and Eastland with Goebels and Himmler and see how it feels.
2
Al Franken would have made a strong race in this field. Gillibrand shafted him to eliminate him and is at zero after 6 months. Meanwhile, much to the dismay of Harris, Booker and the entire white progressive wing of the Party, black voters are gravitating to Biden.
I would not rule out Al Franken as a compromise guy to be “,,,drafted...” in the event of a hung convention.
11
A Republican scolding Democrats for incivility.
In the age of trump.
hahahahahahaha. Hilarious.
13
Did you complain when "Tea-Party" people or other tight-wing radicals demanded Republicans to heed their extreme positions? If not, you're a hypocrite.
6
The only opinions that matter about Joseph R. Biden's political partisan past, present and future are the black African American heirs of enslaved and separate and unequal ancestors who are the most loyal and long suffering base of the Democratic Party.
Black lives matter!
3
In 1968, when Bobby Kennedy was the idol of the liberals, it was conveniently forgotten that he had worked for Joe McCarthy. And with J. Edgar Hoover against MLK. The word was that he had "grown," "evolved."
And let's not forget that, in 1988, Dukakis's campaign managed to destroy Biden -- and, did I miss womething, or did Dukakis lose that election big!
The Democrats need to learn that the perfect is the enemy of the good. And if -- God forbid -- Trump wins the election, all those wonderful policies that progressives are promoting (which I do agree with) will have the same value as toilet paper.
18
biden's explanation of how he wasn't called 'boy' but 'son' was so tone deaf as to be unbelievable.....
anybody with an IQ higher than a potted plant knows how demeaning that is.....
5
Look, the obtuse stupidity of Biden's comment about not being called "boy" notwithstanding, Democrats need to stop eating their own.
13
Do you ever weary of clutching your pearls about Democrats? So tedious and, worse, predictable.
4
It’s no surprise to me here, that the comments that NYT picked are predominately anti-Biden. I had been quite pleasantly surprised by the rational tone of Bret’s piece in support of Biden, since the NYT has been so unrelentingly negative. Obama’s caution of circular firing squad is dead on. Hail Trump.
11
I notice by the "Reader Picks" that most see the hysterical attacks on Joe Biden for the blatant political posturing that they are, while the Times' picks show that the Times opposes Biden's candidacy.
18
I would appreciate it if well-deserved criticism, (White men in this country generally didn’t get called ‘boy’ by other white men, ) was not characterized as hysteria by the media. It’s a not too subtle way of describing Democrats as ‘crazy women drivers ‘, ‘too touchy’ ‘too sensitive’, ‘too emotional’.
Suck it up, white men of privilege. If you can’t stand a little criticism, may be you’re a little too sensitive for the job.
4
There's also another term for this: the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). People who take literally, obsess, and get stuck on particular small details of being human are actually OCD patients. If something isn't 100% to their monstrous sense of purity, they have strict rituals to purge the offending signal, and they bend over themselves to be pure and exact. Much of the left has actually become tainted by OCD purges. Another example of this is #MeToo, where the most minute details of male-female interactions are suddenly examined under a literal microscope.
5
"Purg[ing] the Democratic Party of ITS democratic instincts" via an "apocalyptic" rejection of "redemption and forgiveness in favor of condemnation and excommunication," Bret?
Which part of your Trumpeted OP last week recommending invading Iran's Navy was just a harmlessly inconsequential / anti-climatic indifference to moderation? Insofar as YOUR perpetually "clenched right fist and raised left middle finger" needs to destroy what only our better angels can allot for the masses, any chance that "comity, civility and ordinary decency" can EVER belong to the ages is sadly reduced to but a snowball's chance in hell.
1
Bravo Bret Stephens, you have nailed it. For crying out loud as Biden would say, what a load of malarkey! Let's build some bridges here and get the job done. I don't want to blow up the system, I want it to be fairer, more just and more inclusive. Biden has my vote.
15
No, Bret. It's not an "'apocalyptic' approach to politics." It's simply a strongly worded ethical position. The Democrat's ability, tendency even, to compromise is well-documented. Compare that with the actual destruction being wrought by Republicans. SAYING zero tolerance for racism is an ethical position. ACTUALLY ELIMINATING REAL clean air standards is a genuine apocalyptic approach, and not just to politics. I know words are your trade but you seem to be equating words with actions.
Great cloak and dagger anecdote. -Can you be sure your Iranian man-crush wasn't looking for expertise in climate science denial and not your finger-on-the-pulse Zionism?
2
If we were living it moderate civil times of evident social progress this might be valid, but we are not. Cooperation between people of opposing viewpoints is necessary in our democracy. But is one thing for a democratic socialist to seek out a friendship of convenience with a libertarian; quite another for a white liberal to associate with segregationists (=racists). I can see how this might have been laudable in days of yore, but to call it out as an achievement under an administration holding brown children in cages, trying to expel legal immigrants and indifferent about the KKK is just plain stupid. It indicates a person not clear on where the heavy lifting really needs to be done. refusing to tolerate racism and bigotry in your government is not exclusionary. we have simply come too far as a country to waffle on that at this point.
2
So, two double agents walk into a restaurant to play each other off for intelligence..... BTW, the writer also thinks that histrionics and hysteria are being exhibited when it comes to Stephen Miller’s racist policies in the border and of course, attacking Iran. Indeed, a couple of columns ago, he also said that “our navy” should attack Iran. Exactly whose interests this approach and call for acceptance of excessive violence and human rights abuse represents is clear: not what’s true or right.
1
Perhaps Biden's glorification of his relationship with notorious segregationists wouldn't seem so bad if we had no knowledge of his own actions fervently working against school integration through busing. But when Jesse Helms congrtulates someone for seeing the light, questions must be asked, as when that person works assiduously to pass a crime bill that obviously will fill the prisons with people of color. I don't know if Biden is a racist, but he certainly doesn't mind if others are.
4
I'm an old-school liberal and I have no idea what this brand of progressivism is - it bares no hallmarks of open mindedness, forward thinking or true justice. It's a mean-spirited power grab equally as foul by those they purport to grab the power from. In general, this group think- forcing everyone to apologize and repeat sanctioned words by the breathlessly outraged- is alarming. This crowd of moral authoritarians, has more in common with the most fundamental religious zealots than anyone upholding the tenets of liberal democracy. Having seemingly elected themselves as the purest of the pure who have some kind of magical authority to coronate only those who use the most up-to-the-minute “woke” speech, if you waiver, you are you deemed a cretin, a racist (what meaning does this word have anymore when used so promiscuously?) unworthy and irredeemable. If that’s so, are we to judge the roughly one-third of black voters who opposed Proposition 8 in 2008? What does Ta-Nehisi Coates and Senators Booker and Harris, so pure of heart and speech, have to say about California’s black political leaders who opposed Prop 8? Should we judge those voters for the rest of their lives as bigots for denying their neighbors the right to marry? People are complicated -- nobody has a claim on moral authority, nobody should. The minute someone broadcasts his ideas as the right way and any shaded or opposing view as wrong, that’s the moment you know you’re in the company of a fraud.
20
More obfuscation. This is the money quote, the one Bret Stephens accidentally (I guess) leaves out but the one that Cory Booker objected to so strenuously and correctly:
“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” Biden said and then, imitating a Southern accent, added that the senator “never called me ‘boy,’” a racial epithet used against black men. “I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” Biden said and then, imitating a Southern accent, added that the senator “never called me ‘boy,’” a racial epithet used against black men."
I grew up in the South, I'm younger than Senator Biden but I certainly know what it means when a White man calls an African American man "boy," and frankly, it never happens between two White men, so what exactly did Senator Biden mean? And why is everyone on this comment post ignoring the implicit racism in Biden's "joke"? Oh, because they, like Bret Stephens are White.
2
This seems disingenuous. A "friendship of utility" does not require a person to suck up to the other or many years later refer back to the connection as an example of something of great merit.
What I believe people are reacting to is the impression that Biden was actually eager to ingratiate himself with the old segregationists and that his mention of it now is not really aimed at highlighting his ability to work with different people but at reassuring certain voters that he won't be haranguing them as racists.
Biden has used this approach on a number of issues, seeming to wink at audiences as if to let them know they're safe with him, which appeal simultaneously implies that the people he is talking to will not be safe with his fellow Democratic contenders. He is implicitly creating a wedge and placing himself on a different side of it the other candidates running for the nomination. Without any "apocalyptic" zeal or desire to excommunicate anyone, I regard that as damaging and egotistical on Biden's part.
4
Joe Biden is the perfect deep state candidate, and it is why he will be the nominee, regardless of whether other Democrats call him racist or not.
Biden is too dumb to think up anything on his own.
Biden needs to be told what to do, and he is a willing lap dog.
Biden wants to please his masters.
Biden is controllable.
Without considerable behind the scenes help, Biden couldn't be a dog catcher, so he is grateful.
The young upstarts like AOC have not yet realized who really runs the show as the people in control have no interest in them.
1
From the Daily Beast:
“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” Biden said, before imitating a Southern drawl. “He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’”
This is the remark for which Cory Booker asked for an apology. Why a white person would defend a relationship with a racist by saying "he never called me boy" is hard to fathom.
4
I would appreciate it if the media would not refer to well-deserved criticism, (it is not civility at issue here, but the idiocy of bragging that a white racist never used racist language against him, a white man,) as ‘hysteria’ and ‘histrionics’. Language is powerful, and language has been used to diminish and demean great swaths of the population throughout our history, hence the reaction to Biden’s foolish comment. When that reaction is described as irrational and unreasonable, as too ‘feminine’ in the orientalist use of the word, not only an entire political party is discredited, but the historical experience of a people.
Look, white men, it is your over-reaction to a reasonable criticism that is over the top, too emotional, too sensitive. If you can’t take it, then perhaps you’re too hysterical for the job.
5
The “so called” progressives are destroying our chance to retake the White House. They have lot of air in their head with no touch of reality. The con man pathological liar appointed 125 federal judges who are absolutely incompetent and they have no respect for existing laws. They will void anything passed by legislature even the Congress, Senate and White House are taken over by the democrats in the future. In other words, the elected officials will be worthless since they will be tied down by the morally bankrupt judges appointed for life. We are already seeing the impact of those appointed by con man on various cases. Keep in mind, there will be 300 more appointments if con man gets another 4 year. Grandiosity, utopian ideas sound great - but it does not help to win general election. The so-called progressive leaders also represent areas where their seats are protected because of the demographic. These selfish vested interested leaders are giving the win to the child bully on a silver platter. Wish the Democratic party was disciplined and able to kick out these fringe “progressives” from the party. Alas, that won’t happen and we have to put up with their loud barking. They are narcissists and have no love for our great nation. Biden may not be the perfect candidate. But, his power to draw voters is thousand times better than the fringe candidates.
17
This column's central premise is a straw man -- that fellow democrats' complaint is that Biden worked with segregationists to get "things done". That is not the issue at all. The problem was Biden's clumsy, clueless language -- saying that Eastland (affectionately) called him "son" rather than "boy". This was an unforced error of the type we can expect to keep happening with Biden -- exacerbated further when he got defensive and demanded an apology from Booker. The problem with Biden is not what is in his heart, but that he doesn't know when to shut up. Now, in the age of Trump's constant lies and rambling incoherence, we really need precise, thoughtful, clear and disciplined language. If Biden cannot control his rambling foot-in-mouth now, we can with certainty, count on Trump and the GOP exploiting his gaffes in the general. They will hypocritically and shamelessly mock and weaponize his verbal slips up to paint him as a doddering old fool -- even as Trump is even worse.
2
There are usually many ways of expressing an idea. Biden chose the wrong way and then doubled down on it. The fact that Biden couldn't understand that dragging segregationists into his discussion about working across the aisle wasn't the best way to make his point just shows how very out of touch he is and his comments about being called son instead of boy truly were offensive and clueless. I wonder, would he extol the virtues of working with Nazis to a Jewish audience and expect them to quietly nod in agreement? Of course it's necessary, to a point, for political foes to work together to get things done, but Biden left us wondering where he draws the line.
2
Joe Biden has just proved just how dangerous it is to be the front runner so early in the Democratic selection process. Everyone is gunning for him with a passion. The mainstream media will leave no stone unturned as they dig up the dirt. Interesting stories have suddenly popped up about Biden's son Hunter having a love child. This was followed by race card brilliantly played by Cory Booker. Booker accused Biden of working with racist Southern Senators in the 1970s as proof that may be Biden harbored some secret racist tendencies of his own. Biden protested that he has worked for civil rights during his his long career but who is going to believe him now? Too late to put the genie back in the bottle.
3
Joe's growing on me - big time.
On two big issues now, race relations and a woman's right to chose, Joe's right there in the thick of it; ready to fend off the barbs, insults and other forms of attack that will come from the Repubs.
What say you, Ms. Warren?
7
Race issues aside, my concern is that Biden's view of how to promote bipartisanship is outdated.
I think you have to begin by understanding that Eastland and Talmadge were Democrats not Republicans. You also have to remember that once you left the world of racism, most southern Democrats were moderate or even slightly liberal on many issues. For example, southern Democrats supported Social Security once the enabling legislation was drawn to keep people of color out of the system. Old white people deserved to live in dignity after retirement but white money shouldn't provide dignity to black people.
The thing that disturbs be most about Biden's remarks is that he was VP from 2009 to 2016 and was Obama's chief legislative liaison. He saw Mitch McConnell up close and personal, and he should have learned that the issues that now separate Republicans from Democrats aren't side issues that can be set aside but the central issues of power and economics that go to the heart of the philosophies of the participants. They cannot be settled by good personal relationships and a handshake.
Obama and Biden wasted most of their administration pretending that you could compromise with a party that had no more important objective than making sure that your administration fail at all costs. Obama and Biden really got very little for their 'bipartisan' pandering.
If you want to return to an era of bipartisanship, you have to have stop allowing politicians to choose their voters.
1
If the reaction to extremism on the right is extremism on the left, we will see politics swing in increasingly violent arcs until one day, one of those extremist in power will declare: "We're never going to succeed in our mission within the constraints of democracy -- the people are like sheep, too weak and cowardly to see the glorious future that could be their's. We need to seize the moment, transform the country, and when we give power back to the people they will worship us for what we have done for them." And that is the end of the republic.
.
That is what the apocalyptic style of politics brings us to. If the only options in a democracy are extremes, one of them will be chosen. If the elected party has campaigned on the need to destroy and replace, rather than improve and perfect, they will chafe at the bonds of our democratic institutions, declare them obsolete, and take power from the people "for the good of the people".
.
Is the opposite of a populist extremist on the right a populist extremist on the left? Or is the opposite of Trump a competent centrist? If the Democrats elect a competent centrist, they can build from that to a centrist majority that lasts decades, as Roosevelt and Truman were able to do. Republicans will be forced to offer their own competent centrist, their Eisenhower. If populism breeds more populism, eventually your choice is Fascists or Communists, and you end up led by Franco, Peron, Chavez, or Lenin.
6
Joe Biden’s problem was that he was working with racists against integrating schools that was meant to help against segregation and was a policy that most Democrats think worked.
This wasn’t civility this was common cause. Mr Biden was working for a policy that would hurt minorities. Like his crime bill 20 years later also did.
Mr Biden is like Stephen Colbert’s comedic persona who “doesn’t see race”. It is funny when it is a jab at a Republican, but shows a distinct lack of evolution in thought in Mr Biden. Our future should not be his past of unrecognized mistakes.
2
Stephen's is 100% right. Biden has told the same story a hundred times using appalling segregationist Dixiecrats as an example to demonstrate that you can "get things done" even in extreme circumstances. If those on the left -- egged on by his rivals and many in the media-- want to destroy something, let them concentrate their fire on Trump's reelection campaign, not fellow Democrats.
3
"To his credit, Biden has refused to apologize for his remarks (at least as of this writing) and he’d be a fool to do so. The aim of those demanding he apologize isn’t to see him redeemed. It’s to watch him capitulate, and, in so doing, seize the right to declare who’s morally fit to be in the party, and who isn’t."
So what you are saying is, if Trump shoots someone in the middle of fifth avenue, he would be a fool to confess to murder, because democrats will think he is not morally fit to lead our country?"
OK got it .. I think (eye roll).
1
John Brown is an American hero.
3
To all the unapologetically uncompromised millennials here:
Over thirteen presidential elections, I have never had a perfect candidate. It's time to grow up. Our prime objective is to defeat Trump. Only then do you get to indulge yourselves in the luxury of parading your virtues.
10
Where does much of the anti-Biden "criticism", including Times Comments and Recommends, come from?
The following is from a current Reuters article.
"Club for Growth, a conservative political group, will launch new attack ads against Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden targeting his past statements about race that will run during his first debate appearance next week.
The decision by Club for Growth to attack Biden is based on internal polling the organization conducted that was viewed exclusively by Reuters. The ad will air on MSNBC and NBC stations in Des Moines, Iowa, according to the organization.
Club for Growth, whose stated top policy goals include reducing income tax rates, a full repeal of Obamacare and reducing the size of the federal government, will never back a Democrat for president, but it is wading into the Democratic primary likely because Biden poses the greatest risk to Republican President Donald Trump's reelection bid."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-conservative-group-to-launch-attacks-ads-against-biden-during-democratic-debate/ar-AADgr5b?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=mailsignout
10
I don’t like Brett Stevens. I dispise trump. I don’t think Joe Biden is the right person for our times to represent the Democratic Party and the future of this country. I do however agree with Brett on this one. The fact that Biden worked with these racist troglodytes is because he had to. They were elected democratically by their ignorant and racist constituents. They represented their communities. That’s how the system works. We’re applying the lens of todays polarized zero sum politics to a time when compromise and negotiation was an acceptable means of governing.
7
After a week of my daily read of the NYtimes, it’s always a relief to come across Bret Stephens column and a breath of perspective and sanity. I support Joe Biden, not because of his electability (though I think that’s true and no small matter), but because he is the best candidate of the lot: a person of character, a flawed but decent, warm hearted man who has enormous resilience , rising above life shattering tragedies, and while his belief in the institutions of our government and working toward progressive causes within the system is constantly being denigrated as naïve by his Democratic rivals (and by the Times), it’s the only practical way of moving forward given the diversity of the political beliefs in our country, unless it’s fine to contemplate the overthrow of our government and the forced disenfranchisement of half of the population.
8
BRAVO Bret Stephens!!! Finally, something I can agree with you on! Dry well written, your point is brilliant! There has been so much acrimony between the Democrats and the obstructionists in the GOP aka Mitch McConnell that many, especially our young Millennials do not know of a time when Congress was about compromises and diplomacy between the parties!
I’m not sure who I’m supporting yet for the nomination but I’m keeping an eye on Joe, Elizabeth and Kamala! We have a brilliant group of Democrats running!
Vote Blue!
3
"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
You get the impression by the comments here that this kind of rhetoric would be condemned outright by some of us. That is unutterably sad. I realize Biden may be out of touch with the times we're living in, and compromise is a dirty word when so much is at stake, from the environment, to health care, from extreme inequality, to equal rights. But liberals and progressives are in danger of becoming as shrill and obnoxious as they people we oppose on the core issues. We've got to get our brotherhood mojo back.
9
@Stephen Holland
Just *why* do you think those * liberals and progressives* are "becoming as shrill and obnoxious as they people we oppose on the core issues"?
Could it be because the old party, the party of decorum and make nice has tire tracks all across their backs? That the get along party has given away the store to those who don't care it they are shrill and obnoxious?
Yes, civility is great. As is standing firm for what is right. You hit upon the *times we are in*. They are desperate times. Doing the same thing, expecting things to be different/change, is just idiotic.
The darn canary's are screaming because they see the writing on the walls and are the ones suffering. Not the old guard sipping tea, attempting to be civil with their pinkies held in just a so manner. The world burns around them and the children scream, yet they are told to shush and speak in a cultured manner.
Headshake, facepalm, sigh...
3
I don't fault Joe for trying to get along with the other side. I do fault Joe for having no other basis for running for president besides his relations with Republicans, and then angrily demanding that Democratic voters trust him not to let them down.
It's good to be civil and get along, but it cuts both ways. Joe is a creature of the Senate from the end of World War II until the rise of conservative talk radio, and although he has shown he is ready to get along, he has not shown he is ready to lead.
5
Ore tino Joe didn’t come to Congress until ....1973! Hardly “after WWII”!!!!
2
The issue--the only issue--in all of Mr. Biden's account of his working relationship with Stennis, Talmadge and other segregationist Senators during his Congressional tenure was Biden's false equivalence of them not calling him "boy" as some indication that they could not be "all that bad," when Biden should know how instrumental that term has been in enforcing a racist social order. They would not have brought that term to use on a fellow Senator in Congress; the very idea is absurd. One suspects they did not refer to Senator Ed Brooke of Massachusetts that way either: or at least not to his face.
Biden's comment came off as if he felt they were granting him some meritorious dispensation and deserve commendation for doing so. That part of Mr. Biden's gaffe is pretty hard to paper over. It shows a tone-deafness, ignorance, a blind spot or some cognitive omission to a very real aspect of American society: and this man wants to be President. To note this misstep is neither histrionics nor hysteria.
Otherwise, I would agree with Mr. Stephens to the extent that anyone wanting to call Mr. Biden out--simply for finding a way to work with the segregationist Senators--needs to get a clue about another real aspect of American society: compromise. As long as Biden was not compromising on Civil Rights in order to mollify the Stennis/Talmadge contingent, then he was doing his job as any Senator would to be an effective legislator.
Aristotle would certainly concur.
4
Judging people is like eating raw oysters. There is a certain part that you don’t particularly want to swallow, but you judge the flavor on it’s totality. None of my friends is perfect and I still love them. We invest too much in our friends to cast them off for occasional breaches of our own judgemental prejudices. The friends I love the most are the ones who expect the most from me. Liberals and conservatives alike. I try to better understand them and live up to their expectations. Is it possible for us to stop looking for flaws and start discovering the good in people? Constantly looking for a reason to find fault can be remedied by self examination. Is your totality so perfect that you can cast stones? Chill out and discover the beauty of the human spirit in each of us.
5
I think there is a more fundamental issue at stake here, and it’s how democrats can strike the right balance between compromise and hard line stances. Republicans have played hardball for decades now, shifting the so-called “middle” substantially to the right of where most Americans are. Going back to the Obama-era policy of “being nice” isn’t going to reverse that shift. But taking a no-holds-barred approach may get us nowhere as well. I’m reminded of the parenting advice to “pick your battles.” Democrats need to chose one or two issues (e.g. Climate) which are so existential in nature, that a no compromise narrative would make sense to most Americans. Right now it feels as though there are too many of these issues. IMO, the Green New Deal, properly articulated as Jay Inslee has done, has the potential of being a winning issue upon which to hang our uncompromising hats.
3
BRAVO for an excellent spotlight on a major problem! Mr. Stephens opinion pieces are an oasis in a hard left landscape of opinion pieces in the NYT and the WP.
The radical left in the Democratic party more and more resemble the "Little Red Guards" during Mao's reign who would scour the land looking for anyone who at some point in their lives had "betrayed" the most radical version of their ideology. Their victims were from decent folks from all walks of life in politics, academia, business and entertainment. This radical left is at least as big a threat to democracy and civility than the worst elements in Trump's coalition. When we proclaim RESISTANCE it must apply to them in equal measure to them and Trump.
13
What about the hard radical right that is destroying the country?
2
I used to be “moderate” and “independent”, able to vote Republican or Democratic as fit the times and candidates. No more. When only one side tries to accommodate and compromise while the other grabs for raw power for 20 straight years, you end up where we are now: minority rule by a criminal conspiracy and authoritarianism.
We need leaders who recognize the danger and undo some of the damage done to the republic by the Republican Party. Biden is not the guy, he thinks the problem is Donald Trump, who is merely a symptom.
6
Stephens refers to the “apocalyptic” approach to politics. This brings to mind the Cultural Revolution that sociopolitical zealots afflicted China with in the 1960s and 70s. The effects were political paralysis, mass persecution and economic stagnation. And, oh yeah, hundreds of thousands of deaths. Not saying this is starting to happen in the US, but the insistence on undeviating political purity as defined by one cohort or another is not a positive thing.
Biden is doing his best to defeat Trump. Pelosi is doing her best to defeat Trump. Every Democrat candidate and every progressive in the country share this goal. Let’s keep our eyes on the ball.
8
Eyes on the prize, I’d say. Too many lefties have a habit of screaming and posturing when they don’t get there in five minutes—and seem to think that standing there and taking it on that bridge in Selma wasn’t fighting.
2
It is laughable to see good Republican Party man Stephens attack Democrats for, horrors, behaving in the same way as Republicans have been for decades. Rigid ideology and slavish devotion to Party dogma is a given among Republicans, from the base to the highest levels of their professional politicians. The only “dissent” to be found among Republicans consists of minor ideological differences between, and power grabs by, one-percenter factions. The Koch brothers’ fake grass roots Tea Party nonsense is a prime example. As for civility, that was roundly rejected by Republicans in the eighties in favor of their win-at-any-cost, scorched-earth tactics that define the Republican Party today. And blaming Trump, as though he is not an indisputably cancerous outgrowth of long-term Republican strategy, is just a weak effort at damage control by the few Republicans able to understand that his childishly open and impusive use of those tactics puts the Party goal of total control of the country at risk. If you really were concerned about rigid ideology, civility, and political purity rules, Bret, you could do well to try to criticize your own Party into reforming itself first.
3
Oh, please. If Stephens is anything, he’s somebody who’s taken on Republicans again and again. Look him up, for oete’s sake.
He is, in fact, and excellent example of somebody whose views I cannot stand, but would be happy to work with. Civilized human being who’d accept reasonable compromise, you know.
7
As a lifelong registered Democrat my main thought is: keep it up Joe. Keep being civil. Keep looking for the better angels in people. Keep looking at republicans as your opponents and not your enemies. Keep trying to make our great country fairer, better and compassionate. Most of all, keep making “mistakes and gaffes”. Every time you do, the unrealistic left wingers and phonies freak out and I’ll send you more money. As a resident of New Jersey I can tell you that Cory is not ready for prime time. Great talker, empty suit. Let’s take our country back. Biden in 2020.
13
Here, hear!! I wish I could like this more than once!
3
Mr. Stephens conveniently leaves out the boy/son part of Biden’s remark. I’m sure both the left and right in American politics are populated with apocalyptic and prophetic voices. That Mr. Stephens chooses to focus only on one person, Pamela Paresky, with one opinion says more about Mr. Stephens than about liberal politics. Can’t you do better than this, Mr. Stephens? Were George Washington and the signers of the Declaration of Independence prophetic or apocalyptic or a whole bunch of both? Racism is one of many curiosities for some Americans and a dominant existential hammer for many others.
3
The last thing the Democrats need in 2020 is for the left to do what the right did to the Republicans in 2016? What, do you mean win?
1
Bravo!
Well said!
The Maoist left is under the impression they alone have the right to decide what the Democratic Party stands for and who should be in the leadership.
In California last year, this same cabal of activists endorsed Kevin De Leon over Senator Dianne Feinstein, despite the voters of the party choosing Feinstein in the June primary by a 3-1 margin over De Leon.
That voters overwhelmingly chose Feinstein over De Leon in the general election run-off seems to have had no impact on the far-left's view of itself as the arbiters of judgement.
They now do likewise to Vice-President Biden and it is a shameful thing to see.
Hopefully the voters of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and the rest of the Democratic voting base across the country will do as California Democrats did in 2018.
It's time for Maoist liberals and other thought control agents to recognize who the Democratic Party belongs to - the people, not the pundits.
7
Biden is an old school, cheshire smiling grifter, a back-slapping, glad-handing, shoulder-rubbing conman, with a carefully cultured veneer of civility hiding that good-old boy wheeler-dealer persona.
Today's Pelosi Schumer Democratic Party is no different than the Boss Tweed Tammany Hall political machine which ran NY during the 1850's, and in fact is exponentially more devious in its methods of bamboozlement and obfuscation of the electorate.
The only chance America has to recover its self-respect, and a return to the days when the world saw us as a nation that sincerely believed in liberty and justice, is if we elect a genuine representative of the people, such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren, either one as our 46th President and the other our Vice President.
Joe Biden would represent a return to the decades long Democratic status quo, which gave us Trump.
It's way past time to show the Pelosi Schumer democrats, and now Biden, the door, and once gone we must keep them gone.
4
Spot on Mr. Stephens, spot on.
6
While Biden is not my first choice, he is a perfectly acceptable and qualified one. I don't hold it against him that he's white. I don't hold it against him that he's male. I don't care about race, gender, or sexual orientation. I care about competence, intelligence, inclusiveness, honesty, and a respect for expertise. In other words, the opposite of the current administration.
I'm also not a supporter of Inquisitions, the Spanish, the Republican, or the Democratic. Ideology is hardening of the intellectual arteries, a form of intellectual political senility. I suggest those suffering from ideology to seek professional treatment
11
Very disingenuous of Stephens to entirely omit the one part of Biden’s talk that made this such a controversy.
3
JT, I am Black and also old enough to recall the "boy/son" term being used to humiliate men like my own dignified and patriotic dad. (He fought with honor in the second world war). The intent to demean and marginalize, however, wasn't exclusively used on men of color. It was also used, especially by older men, as a way to put younger men including (shock) young white men in their place (always a step or two beneath them). The social context was either lost on Senator Booker or he willfully ignored it to score a hit against Mr. Biden. Either scenario is troubling. Mr. Biden is absolutely correct not to apologize. There are times when it is critically important to bring up race. This was not one of those times and, quite frankly from my perspective, makes Mr. Booker look less like a potential president and more like a flim flam man with a deck full of race cards.
264
Our government's structure presumes compromise on the part of the actors. You don't get to choose with whom. Sanctimonious yelping to the contrary, you cannot let perfect be the enemy of good. Biden's statements demonstrate he is an adult who knows how to govern in a two party system.
4
I love compromise.
The only problem with compromise these days is...
Mitch McConnell and a few others in his pathetic orbit.
Warren/Mayor Pete 2020!
Or whoever wins the Democratic primary.
1
Bret Stephens writes ; "The last thing Democrats need is to allow the nasty left do to them in 2020 what the nasty right did to Republicans in 2016." You mean win ?
1
What this incident demonstrates at the very least is that after nearly 50 years in politics, most spent in high public office, in his third candidacy for president, Joe Biden has still not learned to keep his foot out of his mouth.
Democrats have now watched Biden make at least four excursions into stupid, self-inflicted political difficulties since he entered the race a brief two months ago.
The last thing Democrats need is a candidate in the Fall of 2020 who will do that to himself and to the party's chances of evicting Trump from the White House in the election.
No, the bottom line, as they say, is that Joe Biden cannot be trusted with the nomination for president.
And oh, by the way, Mr. Stephens, Biden is living and running for president as it the year was 1980 -- with a sense of entitlement that does not fit the times.
I am his age roughly and think it is preposterous for anyone this old to be running for president. Et tu Bernie? He would be 78 on Inauguration Day, 82 at the end of his first term. Small wonder he finds it difficult to understand life and politics as they are today.
1
Excellent essay.
5
Bret Stephens is half right here. Yes, some Democrats hyper-reacted to what is essentially a nothing burger, probably for political reasons. But once again, he twists the premise of his column to demonize the entire progressive left, and that gets very tiresome after a while.
1
Joe Biden is the anti Trump: cordial, civil, smart, experienced, moral, and a great negotiator. He has met personal tragedy, like no other candidate. He’s my pick (as a right-center person). The other Dems are really so nasty and so PC as to make one nauseous. They are constantly pandering to every group in sight, are spending money that doesn’ t exist, and are seeking to replicate the Bolsheviks at their worse.
5
"We got things done."
That's the crux--we no longer do. If the Republicans had admitted the obvious, that most Americans actually want some sort of reasonable national health care, and if they had helped Obama achieve that instead of voting over sixty times to repeal Obamacare and bringing countless lawsuits, some of which made it to the Supreme Court--I wouldn't have to be writing this comment.
The Republican Party used Obamacare to gain control of both houses. They promised their constituents that they had something 'way better' but Obama blocked them. Their 'way better' plan was, of course, 'NoCare.'
The final kick in the butt was Merrick Garland.
You thought you were getting something, if only insight, out of talking with your Iranian diplomat. Democrats have gained nothing for too long. And, we're tired of studying the racist mindset--we have all the insight into that we need, thank you very much.
Joe Biden's mistake is thinking that it's a selling point that he can get along with racists. It isn't. Policies Joe, policies. That's what we want now.
Poll after poll shows that Americans, when presented with policy questions without 'liberal' or 'conservative' labels, consistently fall left of center. I want to find out if voters are willing to set aside their self-inflicted labels and vote for what they actually want.
Policies, Joe, policies.
It's pretty simple to acknowledge you've spoken clumsily and explain what you wanted to say.
Biden has contributed his own fuel to this auto-de-fe with the characteristic muddle of a scripted politician venturing out without his talkers.
It's like, "I didn't agree with Bull Connors, but he was OK to have a beer with; called me Little Joe..."
Eastland? Talmedge? Think virulent Jim Crow.
1
Totally agree with Bret's observations on Biden!
Democrats, stop the circular firing squad now!!
Talk about you will do and how you will do it ad and refrain from beating up on each other!
We are so screwed if Trump is re-elected and you are doing everything possible to allow that eventuality!
6
Unfortunately, the term "civility" has come to define this debate. "Civility" isn't the issue. Talmadge was a mean guy, as Biden said. But take two senators, Smith and Jones. Both hold equally objectionable views. Smith is civil, Jones is a jerk and an outrageous loudmouth for his views. But you can work with Jones while Smith politely tells you to go to hell. I'll take a Senator Jones over a Senator Smith any day. I suspect Biden would too. It's not "civility," it's workability. At the end of the day you can work to defeat both of them for re-election, but if they're still there, you must deal with it for your constituents, like it or not.
4
Once again, the Dems are snaring defeat from the jaws of victory as they cannibalize their own for the sake of political expediency: in this case, the right to be the party's standard-bearer in the 2020 election against the second worst President in my lifetime.
They remain in total disarray, missing almost every opportunity to miss an opportunity... Dems can no better sanitize their political past (as the party of slavery, and segregation well into the 20th century) as Reps can their heinous support of the current Oval Office occupant (who picked up W's mantle of incompetence and international scorn and continues to run amok with it).
It's just like my Dad used to say, "damn Democrats and rotten Republicans"...
4
The Republican party is already an apocalyptic party in its demonstrated refusal to compromise. We dont't need another one. Democracy and non-compromise absolutism are incompatible.
5
Politicians with long careers suffer the curse of institutional memory. Anyone with the time or motive can delve into the archives and pull up things they did or said long ago that are not now current party line--take these out of time-frame or original political context and you can make all the trouble you want. Does this obsession with the past mean no one is actually interested in what Mr. Biden is doing today, or has to say about the present, let alone the future? Apropos of the photo accompanying this piece, readers might have less interest in his ideas than the address of his dentist.
3
Mr. Stephens is dead right.
In fact a significant proportion of Democrats seem to take the doctrinal position of "anyone but Biden, even Trump!"
If, it turns out that Biden has the best chance of defeating Trump, the Democratic Party will have to decide whether to nominate him or take the "high road" and nominate someone less likely to win thus increasing the likelihood of a Trump victory, handing him the opportunity of increasing the conservative majority on the Supreme Court and thus imprint on country for the next several decades.
That's the reality.
Whether they'll recognize it before it's too is an open question.
9
The reality is that Joe Biden is just too old to adequately represent the broad coalition that makes up today's Democratic Party. His experiences and cultural references are out of date. He doesn't deserve to be ripped apart, but he shouldn't be in this fight.
3
bravo, well said. congress has to stop purity tests from either side and WORK for the people
5
I was relieved when BIden joined the race. Finally, I thought, a realist. Have those so offended by his comments never heard the expression "Politics makes strange bedfellows"? All this affected outrage has got us exactly where we are now, with all but a handful of folks willing to cross party lines to get something done.
7
The striking aspect of this controversy is that Biden's critics want him to be more like Donald Trump -- those who have different views are enemies! Do we remember Abraham Lincoln? Between vilifying those with different views as enemies beneath contempt, and trying to overcome differences to find paths forward, giver me Biden's choice every time. The world won't become perfect overnight. Making it better requires patience and perspective.
6
@Jim Garrett
Segregationists are the enemy.
2
Back when the federal government was functional, friendships and temporary coalitions with and among Senators and Congresspeople of different parties and with different politics were common. John F Kennedy could be friends with George Smathers, for example, even though they disagreed on a lot of things politically. But compromises were made, deals were cut, backs were scratched, egos assuaged, and even filibusters surmounted. Politics were not typically war even when differences were strong. In today's environment passage of something like the 1964 Civil Rights Act would be impossible.
5
The real problem is, Joe is willing to meet Mitch half-way between democracy and authoritarian oligarchy.
They stole a Supreme Court seat. They’ve rammed record numbers of partisan judges through the confirmation process.
They gave away 2 trillion dollars to their donors, in a breathtaking display of corruption.
And crucially: they represent a minority, not a majority, of Americans. By the year 2040, only 30 senators will represent 70% of Americans.
Republican power is contingent upon the failure of democracy.
The fact that Trump could lose, yet “win”, and then stack the courts, isn’t just bothersome: it means war. Where’s your fighting spirit, Joe?
5
As a liberal, what I like about Bret Stephens is that he knows how to put Democrats in front of their true challenges. At some point in their house cleaning, settle scoring debates and Trump-targeted redundant attacks, I hope they get to it. After all, there's a presidential election next year.
4
I think many people misunderstand Biden’s point. He essentially said that even the most heinous people were at least civil and major work could be accomplished.
The unspoken contrast: today, even your best colleagues are uncivil (look at the frenzied criticism from Democrats), and nothing gets done.
6
@Garbolity somehow shouting about how civil you are seems problematic,,Remind you of anybody?,( like a certain stable genius ...)
1
It feels odd for me to agree so wholeheartedly with an opinion by Bret Stephens. The Republicans have become extremists and we Democrats must oppose them by being anti-extremists, not by becoming extremists ourselves.
I wholeheartedly supported Bernie in the Democratic primary of 2016, then dutifully voted for and campaigned for Hillary as all good Democrats did—- and as Bernie himself strenuously insisted all his followers do, once the convention was over.
But now I feel that Bernie is out of touch with the current times. The Democrats’ 2018 victory in the House was caused by the votes of moderate independents and former Republicans who had had enough of Trump, and who opted to support moderate Democrats for Congress instead of his GOP enablers. Not a single Bernie-style progressive flipped any Republican Congress seat; ALL of our gains in the House were won by moderate Democrats. The only Bernie-style Progressives who were elected to Congress came from blue districts where democratic victory was assured in any case.
The only conclusion I can come to is that a moderate Democrat would be the best candidate for president— whether Biden or someone else. Persecuting moderate Democrats for being civil in the past is a loser’s strategy—- and I might add, a ruthlessly divisive and destructive one at that. I have lost all respect for Cory Booker which, as a native of Newark, was very disappointing for me.
14
How is it that Booker can be offended by Biden repeating a word from years ago while I can watch a streaming series where every sentence is punctuated by the n-word?
6
Unless we silence these "identitarians" and reach out to the "communitarians" around us, we're going to lose again.
7
I have been guilty of putting up the middle finger myself. When it comes to the treatment of minorities, like Booker I have strong opinions. The power structure of America subjugates those who are on the bottom. It's bigger than just the police. These structures frankly do not do a good job of acknowledging the very real experiences of minorities. Minorities are not making up their feelings of abuse and mistreatment. And more attention must be paid to helping their communities in serious, thoroughgoing ways.
1
My $0.02:
Although I'll vote for any Democratic nominee against Trump or Pence, I'd rather it doesn't turn out to be either Biden or Booker.
Biden is too gaff-prone and too easy a target. And having turned 70, I don't really want to vote for anybody who will turn 80 in their first term.
I liked Booker based on his personal history. How can you not admire a guy who still lives in the Projects and rushes into a burning building to save an old lady? But I thought his attack on Biden was not only callous, shallow and self-serving, but unconvincing. He lost my primary vote.
On a related topic, everybody I talk to likes Mayor Pete but many question whether he can be elected. IMO, he needs a bit more seasoning and might do better to finish his term in South Bend with distinction before moving back to the national stage.
4
@GPS
It is great that Mayor Pete is running and being heard. I don't think he can win the nomination or the office at this point in time, but he would make a great cabinet secretary or head of a meaningful and impactful agency in the Federal Govt.
Honestly, I would vote for him because it is clear that he engages and uses his brain constantly, and is not prone to egotistical impulse.
Just imposible to believe that the country is ready for such a different and diverse candidate. We will get there, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
2
As a liberal Democrat who thinks we have several first rate candidates, I want to express my complete support of this column. The narrative is that the Democratic Party is now fully in the embrace of Warren, Sander's and AOC and that anyone who does not embrace the hard left is "out of touch". This is so even though Biden has been consistenly ahead in the polls since he announced. Moreover, his support on the part of African Americans is even greater then amongst white voters. Finally, voters over 50 years old, and 63% of voters in 2018 were over 50, also disproportionally support Biden. It may be that the loudest voices are calling for Socialism and Sander's supporters surely have a major footprint on the net,but when it comes to actual voting this angry left will not prevail. Sadly this cannot be said about Mr Stephens party.
5
@Greg Jones: The "hard left" in the US is more or less the center in the other ostensibly democratic developed nations.
5
@Steve Bolger And this is relevant how? I would also like to note that recent European elections have not been so favorable to what you are calling "center" and might better be described as Social Democratic.
2
Brett, for once an excellent factual article. The far left and far right are exactly the same, though they fight for different causes. Nevertheless, both are brittle, incapable of compromise, and full of purity test's. Ick! Compromise gets us moving. My way or the highway......don't think i'll drink that kool aid from either side. All American's deserve progress from our leader's. Far anything....well look at the result's of the far right ideal's. Double ick! Let's make a deal.
7
@Hal Paris: Both extremes are nihilistic. They don't build, they burn.
1
First off; I never thought I would (or could) agree with anything Bret Stephens has written...in this case, I do.
If Booker and Harris are appalled at the prospect of working across the proverbial aisle with affirmed bigots and racists- they must be quite ineffective in their present positions. No, today's affirmed bigots and racists in Congress don't wear, "I'm a proud segregationist" lapel pin- they just confirm their stance every day by what they don't support: Graham, Gohmert, McConnell...
Yes, Joe Biden stumbles over his tongue more often than not, (no one would have called him "boy") but his point is understood: The problem (to me) appears to be not only generational- but geographical. Neither Booker or Harris grew up in the South where millions of blacks routinely confront old guard and neo segregationist/bigoted thinking (and speaking). Ask a black person of-the-south, about it;most (of us) will shrug our shoulders.
Booker and Harris (who I would vote for if either is nominated) saw an opportunity to pounce and took it.
And no...it's not making peace with Jim Crow-it's about the reality of people who may never change their minds about Black people, yet have been elected by their constituents- and must work with other representatives to do the PEOPLE'S business in Congress.
9
Given some of the responses in the comment section against Biden, it looks like 1972 for the Democrats again. Just Great.
110
NOT.
4
I agree that Biden has nothing to apologize for for his remarks about Eastland and Talmadge and that it is essential to compromise with Republicans who, after all, control the senate and a substantial minority of the House.
That said, Biden seems to be living in another era. Biden thInks Jack Kemp and Bob Dole are still in Congress. But trying to compromise with someone like Mitch McConnel is a fool's errand. Today's GOP is only interested in power, not good governance or compromise. Ask Merrick Garland how well Biden's overtures to the GOP worked out. For that matter, how well did President Obama's attempts to get the GOP to assist on the ACA work out?
6
Joe Biden might have some unconscious racism--as when he singled out Barack Obama for being "clean-cut." But most of us middle-class whites over 50 have some unconscious racism. We grew up in a time of segregation and imbibed some of its odious qualities.
My problem with Biden is that he is too much like Obama, too accommodationist. When Democrats on the left pleaded with him to investigate the war crimes of Cheney and Bush, he refused to, on the grounds that it would be too divisive. I suspect that if he were to become president, he would not investigate the manifold crimes of Trump, as Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren have vowed to do.
The main criticism of Biden is that his views are old and tired. It is not that he is chronologically too old. Bernie Sanders is older, but his views about re-distribution and inequality are a lot fresher.
108
@Diogenes -- when Trump suggested investigating Hillary Clintons' supposed illegal activities, cries rang out that we were becoming a third world dictatorship where the victor would have the loser jailed. But it's more than ok for a Democrat to do the same to a Republican predecessor. Biden does represent the Democratic party and congress -- society -- of a mere four years ago. It is deeply troubling, frightening actually, that all have changed so radically. This is why so many voters find Biden attractive. He does represent tolerance, not absolutism, not "the Democratic Party of today."
32
@PL There's a critical difference between Trump's theme that Hillary is a crook accompanied by the cries to lock her up and Warren and Harris' pledge to prosecute Trump crimes. The difference is that Hillary didn't commit crimes while Trump has committed so many that where to begin is the biggest problem.
17
@Diogenes:"But most of us middle-class whites over 50 have some unconscious racism.
We grew up in a time of segregation and imbibed some of its odious qualities."
We? Not sure where you grew up but I grew up in Detroit and lived on the near east side until the late 1980s. So speak for yourself.
In terms of ill-gotten white-privileged inter-generational real estate wealth, that consists of an empty lot where our house once stood. Its assessed value is $102. When we moved out the neighborhood had turned into a war zone by a number of its residents. This was long before the mortgage meltdown or Betsy DeVos. So forget about the false narrative that Elizabeth Warren are peddling.
If you want to make up for your past sins then do so. But my family's, as well as friends' and former neighbors' guilt accounts were closed years ago.
4
To win the White House in 2020, the Democrats will need to win 270 votes in the Electoral College. That outcome will likely turn on moderate and swing voters in six battleground states, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Nevada. Why "moderate and swing voters"? Because they vastly outnumber loyal Democratic voters in those states. http://tinyurl.com/y8sqzs65
I see Joe Biden as the only candidate in the Democratic column who can reach those voters. All the others, including my first choice, Elizabeth Warren, are preaching to the choir, and show no signs of being able to do otherwise.
This is not a matter of policy proposals. If that were the case, Warren would be the hands-down favorite. Rather, it's a matter of comfort zone. Do these voters feel comfortable with the candidate, do they feel he is one of them, and when push comes to shove he will have their backs? That is intangible, I know, but it is decisive in determining voter behavior.
I regard Biden as a "bridge" candidate, able to bridge both old and new, and left and right—not perfectly by any means, but far better than any other candidate in the field. I think most readers will agree on the need to beat Trump. It's a categorical imperative. If we do, all other issues will be on the table. If we don’t, they won’t, and our children will grow up in a police state.
11
Stephens point about keeping a line open to the enemy is very well taken and very well put. That is not how Biden described his relationship with those racist Senators. Nevertheless Biden's statements will not energize people and to go to the polls and vote for him: that's his big problem. Statements like "Democrats must vote for him" did not work for HRC and will not work for Biden.
2
The issue isn’t whether Biden worked with racists in the past. It’s that he doesn’t seem to understand that the current republican party does not negotiate or compromise. Obama made this mistake through his entire first term, facing an obstructionist GOP at every turn. It is eight years as VP, Bidens reaching across the aisle didn’t accomplish anything. What’s worrying is he doesn’t seem to of learned anything from that experience. Campaigning on his ability to reach across the aisle isn’t wrong because he used to reach across to racists but because there’s no reasonable hand to grasp any more and he doesn’t realize it.
7
As much as I dislike Kirsten Gillibrand for wrecking Al Franken’s career over a sophomoric stunt long in the past, I was none too pleased with Franken’s efforts at self-defense — he rolled over and played dead.
So, good for Joe for not apologizing for doing his job.
8
I trust Biden will hang in there until the primaries—then the primary voters will decide.
The primary voters will not be as extreme as the campaign staffs of the 20+ candidates now.
Hang in there, Joe! Be yourself!
6
Back in the 60s a political science professor indicated to us that in his view the art of politics was “the art of getting second-best”. It Is a concept that seems to be little understood these days on a national level. And while there may be a limited number of “no surrender“ issues, one should be able to work with “The devil himself“ to repair a bridge that needs repair. Joe Biden is a man that, not only the Democrats need but, the country needs .
5
I have seen some crazy, frenzied PC attacks in my lifetime, this ruckus over what Biden said is just about the craziest, most destructive I can remember. So Biden said that he could work with people he disagreed with? And what is the problem with that? He could/should work with the legally elected representatives from other states because that is his job. If you can't do that, then please, don't waste our time and energy by running for office. Democracy does not have a purity test.
Democrats: you are going to lose the coming election unless you grow up.
8
Stephens is right. Biden may be living in the past, but he is hardly endorsing his former colleagues' racism.
The important thing is this: Next year, VOTE! Vote for your favorite DEMOCRAT in the primaries; the electorate’s collective wisdom will result in a wise choice.
And vote in November for the DEMOCRATIC candidate, even if you believe he/she is too old, too young, too progressive, too moderate, too white, too nonwhite, too male, too female, too whatever!
Stay home and you’re voting for Trump. Vote for a third-party candidate and you’re voting for Trump. Blame Russia, Comey, etc., but that's how we got him in the first place.
7
It remains to be seen if the Democrats will be smart enough to listen to what Bret has to say. The left wing increasingly reminds me of the French Jacobins of the Revolutions. First, the chopped off the heads of the aristocrats, then they started on each other and the common folk. Lotta heads rolled and misery was the fate of the people for many years. The left wing I think really would like to see a repeat. They will start with Republicans, move on to independents,cause we really can't have any of that and in the end wind up eating each other.
7
Unfortunately for our system of government the Democratic Party and Democrats have changed before our eyes. The latest crop of geniuses running are so far left of center that I can’t see how I could vote for practically anyone of them for President. For me a centrist position would be totally acceptable. Biden is getting wobbly, most of the rest say stupid things that drown out what they may actually think, the middle doesn’t have a clarion call to get above the noise, and then there is the communist B Sanders. Collectively what a mess. I’m not super happy by D Trump but I guess I lean in that direction because he says things that are more in line with my evolution as a voter. Whether he actually carries them out is a whole different thing. Now that I think about it we’re in a mess.
1
The only argument that matters is that Eastland, Thurmond and Talmadge were duly elected representatives of the people who put them in office.
We can't ignore people like that. We must engage or we lose them forever.
And they vote for Trump.
4
It wasn't just the right in 2016 that was nasty and rigidly pure.
Let's not forget that the GOP took the line during pretty much all of Obama's presidency to obstruct anything Obama sought to do, even if it meant it was harmful to the country.
Let's remember how the far right, funded and manipulated by the wealthy GOP donor class, gleefully threatened to "primary" and GOP legislator who committed the sinful act of compromising with Obama - and in some cases, turned out of office some thoughtful, experienced and wise people, like Richard Lugar. And it was an explicit denunciation - so and so "compromised with Obama!"
So, Mr. Stephens is absolutely right about Biden. The left should not lower itself and emulate the crazed idiocy that has taken over the GOP.
2
This is the kind of clear thinking and compromise that got President Hillary Clinton elected.
3
1. The goal is to beat Trump.
2. See No. 1.
5
The only silver lining in this debacle is that it’s reassuring that there are ways in which the left is just as idiotic as the right.
A point that’s being ignored in this “debate” is that not only would nothing get done if the Biden’s and Thurmond’s won’t talk with each other - nothing for either Senator’s constituents, by the way - is that Thurmond was an elected representative of his state. You can argue it was a gerrymandered, poll-taxed, voter-suppressed election, but under our Constitution, that’s not for Biden to decide.
Was Biden, or any other representative, supposed to effectively nullify an election by ignoring the opposition? That is supremely UNdemocratic.
Remember this: Thurmond was holding his nose, too, in working with Biden.
My mom had a saying. If we walked a crosswalk without looking both ways, and said, “I have the right of way,” she’d say, “but if you get hit by a car, you’ll still be dead.” In other words, it often doesn’t matter if you’re right.
7
Great piece. There is so much in here that truthfully describes the situation we are in right now. A lot of people, though I don't believe they constitute the majority of voters, have drifted to the 2 extremes of the political spectrum. And at these extremes, you find cult-like behavior---- "true believer" fanaticism. Both the far right and far left are in scorched Earth, take- no- prisoners mode. Obama's circular firing squad is off and running. Please Dems, don't blow it.
3
Yes, Joe Biden has nothing to apologize for. All he did was make it clear, once again, that the the real choice for Democrats this primary season is between a candidate who focuses on rebuilding the center among "traditional" Democrats , or a candidate that is trying to mobilize the far greater numbers of disenchanted non voters, especially Millenials.
Biden's remarks show that he is out of touch with the latter. Racists called him "son" and not "boy"? Why is that significant for someone who is obviously not a black "boy"? In the McConnell era, after 8 years stonewalling the Obama administration, after which the Senate majority ossified into a monolith under Trump's cult of hate, why does he think stories about "the good old days" will inspire and mobilize those who are already cynical and may have given up on politicians decades ago?
Biden doesn't care that he is out of touch, because his strategy is not directed toward those who see him as such. Stephens, whose view on Israel- "Anti-Zionism is anti-Israel" - knows that his extreme outlook has little chance of gaining traction with newly mobilized younger voters, and naturally will support a reliable "moderate."
If Biden wins the nomination, of course I'll vote for him. However, a Democratic win in 2020 will be less likely because a lot of potential new voters will not see someone with new ideas at the top of the ticket. We Boomers are aging and dying - look to the future.
The issue is not that Biden worked across the aisle, that is expected of elected officials. His problem is he fails to see why the segregationists called him son instead of boy. There is a difference between being patronized and insulted; particularly when it is based on skin color. It is the difference between Trump’s racist attacks on Obama’s US citizenship and Trump’s lame-o nickname for Biden (and his calling Warren Pocahontas).
1
Unfortunately, we can't abandon lessons from the past, or we are bound to repeat it. Just look at the current White House and ponder: the rise of Mussolini and other dictators who squelch free speech (think: No Press Conferences for over 100 days, Twitter rants and manipulations, over 10,000 lies, taking dirt form Russians), plunder the people's riches (think: Tax Cut for the Rich), and a POTUS who has only the most loyal sycophants at their side (think: Kellyanne Conway, Willam Barr, Pat Cipollone, Sean Hannity). We need a President who understands how the US Government is supposed to be run as our Founding Fathers intended, so our nation can be restored to sanity. Biden fits that bill, in my mind, and he needs our support. He will pave the way for a more Progressive Path forward.
4
Agreed, Biden owes no apology to the moral purists of his party, who have everything to learn from him about the virtues of political compromise. But couldn’t he have chosen better – I mean, less toxic -- examples of civility amidst disagreement? There were other senators, on both sides of the aisle, whose views were often at odds with his own, but with whom he nevertheless maintained civil, even friendly relationships. John McCain is one example of many. By choosing two dyed-in-the-wool segregationists, who could have called him “boy” but instead called him “son” (would they have extended the favor to Cory Booker?), Biden once again shows his tone-deafness in matters of race, gender and ethnicity.
Putting a generous spin on it, this latest gaffe may really be part of a deliberate strategy on Biden's part: to set himself apart from the PC progressives who dominate the party, and thus to attract Republicans, independents and centrist Democrats who might otherwise support Trump. More likely, he just can’t help himself. If he’s the party’s nominee, his handlers will be cleaning up after him full-time.
2
Biden may have given Fred Upton much more than a kind word.
According to the New York Times, January 23, in an article headlined Joe Biden's Paid Speech Buoyed the Top in Midwest
Battleground, Biden more or less timed a speech at the Economic
Club of Southwestern Michigan a couple of days before the election. Matt Longhorn had just started running even with
Upton. Biden's decision here was self-serving, and it may have
cost his party a congressional seat. Please, good writer, always
be Sincerely fair to the opposition.
I don't often agree with Mr. Stephens, but I do find him a thoughtful voice from the right and do enjoy his tete-a-tetes with Gail. I agree with his thoughts here. As a lifelong liberal, and liberal-thinker, I wonder where "liberal" and "progressive" have gotten over-taken by political correctness. Also, I take issue with this crazy pouncing-on-every-gaffe, big or small, and parading it on the 24-hour news cycle until there is another dead horse to beat. The most important thing in the next 18 months is to ensure the defeat of Donald Trump. The Democrats need to circle the wagons rather than engage in the circular firing squad, and the press needs to remember its role in foisting Donald Trump on us - by engaging in a false equivalency between him and Hillary Clinton. Please, don't let this happen again.
4
Mr Stephens column is histrionic. “Apocalyptic” politics? Come on. Mr Biden is simply careless and tone deaf; he chose a bad example of “civility” and proceeded to make gratuitous comments. As an elder statesman Mr Biden is now a little feisty and it almost seems like he’s trying to “pull a Trump,” belligerently demanding that Mr Booker to apologize and refusing to consider that his remarks were insensitive to a good chunk of voters he’s hoping to win. No one is calling Biden a racist. But he does seem to misjudge optics and that will not be a winning quality in this election.
2
And so the "maturity" of our national politics continues to degrade, from adult to high school, and now sounding like middle school. Will we drop to elementary school level? Listen for major candidates calling each other "poopoo heads". And people liking that.
1
Joe Biden’s comment about the civility of segregationists was the clearest demonstration of how out of touch he is today. Biden’s campaign boils down to “elect me because I am the only one who can work across the aisle and get things done.” Obama said much the same thing when he ran, but was undermined by his naivete in dealing with the likes of Mitch McConnell who put political power over the nation’s well being (“My first priority is to make Obama a one-term president.” “My greatest achievement is denying Obama his pick for the Supreme Court.”) Biden’s boast is belied by the fact that as Obama’s VP, with all his relationships and experience in the Senate, he was unable to get the Republicans to compromise on health care, gun violence, immigration reform, climate action, infrastructure.
Biden seems stuck in the pre-Newt Gingrich “Contract ON America” halcyon days. Around the country, see the extent to which Republicans will use ruthless tactics to undermine the democratic process – in Oregon, a Republican threatened to shoot any state trooper who attempts to bring him back to the State House for a quorum; in Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Republicans diluted the power of Democratic governor; they use recall votes, recounts, lawsuits, voter suppression, gerrymandering, census manipulation; they overlook criminal activity, erosion of constitutional separation of powers, abuse their oversight powers (Benghazi!!!!) then obstruct investigations into actual corruption.
4
My 86 years have been lived among apocalyptic religious speech from closest relatives and among superb friends and neighbors who actually voted for Trump - LOL! I, who can't tolerate Trump and who avoid absolutist religion, say: "GO BIDEN!!"
5
What's "hysterical" is the histrionics coming from Biden's defenders who intentionally miss the point. This hysteria is part of a pattern: everytime some people say, "You've crossed a line, please acknowledge that," other people fly into hysterics about "My free speech!" "PC off the rails!"
People aren't upset that Biden could work with opponents; if they were, that would have come up long ago. It's what he praised. Jim Crow, state sponsored terrorism and dehumanization are not on the same level as the existence of Israel; there is no legitimate argument for the former.
But this response to Biden's critics is one that reflects how some Americans choose to react to questions about what they consider their "rights." "Equality" comes to mean, "I'm being oppressed;" "Polite" comes to mean, "I'm being censored." I'd say it comes from "white privilege," but I think it's older than that: it's just good old fashioned false pride. Get over yourselves: you're not always right, and you're not the most important people in the room.
2
I'd rather have Biden's brand of civil and cooperative politics than Trump's divisive and abusive brand. When I heard Biden's remarks, I immediately thought that he was the kind of politician we need to follow Trump. Trump is a destroyer. What we need to follow him is someone to build bridges. Our dysfunctional government has got to be mended and that can only happen through the cooperation of those who may oppose each other, but understand their position as public servant. We need representatives willing to set aside their personal grievances and disagreements for the good of the country. I was very disappointed in the response of Democrats to Biden's remarks. If Democrats plan to be every bit as destructive as Trump is, what's the point in electing them?
5
Bret Stephens has this exactly right. Leave it to the Democrats to find a way to machine gun themselves in their collective foot.
They had better get together and stop this nonsense immediately or they'll hand this repulsive, destructive president a second term.
5
Most of the loser Democratic candidates have no chance of winning, nor any logical and constructive platform, except to tear down the only candidate who could win the election. They should stop looking at the election as one that only a woman or better yet, a woman of color deserves to win. If Biden is the best candidate that then he should be the nominee. The only reason they have so much to criticize about him is that he has a longer track record than all the others put together. He was running for president n the 1980s.l
3
Mitch M. seems like he is one of those people who won't work with people he doesn't agree with. Not agreeing with a blatant racist is the proper stance but if you can ever hope to convince
him to see your point of view, you have to at least be able to talk to him.
2
Yeah, Biden has nothing to apologize for. Much. I guess he should never apologize for anything, even when he's flat wrong. Apologizing shows weakness, cowardice, shows he's not a manly man, sorta like your president, Mr. Stephens. Specially, Biden should never apologize to Anita Hill.
Nah, he had to get things done, and to get things done he had to hang out with contemptible slime sometimes. That's the deal in politics.
Let me ask: where do you draw the line? Is there no stance so abhorrent and hateful, so stupid, so destructive that you can't "work together" just to get things done?
Where's the limit? That you would stoop to compromise with the devil just to get the trains running on time?
It's not histrionics or hysteria, or an “apocalyptic” approach to politics to have a moral compass and stick to principles you hold sacred, and not to have to take a shower after dealing with despicable people just to "get things done".
4
"All of this is evidence of what psychologist Pamela Paresky calls the “apocalyptic” approach to politics that increasingly typifies today’s progressivism."
And an approachwhose potency has unfortunately been demonstrated by the Tea Party in the past decade. I sure hope the Democratic party does not get taken over by our brand of lunatics as the Republican party did.
1
The usual Democrat circular firing squad is locked and loaded. And they are doing a big chunk of Trump’s dirty work. Will they never learn?
6
I am willing to wager that those who are leaping to the defense of Joe Biden are Baby Boomers. Younger generations on the whole are not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Joe Biden's critics are not being histrionic. Biden's time has passed; his irrelevancy and cluelessness is illustrated in such remarks as "there is not a racist bone in my body." He makes egregious unforced errors such as claiming that he was called "son" by a Dixiecrat rather than "boy." We also cannot forget how he treated Anita Hill during the Clarence Thomas hearings. We need a younger candidate or at least one in tune with the times.
2
Prime Minister Chamberlin though he could have a constructive dialog with the then German Chancellor. He even got a piece of paper signed by the Chancellor which Chamberlin thought guaranteed peace.
2
Most people can agree that working with people with whom you disagree is expected; what many people do. You neglected to include what else Biden said, “...they did not call me boy, they called me son.” Was that necessary? Was that purposeful? What was the purpose? What was he trying to say? To whom? Joe Biden is an adult white man, why would anyone call him boy?
2
"The last thing Democrats need is to allow the nasty left do to them in 2020 what the nasty right did to Republicans in 2016."
What? You mean win?
2
To be fair, Biden should have ditched the "boy/son" line (which some could reasonably find offensive), and what Booker actually said (as opposed to what others said) was reasonable, so Biden should probably have just said that he is sorry if anyone misunderstood his intent, and not asked Booker to apologize.
1
It was his clueless use of the word "boy" that got Biden in trouble. Yes, a segregationist senator would call him "son". But he would call adult black men boys. Corey Booker made this point. He didn't call Biden a racist.
But Biden assumed that he did and made a strident demand that Booker apologize for something he never said. Shades of Trump "If there's a mistake, I didn't make it. You did."
While Biden is nostalgic for the civility of the past, he lacks it in the present. He could have demonstrated comity. Instead, he blew a gasket.
60
@Rey Buono Biden has told this story before, and his point was that this guy never called him “senator.”
If John Lewis can get past a poor choice of words, then I’m not sure what the rest of us are so upset about.
112
I agree with Stephens's column. That said, I think that Biden, whom I like and will continue to support, was inartful and out of tune with today's sensitive Democrat lefties. To make his point he could have chosen less racially extreme senate colleagues ... he did not develop the context as Bret did. And reference to not being called "boy" is astonishingly out of tune. Instead of apologizing, he should continue to make his point, giving context and parallels.
Also: note that most black voters are not nearly as aroused about the episode as eg Booker and Harris, both of whom I also like and respect.
1
“The same people who think it’s a good idea to maintain an open line to foreign enemies apparently now believe it’s appalling for Biden to have observed collegial norms with fellow Democrats.“
Wrong. No one thinks it was appalling for Biden to have observed such norms in the 1970s. We do however think it was a mistake for him rely on those particular relationships as examples of a lost golden age of civility. Why not highlight work he did with Bob Dole and John McCain instead?
What’s more, Biden’s rhetoric of bipartisan collegiality misrepresents the source of partisan polarization. The GOP has been practicing scorched earth obstructionism since the Contract for America at least. Obama got elected - twice - preaching evenhandedness and post-partisanship. What did he get for it? Government shutdowns, debt ceiling hostage taking and a stolen Supreme Court seat.
I don’t think Biden is a racist. I do however think he is dangerously confused about the malignant character of the Republican opposition.
3
Once again, Both Sides Bret shows why he is the very embodiment of hack journalisim.
Apparently, Bret still thinks this is the '70's where working across the aisle with a party whose very existence has been to oppose everything Democrats do anyway. Democrats have had to deal with legislation that becomes watered down due to Republicans playing the zero sum game, looking for every angle to claim a victory when it wasn't a victory for the people.
Hey Bret, ask Obama, or Clinton for that matter how well working across the aisle worked for them.
1
I won't vote for Joe Biden unless I have to. And I believe that politics requires some distasteful choices to accomplish important tasks. I do not believe these are the issues that make Biden and others unsuitable for President, but the much larger issue of how a leader confronts a difficult and controversial past. I have Justice Kavanagh in mind here. We must be able to trust our leaders to do what is best for the country when they have not done that in the past. It is up to them to show that they have learned what it takes, not for me to tell them how. Biden seems to be unable to respond to his own past inadequacies, even by a careful account of the different worlds and contexts involved.
Stephen's column is extremely insightful. With the demand for some kind of purity tests on both the right and the left we are witnessing a Congress that cannot function on behalf of its citizens. Not long ago I saw a list of the Democratic hopefuls who were successful in getting bills passed. Percentage wise the two highest were Biden followed by Klobuchar. The rest of the candidates lagged far behind. These two were both able to get things accomplished because they were able to work with fellow senators who they might disagree with 99% of the time. They also understand that legislative results often require compromise. Without this our government will be at a standstill benefiting nobody.
I also wish more of the younger candidates and for that matter everyone understood something about our history to realize that our country has moved forward as a result of some difficult compromises. Perhaps things don't move as quickly as some might like, but that is the price we pay in a country which is so diverse.
5
I'll watch the Democratic debates next week and I'll support the candidates who talk about their positions and ideas. If the knives come out and they start attacking each other they've lost me. We Democrats have to stand up for the party and go after the Republicans and Trump, not each other. A circular firing squad is playing into the GOP's and Trump's hands. Down that road is another 4 years of Trump.
7
This column should be required reading for every last Democratic candidate. If ever there was a political party that knew how to dash the cup of victory from its own lips, it's the Democrats.
12
Stephens is right on.
It's becoming apparent that progressive liberalism is like a form of religious orthodoxy.
And dissent is heresy.
Personally, I don't want to live in a theocracy.
9
Bret, I believe that most understood the underlying subtext of what Joe Biden was trying to say.
One would have preferred better examples of working with those you have differences with, but this is, after all, Joe Biden and this is far from the first time he has expressed himself in an inartful sort of way.
That being said, there are reasons why Biden would have worked with James Eastland and Herman Talmadge early in his Senate career.
Biden was against busing and, by extension, desegregation of our nation's schools. That is how he won his first election and he did work with both to try and circumvent the SC decision.
It is Biden that opened this door and yes, since he opened this door, then he should also explain what he felt then and why, what he feels now and why and lastly, what are the lessons learned, if any.
I do not doubt that Biden's positions have evolved over the years, but, in light of our current president and the kind of support he attracts, the last thing Democrats need is a candidate that might feed from that very same kind of trough.
2
This is a rare time where I actually agree with Brett. With all due respect, Ms.Harris and Mr. Booker have demonstrated why so many are cynical of politics and politicians. The purity of the “woke” moment is simply naive. It is legitimate however, to debates the merits of bi-particitizenship in the post Gingrich world of politics as war. Biden’s position that he can build across the aisle consensus may be equally naive. What a fine mess we have on our hands.
5
The reactions of Cory Booker et al were as predictable as Trump’s punch lines. Biden is the front-runner. That is it.
He has been doing politics for 40 years – and that is a long time. Sure you will find thoughts and actions that are at odd with today’s ones but, IMHO, the democrats are doing a big mistake disparaging Biden for urging civility in today’s politics. He chose an example that looks terrible – but that was happening in Washington in those days and he had to deal with them.
Today, making a compromise with a Trump follower would demand Kamikaze.
I understand that here should be zero tolerance for racism. But should zero tolerance be in your heart or in your actions or both? Making a compromise with a hard line Trump follower will be an act of treason to your ethics? Does the end justifies the means? Old hard questions - still are.
To end Trump’s reign Democrats will have to make SMART compromises, if not – it will be 2016 all over again. Their choice.
6
In order to work in government you need to work with people and in the best cases you aren’t going to agree with much of what they believe in. The sign of an effective leader is knowing how to put aside your own personal beliefs for the collective well being of this country. This is the core foundation behind our democracy. In many ways, Mr. Biden might seem a little out of touch with the current political climate-and as a millennial voter that skews towards the liberal spectrum this is his most appealing quality. The office of the president should be viewed as a job and the best candidate is the person that can bring this divided country back together by, you know, doing things. Mr. Biden’s long record on the Hill, his amazing and repeated ability to pass legislation through both parties when neither thought it could be done, and his continued attempts to try to learn and grow as he gets older, should be applauded. Instead, he is called a racist when he draws on his political record simply to say he has even been able t white nationalists see logic, perhaps to imply that today, when there is a resurgence of such nationalism he has encountered and dealt with similar challenges. This is why Democrats lose races. Politics are not college campuses.
8
Well said. This cuts right to the heart of the issue.
7
In Aristotle's hierarchy of friendship, I believe 'usefulness' is one of the lowest forms--and quite superficial. So easy to walk away when it has served its purpose.
I'm repeatedly stunned and disappointed here with what seems to be miscontrusing or ignoring what should be reasonable and simple points. Biden's message--and Stephens further dive into it--is that when faced with colleagues with some of the most extreme and abhorrent views, one should try to work with them on the business of Congress. Eastland and Talmadge were two votes. There would be issues on defense appropriations or an agriculture bill that may have nothing to do with race or segregation. Biden's position is you work with colleagues when you can. Being civil does not--or should not-- be construed as endorsing everything about them.
Thanks, Bret, for once again cutting through the noise for plain common sense.
8
Desperate times calls for desperate measures. The world is three, maybe four generations away from catastrophe environmental damage. Biden is a shill for corporate interests, always has been. Mr. Stephens also is a champion of the corporate class. Corporations want status quo. The world needs change, a seventy something man who doesn't know the difference between being addressed as "boy" or "son" needs to step aside.
3
I agree with Bret. With the two major parties staking out black-and-white positions on everything, and having those positions essentially diametrically opposed, we are simply in store for more chaos. I see very little difference between the nastiness of Trumpers and so-called progressives. If the Democrats ultimately succeed in capturing all three branches of government, I would hope we have a Biden rather than a Sanders in the oval office.
7
It is traditional for revolutionaries to demand the appearance of ideological purity. That was true of the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution, the Cultural Revolution and others. The "revolutionaries" have typically hunted down their own comrades for the sole purpose of increasing their own hold on power. Inevitably. all revolutions also face counter-revolutions and the purging cycle continues.
The current polarization in the American politics risks similar paths. We can only hope that the electorate will not succumb to the seduction of simple slogans and 140 character tweets. Unfortunately, evidence points to the contrary.
11
I agree with Brett and hope the far left mudslinging back-fires, but also hope that Joe, if President, will ruthlessly fire-back at any my-way-or-highway tricks that the GOP plays against his attempts at collegiality.
7
Meaning he will continue with Rep agenda?
@yulia No.
Thank you, Bret, for providing needed perspective here to the wing of the party that seems to define itself by Victorian-esque rectitude that prizes outrage over all else (context, nuance, pragmatism, and big-tent tolerance to name a few). Unfortunately, this "pathology" seems to be as appealing to millennials as it is repulsive to GenX'ers like myself.
If we start to firing virtue mortars at each other to jockey for tactical position, the only winner is Trump. The way Biden has (so far) dealt with this misguided sortie from Booker is *exactly* the behavior that will win back one-time Trump voters.
13
Bret's column is a reminder to us progressives that wisdom is not the sole province of liberalism. Getting along to get things done is not moral compromise, it is pragmatism that serves a greater good. Joe Biden could not choose his Senate colleagues, he had to deal with who was there. His words were inartful, not a surprise for man whose brain is sometimes not connected to his tongue. That said, the principle he was describing is the right one. You can't achieve major policy goals just by working within your own party. I am hoping Dems will work across the aisle on infrastructure and reducing drug prices. Our allies are not always of our choosing. FDR undoubtedly had deep reservations about Stalin, yet he was a crucial ally in winning the war.
9
I am struggling with the more critical conclusion that the Dems are apocalyptic. It seems that the the GOP guided by McConnell chose the apocalyptic path.
The Dems are forced to respond to a group that is unwilling to compromise, does not understand quid pro quo, and will change long-standing rules/standards/norms when it benefits them. Then they will berate anyone who challenges them on their own terms.
What is the correct counter to an apocalyptic GOP -- that may be a true existential threat to the environment, economic stability,...?
4
It's refreshing and reassuring to see a Democratic candidate, Biden, who, instead of spending his time engaging in the usual Democratic circular firing squad, focuses on the much harder but much more important job of defeating Trump. It's also reassuring to see a candidate who admits to having made mistakes and evidenced having learned from them, yet refuses to apologize for a mistake he did not make just because a twitterati lynch mob demands it. It's also worth noting that with a long, very public career, Biden has had much more opportunity not only to make mistakes but to have done so where there is a record of them, not like the significantly younger candidates, especially those with little if any public record.
In an otherwise entirely appropriate piece I would take issue with one statement Stephens endorses, that the anybody-but-Biden crowd is essentially apocalyptic. I would describe them, rather, as simply lazy. It is much easier to view the world as a collection of bumperstickers than it is to deal with nuance and complexity. And, it is much easier to lose the war with an epitaph on your tombstone that says, "But I was right" than it is to fight on and on in never-ending battles, slogging through the mud to improve things, "justified" in doing so by willfully confusing aspiration with reality.
As done to Al Franken, most Democratic candidates demonstrate an essential wimpiness, finding it much easier to go after their own than Trump who always will fight back.
9
“It is an apocalyptic perspective, not a liberal one, that sees the world as needing to be destroyed and replaced rather than improved and perfected.”
What Pamela Paresky says pertains to the way political extremists on both the far right and left think and act.
1. Some old studies in social psychology demonstrated that people with extreme political views--right or left--are likely to think in black-and-white terms, tend to accept only a narrow range of political views, are highly rejecting of alternative views, even those close to their own, and often refuse to compromise.
For example, tea partiers were often mad at the GOP for ever compromising and not being harsh enough in their policies. The 1960s far left Weathermen spent a lot of time bashing SDS and most especially the Democratic Party.
2. Also, a big difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is that the Republican leaders (e.g., McConnell) demand loyalty to the party as a top priority, every GOP politician being on the same page--authoritarian style.
The politicians in the Democratic Party feel no such obligation--as the frequent analogy to Nancy Pelosi herding cats indicates. And that is what makes being a Democrat or liberal so much more fun than being a lock-step Republican.
3. Some of the carping against what Biden said reflects: (1) a cohort effect, whereby younger people do not understand how politics was played decades ago; and/or (2) merely an opportunity to knock down a rival.
8
As pretty typical of Bret Stephens, he willfully ignores the real point in order to land some punches against liberals. The problem here is not that Biden exercised comity and civility in order to get things done in the ‘70s—it’s that he thinks citing his working relationship with segregationists is a good political strategy today. He’s so tone deaf he doesn’t appear to know the connotations of the word “boy” when it’s used in the same sentence as “segregationist.”
Stephens says the progressive goal is “to rid the party of compromisers of any sort.” He’s pretending that there are currently compromisers on the right to work with, which is of course not the case. If all the compromisers, like Biden, are on the left, the direction of all compromise is toward the right. What progressives, and most Americans actually, want is for the right to move back to the center. You only have to look at the new anti-abortion laws across the country to see what I’m talking about.
I’d love to read a Bret Stephens column one day that doesn’t reek of disingenuousness.
8
"How dare he try to work with his opponents instead of seeking to shun or annihilate them?" How dare those apocalyptic lefties who don't want to compromise?
Biden, and you Bret, miss that you can't compromise with an opponent who sees that as weakness. How did compromising with Mitch work for you, Joe? And who started demonizing their opponents, Bret? "Tit for tat" - Proportional responses for escalation and de-escalation.
Joe also misses that his "good" relations with segregationists was at the expense of the segregated. He's now seeking to represent a lot of people who are no longer willing to stay in their place, especially when Trump wants to make their place NO PLACE.
3
A light in a time of darkness.
We need to find common ground.
Platitudes.
But true.
5
Biden's statement was wrongheaded, but not for the reasons that have been sited by pearl-clutching Democrats.
Biden was trying to prove the point that as President he could reach across the aisle and get things done with Republicans. As an example, he used the work he did with segregationist Democrats 40+ years ago. In so doing, he actually proved the opposite of what he was trying to say.
It showed that partisans will always work with their own party-mates, even if it means sometimes turning their back on their own principles. In the 70s, it meant Biden trying to seek compromise with segregationists in their own party. In 2019, it means Marco Rubio showing up at a Trump campaign rally and Lindsay Graham ignoring the President's unseemly attacks on his deceased friend.
What he didn't show (because he could not) was how his decades of comity convinced any of his former colleagues to stand down on filibustering gun control when a Senate majority approved it, or to at least consider Merrick Garland. It reminded older voters and informed younger ones that the Democratic party was once a safe haven and that even in his early 30s, Biden was finding the center lane, even when it meant denouncing bussing, a position he has yet to amend.
And once again, it proved that Biden is undisciplined and unable to reach out to one group without alienating another or to address an issue without rambling on until he manages to say the wrong thing.
1
Democrats can’t seem to accept success. I wondered if the old pattern of squabbling and chicken fights would dominate the dialogue once they were in a position to loosen the grip of the greatest threat to our democratic experiment since the early 1950’s.
Those of us who lived through the agonizing process of loosening the hold of Jim Crow Democrats only to have the agenda gladly accepted by Nixon, Thurmond and their like at least understand the battle lines. Trump represents the boil that will eventually burst and finally return our country to balance between extremes. It was absolutely necessary for young Democrats to work with the racist Old Guard in order to supplant them. Biden, Hollings and others performed this function.
The Democrat Left needs to leave Biden alone on this one. Sure, his syntax and “foot in mouth” propensity often makes one squirm. That’s Joe. Understand what he trying to say, not what his tangled verbiage might indicate to those already primed to thoroughly cleanse the party of any vestige of accommodating lingering elements of the bad old days.
10
I believe that Mr. Stephens hit the nail on the head here. The so called ‘liberal’ party is slowly becoming ILLIBERAL on many different levels. It often appears to be stuck in its own bubble, with its own dogma that more and more resembles a religion with all its do’s and don’ts. There is a striking arrogance here that says ‘we are right and the others are simply evil’ and, therefore, there is no need or desire to even listen to other points of view. I would like to vote for a democrat in the next presidential election, but, so far, Biden is the only one in my opinion who marches to his own beat and refuses to be part of this new ‘religious’ left.
9
@Malone Cooper: Nobody is more arrogantly religious than the evangelical mob pining for the Rapture who bet on Trump to get their God to come out of its closet.
As a lifelong member of the unrepentant “left,” I could not agree more with Bret Stephens’ criticism of the “chattering class” of liberal pundits and opinion makers with the loudest voices decrying Biden’s audacity to work with his racist colleagues. None offer a better way to go about trying to make a better country working with the situation at hand. None seem to like democracy very much.
The same, of course, can be said of the chattering classes & pundits on the right. But the difference is that Democrats and liberals are critical of their undemocratic and authoritarian tendencies. A pox on both their houses.
With the exception of Trump supporters who have melded with their captors in TV news and radio, I find differences with my “conservative” friends interesting, thought provoking, and not all that great while our relationships con jovial and fulfilling.
Maybe its the chattering class of punditry that’s the problem and their incessant need to sell us something by grabbing our attention?
13
@Alan McCall: It really is amazing how masochistic Americans are. Herman Talmadge was the meanest man Biden ever met. Who votes for these guys?
I find it amusing to read comments and arguments about why Biden shouldn't have worked with Kirtland and Talmadge and how he represents "old school" political maneuvering to get legislation passed, when all the while Biden continues to have a substantial lead over other Democrats in primary polls.
And in a recent poll, he leads Trump by 10 points in a general election.
Argue all you want, but it appears a large numbers of voters think he's the strongest candidate to go up against Trump next year. And they could probably care less about what he did in the past. They're simply looking to get a Democrat back in the White House.
Deal with it.
10
For now. Clinton also looked very good especially in comparison to Trump. Could you guess who won the election?
1
@yulia - Well, James Comey announcing right before the election that he would re-open an investigation into her use of a private email server certainly didn't help.
Keep in mind that voter participation by African-Americans was down 6 - 7% in the 2016 election from 2012, or at least 8 million votes. So apparently she didn't appeal strongly enough for them to come to the voting booths.
Biden remains popular among this group because of his loyalty to and support of President Obama. Bernie didn't do as well with African-Americans as he expected. Harris and Booker aren't polling nearly as well as Biden or even Elizabeth Warren.
Remember - Trump won Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania by a total of 77,000 votes cast. Trump will not win PA if Biden is running and he'd probably lose the other two states, both of which just threw out Republican governors in favor of Democrats.
1
I'm 63 and Joe Biden is yesterday.
"Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans"
Can the Democrats find someone under 70--at least (Kennedy was 43 when he spoke these words)--who is smart and a fighter (I'm looking at YOU, Mayor Pete).
Joe has so much baggage, and what happens when the Dems nominate him and in the general election he goes all "Uncle Joe" either through what he says with his mouth or does with his hands.
ENOUGH! Turn it over to the NEXT GENERATION!
4
Biden didn't adopt the views of the segregationist senators. He simply resolved to work with them as best he could under the circumstances. This controversy over Biden's statements is made up nonsense and is typical of present day political discourse.
16
Actually he did, he voted ageing busing to integrate the schools. That was his compromise. He was willing to keep school segregated for sake of 'civility' not to be called 'boy'
Corporate-media pundits from the left and right come running to Biden's defense - all because he is NOT Sanders and therefore won't advocate any of those "nasty left" policies (that happen to be quite popular with the public) such as Medicare for all, a livable minimum wage, meaningful action on climate change (all of the policies corporate America is against).
4
Stephen's has it right.
I've been warning my Republican friends that their rightward lurch into crazy-town will come back to bite them with the Democratic Party; and warning my Democratic friends they are going to end up looking like the Tea Party or Freedom Caucus if they keep advancing these purity tests. Both sides are locked into a Yeat-sian cycle of mutual radicalization and it will end in a bad place;
all are infected with this malignancy.
“… in their acts of vengeance they went to even greater lengths, not stopping at what justice or the good of the state demanded, but making the party caprice of the moment” and in “the prosecution of their revenge to set the example of doing away with those general laws to which all alike can look for salvation in adversity, instead of allowing them to subsist against the day of danger when their aid may be required.”.
6
OK, people are not all of a piece. In priivate, even a bigot like James Eastland may have one or two virtues. Even the most progressive Democrat, in private, may be a louse. But, what counts in the public world, which includes the US Senate, is how one votes. When Biden, whom I love, entered the Senate, there were actually a few progressive GOP senators with whom he probably interacted. Could he not have used them as examples of working across the aisle? The fact that he named those two anti-diluvian Dixiecrats shows a terrible lack of judgment. And, given the talent in the array of Democratic candidates, it would be wise to be wary of this and other lapses on Biden's part.
1
I disagree Brett. It is our responsibility to shun segregationists at every turn. not to tolerate them for our own benefit. thats racism in the good old boy network sort of way. strong folk stand up and object. you dont have to be obnoxious . just stand up for whats right
I agree with mr. Coates
Joe Biden showed weakness in kowtowing to men of this type .
add this to his other poor qualities as a candidate and he should step aside and let others with a less tarnished track record vie for the nomination.
his time has passed.
3
Spot on. Biden has no control over who gets elected to the senate, but he has to work with whoever does get elected to accomplish anything. This is the essence of politics, the reality that all congressmen and women must face, and those who would sacrifice this on the altar of political correctness are displaying pathetic ignorance. If it turns out that "progressive" is just a euphemism for "intolerance", and if these "progressives" prevail within the democratic party, then America's decline is just that much closer to complete.
9
Refreshing to read such a column. I’d wager 80 percent of Americans agree. Who benefits from apocalyptic politics? Who is able to live fully without constant compromise and adjustment? Nobody I’ve met.
10
“Who benefits from apocalyptic politics?”
I’d say Mitch McConnell and the GOPers who stood shoulder to shoulder against anything the black President wanted.
I, for one, am tired of Dems bring their dull knives to the GOP gun fight.
1
I am a lifelong democrat who has written off progressives as perpetually aggrieved, highly-strung outrage junkies who have completely lost perspective.
The left doesn't understand that they've become the irrational flip side of Trump-loving republicans.
12
Biden has spent many years in the arena. He understands real politics. Presidential Obama said he would take “half a loaf” today and go back for the other half later. That world doesn’t exist anymore. Being immovable feels good but it doesn’t work.
1
For eight long Obama-Biden years, the Republicans in Congress said "No!" to anything that the Democrats proposed, no matter what it was. Well, if you do unto others as you would have them do unto you, it is very likely that the Republicans are deeply afraid that the Democrats will say "No!" to anything that they propose, no matter what it is, when and if the Democrats become a majority in Congress. This would be returning tit for fat, and maybe the Republicans should have thought about it before they started it. (Yes, they started it. Thanks, Mitch McConnell!) As far as I am concerned, I just want government to work, and if that means taking things into consideration, no matter who proposes that thing, I'm all for that.
2
Biden has no core principals. I know where Trump stands, agree or not agree. When you have compromised yourself, spoken at the funerals of known segregationists, it is a bit different than currying their favor for a vote. We see the future of Biden here and in his flip-flop on the Hyde amendment. Whatever your opinion of the Hyde amendment, do you trust a person who changes their mind on such an important issue a belief they held for decades, when they decide to seek the nomination? Bret, you seem to dislike Trump mainly on character issues, where do you stand on Biden’s character, or lack there of? Meanwhile, the other Democratic candidate, save a few, are full fledge members of the intolerant left and arguing for a Socialist Revolution. Their tactics remind me of Stalin, and we know where that went.
Like Booker and Harris, I'd be loathe to even be in the same room with people like Gohmert, King, McConnell,and Nunes. But I didn't run for public office. If you don't want to negotiate and compromise with racists and homophobes, you don't want to legislate. No matter which Dem wins the nomination, putting them in the White House will do little to achieve a progressive agenda if the Senate remains in GOP control. Half the Dem candidates should drop out and run vigorous campaigns to flip the Senate.
5
I believe you are absolutely right on the money here! I am cringing at the rhetoric I am hearing from those candidates commanding Biden to apologize. I keep thinking: GET A GRIP. Our goal is to defeat Donald Trump. PAY ATTENTION!
6
Stop the circular firing squad - Please, for the sake of the planet! Biden is right not to capitulate, there is too much nuance to reduce it to that. I think actually this is where he is the right man at this moment.
Is this a cultural phenomenon somehow on steroids thanks to social media? Do the democrats want to gain the White House, or is that not as important as long as they have their tribal, Lord of the Flies-via iPhone world? Start fighting the bigger fight, Dems. And, It is unwise to have this constant over-stating of comparisons. Of course this was not Jim Crow. What was Coates thinking? (Or was he?) We need to put down the devices, and THINK.
4
Without moderates Kevin McCarthy would be Speaker.
1
I totally agree! President Obama was reviled by many Republicans and by Trump yet he chose to try to work with them despite the viciousness of the then Tea Party. The current batch of Democratic candidates are falling in to the Sanders trap - destroy each other and weaken the oart. Kirsten G statement that it’s the party of women is so wrong - it’s the party of Democrats. The media is doing Trump’s work again.
2
FINALLY - a word of reason in this age of media run amok.
This is a Biden to respect. No apologies and let the grown ups get some REAL work done.
4
It was a sure thing that he would be turned on by his fellow Democrats during the campaign. Until the last two years, he has been a person in power. Today, the other candidates have nothing to fear from him and they don't hold back. Joe makes a point that if you want to get something done you will often have to work with someone you don't agree with. Look at the Democrats since Trump became president. They haven't passed any meaningful legislation. They were too busy talking about collusion being confident Mueller was going to nail Trump. The chances are they won't get anything accomplished these two years. They are obsessed with trying to get Trump. Pelosi, with other Democrat leaders, went to the White House to talk with Trump about infrastructure. Just before the meeting, she calls over a bunch of reporters to bash Trump. Goodbye infrastructure. What if those who are against abortion refused to work with those who believe that it is a woman's choice? Those running for the nomination will go on the attack in the debates. No holds barred. They will shred him. Joe will make more openings for ridicule. He's Joe. Eastland and Talmadge, were on the wrong side of the curve. They could not win. But they could be used to get things done on other things. Biden was willing to do that. But in today's age of intolerance he gets blasted, and nothing gets done in congress.
And what meaningful legislation the vice President Biden was able to pass with Republican Congress?
1
@yulia
None, because he had to preside over a Republican majority senate that would do nothing as long as Obama was president. This was not, repeat not, anything to do with Biden. The most he would have been able to do was cast a tie breaking vote and the Republicans made sure that would never happen.
Your question is a non sequitur.
2
Damn, I hate when I agree with Mr. Stephens, but on this issue I wholly agree.
I took note that in not one of the multitude of dicussions of Biden's remarks on "cable" or media interviews seeking criticism of Biden, did I hear the participants mention that Biden said,
“We didn’t agree on much of anything,” and said of Talmadge that he was “one of the meanest guys I ever knew.”
Reminds me again, that we should always expect the "Spanish Inquisition".
2
I am disturbed by many comments that suggest Dems (candidates and voters) need to avoid harsh criticism of Biden in the interest of unity and defeating Trump. "Letting the perfect be the enemy of the good," etc.
This sounds so much like what was done for 2016, greasing the skids for Hillary. Here we go again. It is too damn early to anoint a candidate!
There is an advantage to getting all these issues out in the open now. Biden's gaffes and his record. Because the regular election is not going to be a tea party. Trump is not going to be easy to beat. He and the Republicans are not going to be civil.
So let's have it out and hope that a competitively tough primary produces the toughest candidate. You can't think these issues won't eventually be made into attack ads, even if Dems don't raise them, do you?
Nobody is "anointing a candidate". I am, currently, favoring Warren, but the outrage being thrown at Biden is outrageous. A central tenet of the American government is compromise. you have to engage a range of people including political enemies and, yes, at times, bigots to move the ball forward. You don't have to acquiesce to their hatred and there will be some topics where compromise is impossible, but you do have to gain their support on a myriad of other issues.
We don't live in a parliamentary democracy where majorities rule without limit. Just as Mitch McConnell is guilty of destroying fundamental political norms, so will Democrats be guilty of the same if we demand ideologically purity and discard compromise in the legislative process.
3
Gaffes and actual mistakes are one thing. There are plenty of those. Working across the aisle to benefit his constituents is not either.
Thank you Bret Stephens! This is brilliant, on point and hopefully people will see, agree and change the discourse!
7
Many of us out here in Realityland agree with this. Plus this strategy from Democrats helps Trump. Period.
3
Yeah, Trump is an example of civility, that's why he is in office and Clinton is out of sight.
1
“rid the party of compromisers of any sort — that is, to purge the Democratic Party of its democratic instincts.” This drive is also purging many Democrats from the party, including this lifelong Democratic voter. There is ample time to drive more Democrats from their party before the 2020 elections and the progressive wing is working hard to get this done. The big tent is not so big any more.
6
Stephens is usually a great writer but can exhibit poor judgment. He points to Biden's mistreatment as an example of Democrats' intolerance to "compromisers". Stephens argues that there was nothing wrong with Biden acquiescing to racist Senators in the 1970s, especially given Biden's "meanest guy" quote in the article.
The most important quote, however, is not even mentioned in this article, namely, the one in which Biden states he was called "Son" and that he was never called "Boy". Stephens left this quote out intentionally because it would negate his conclusion. His certainty that the Democrats were essentially exhibiting tribal emotions toward a "compromiser" would otherwise come into question.
Did Mr. Stephens ever consider that Biden was attacked for the "Boy" quote--which he never subsequently clarified--or that he lacked awareness (even after the fact) that some Americans might consider that quote offensive? This seems a more likely reason for Biden to be criticized than the fact that he is a "compromiser", a consideration which Stephens never ponders. Or, perhaps Stephens is guided by cognitive dissonance and couldn't risk the quote hurting his preconceived narrative designed to ease his own emotional well being.
2
Trump was elected partly because he's politically incorrect. People in general are tired of political correctness. The only presidential opinion polls that matter for are those that include the whole electorate, not just Democrats. Winning the Democratic nomination is pointless if you can't appeal to enough people to overcome the Electoral College.
2
It's not the concept of trying to compromise with the other party and work towards legislation that gives a little to both sides. It's also not that people cannot be allowed to grow or have their positions or views "evolve"
It is that Biden's instincts have been so wrong so many time on both policies and actions.
Biden did not just get along with segregationist leaders who had a lot of seniority when he was a very young Senator. Biden had a shared goal of fighting against busing instituted by the Federal Government. Biden was ok with separate schools as long as they were equal. Look it up.
On Anita Hill, Biden just didn't do all he could. Biden still to this day fails to acknowledge that he was committee chair. You also don't read often about how Biden agreed to keep the hearing short and promised a GOP colleague. Biden at first refused to meet with Female Congresspeople who wanted others who had similar experiences with Clarence Thomas and only relented under great pressure to meet with them. He just didn't and still doesn't get it.
BIden's instincts are to stay status quo with whatever the majority thinks and not make waves. This could be acceptable for a state legislature, but not for the Presidency.
2
Why, in all of the coverage on this, haven't I heard a single word about today's congress? Congress of the '60s and '70s was almost exclusively a white male, good 'ol boy institution. What to do today with women, minorities, people of varying faiths, homosexuals? It may be more difficult today, but legislation should be more inclusive when it is finally completed.
1
Mr. Stephens explains it so well. Those of us who were around when Biden started out can understand what the political environment was like. Critics of him do not understand his deep desire to change things the only way or avenue that was possible AT That Time in those days. Let us say a better empathy is needed for Biden. And for the experience he has which is priceless.
4
Once again, Bret, you have perfectly articulated the position of those thoughtful enough to realize that they don't have a monopoly on issues of policy or the only answers to complicated problems. Agree completely that Biden should not apologize for his past efforts to promote constructive ideas of consequence. Those on the far right and left are cut from a piece of cloth that will never result in anything getting done in this country. As Yeats said so eloquently “Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold: mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”
3
This article is right on. The extremist Democrats who want to slam Biden for trying to work to get good things done by dealing with power brokers that were in place by votes of the American people that he had nothing to do with, are working hard to get Trump re-elected. Driving sensible people out of the party because they are willing to work with others on a common cause even though they disagree on much else is a recipe for disaster! I do hope some of these extremist politicians come to their senses about how things get done.
7
I suppose all those years I spent enlisted in the Army, learning to entrust my life with, heretofore unfamiliar, men and women of different ethnicities, experiences, viewpoints, assumptions and biases, was just plain patronizing.
Woe be it for me to try and understand, "walk a mile in his shoes" or acknowledge that ones life view is predicated upon more than simply hindsight. Often it is formed in the moment, and evolves over time.
The ignorance, arrogance and pettiness of my party's annointed vanguard is often embarrassing. While Mr. Biden may be "old", at least he is aware of and finds value in our cumulative history; and has grown from it.
Too many of the current 'enlightened' just see things as they are without being enlightened to the way things were. To ignore that there was a lot of valuable and checkered history between the discovery of wheel and Uber is the height of arrogance and ignorance.
9
LBJ famously coerced segregationists into passing his landmark Civil Rights Act. VP Biden had some success with Obama initiatives. As President he would have more clout to forge those kind of grand bargains. He could fill the Cabinet. State and diplomatic jobs with efficiency. That's well worth a 4 year test drive.
6
Stop, Dems. with this circular firing squad. Please, for the sake of the planet.
Agree with this excellent piece, thank you. I hope Biden gets it, I think actually this is where he is the right man at this moment.
Is this a cultural phenomenon somehow on steroids thanks to social media? Do the democrats want to win, or lose again to Trump? Or is that not as important as long as they have their tribal, Lord of the Flies, righteousness. Start fighting the bigger fight, people.
5
Quite aside from Biden's latest gaff, there's a reason he was selected by Obama to be his VP.
It wasn't because he was 'presidential material'. It was because he is the perennial Washington insider. He had been in the Senate for decades and knew how to slap backs and make deals.
He was supposed to be Obama's point man with the Republican controlled senate. He could reach across the isle, as he's promised to do if elected president. He was pragmatic and able to work with the GOP.
And of course we saw how well that worked. Obama was stifled at every turn by the Republicans. He couldn't get votes on judicial appointments, he couldn't get confirmations on routine political appointments and they blocked anything and everything Obama tried to do.
And Biden accomplished almost nothing. For all of his insider savvy he failed to grasp the ideological nature of the GOP.
Of course neither did Obama. But if elected, Biden promises more of the same short sighted confusion.
There are many reasons not to support Biden and I admit that some amount to nit picking. But at his core, Biden is an ineffective relic of the old Democratic party, unable to shape a new party and unable to actually lead the country. His record as VP attests to that.
4
@Drspock: Anyone who perceives good faith in the Republican Party is just deluding themselves.
It is disingenuous of Mr Stephens to ignore Mr Biden's remark that, "he never called me boy, he called me son". An ability to articulate effectively is critical, and a weakness for Joe!. If he was and remains so capable of working with those with whom he disagrees, why could he not help the Obama administration get anything done with a Republican Congress?
5
Running against Trump, OK?
1
It's not about being anti-Biden or anti moderates. It's about desperate times call for real change. We need to stay focused on the the three main issues, healthcare, climate change and too expensive education for the average person. We need to understand the desperation of young people with little to look forward to, with opportunities diminishing everyday. We need to focus on the older generation that has lost good paying jobs and have to decide between food or medication. And of course, we could add RACISM, but that would take another 2-3 paragraphs. Joe Biden has no answer to any of these issues, only true progressives can help this situation change for the better.
6
THE great critical issue is removing Donald Trump from the White House.
That is the existential imperative.
1
@Ralph Aquila M.D.
And if Biden or another moderate is the nominee, who gets your vote?
I happen to think that the key to winning is to win back the middle, both the middle of the country and the middle of the political spectrum. But if someone more progressive than I think is ideal is the nominee, that nominee still gets my vote.
If we stick together and focus on what unites us rather than what separates us , we can win. If we focus being divisive, we lose.
5
I agree with Stephens to a point, but let us see how ultimate thesis holds up after the post-brouhaha polls are out. My sense is that the Democratic polity will be unmoved by this--which raises a question about the point of Stephens' piece in the first place.
1
Virtue signal - “Clearly you can’t be a good person if you will be civil to and work with segregationists. I am so good and I know now that you are not”. Virtue signal moderate response- “I am such a good person I am able to work w segregationists just like LBJ did.” And so on it goes. The question Democrats keep discussing is who tows the line good enough? This is not the question of a winning party.
This back and forth takes a lot of energy and time and makes the Democratic Party look ridiculous. Let’s keep laser focus where it needs to be. Truly living wage minimum wages, stopping medical bankruptcies, affordable and meaningful education, prison reform. And enough already of the virtue signaling. We have work to do. People just want the opportunity to have successful lives. A government can do much to make this opportunity available. Constant virtue signaling gets in the way of the work.
4
@LM
The real issue isn't Biden being able to work with the other side.
The real problem is that what Biden found common ground on with racists and bigots is in agreeing with them that school integration was bad.
The truth is that there can't be common ground on basic tenents. Either people have a living wage or they don't. Either people have affordable healthcare or they don't. People having (increasingly unaffordable insurance) is not healthcare.
Since the Clinton presidency, common ground for Democrats always involves giving into Republican wishes. Why is it never the other way around?
2
Yes! Such a good question! Why can’t it be the other way around. It may help if Democrats make their focus clearly on welfare of the citizens and less virtue signaling. We may get more folks aboard. But as long as you have GOP party-above-country Mitch and enablers I don’t see much hope. Senate 2020. It all depends on that.
2
Mr. Stephens seems to think that it has only been since the rise of the Trumpian right that Republicans have been utterly devoted to the demonization of anyone not on their side on any number of issues. The columnists need only look at the career of Newt Gingrich in the 90's, and Mitch McConnell's more recent rampant filibustering and destruction of ancient Senatorial norms that resulted in the refusal to even consider Merrick Garland for SCOTUS. Lastly, Biden's dedication to civil rights has been lukewarm at best, and he voted against busing as a means to desegregate as well. He has made many entertaining quips such as when he bragged that his crime bill would make every crime, except jaywalking, a death penalty offense. He had to know what demographic that bill was going to incarcerate disproportionately.
2
I agree with Bret. The real problem with Biden’s words is that they reveal not just his age but how far back in time he goes. He might as well have recalled using a rotary phone, with an office “girl” taking messages. Biden is so old he worked in a time when purity of expression was unheard of, before fax even. When the patriarchy allowed mean, awful men to gain power. This is inconceivable to many.
2
Great column Bret. You cut right through to the heart of the matter. Hopefully Biden and other honest sensible people an prevail.
6
Biden’s point is very simple: if you’re not willing to work with the Deplorables to get things done, then you need to be in another line of work. And Cory Booker’s remarks, and K Harris’ too were over the top.
C Booker would have served himself well by agreeing with Biden’s premise but advising him to be a little more careful and aware with his word choice (boy reference). Instead Booker’s remarks had the ring of another college campus, free speech purge.
And, while I agree with B Stephen’s larger point, his analysis and generalizations of Progressives was a little over the top.
And a note for Biden: he’s actually going to have to come up with policy proposals, at least from a big picture poiny of view. His argument can’t be just to work well with the other side. It has to be to work well with the other side to achieve What(?) exactly.
5
I'm not sure the basic maturity level of our politicians (or public) is conducive to us enjoying civil institutions anymore. I fear we are so unable to govern our own relationships that we are inadvertently killing off democracy and inviting in autocrats.
The treatment of Biden is one case in point.
I can see how folks might find Biden's comments offensive. Interpreting people's words in a way that might conjure offense isn't often a difficult game to play...and seems to be the new national sport.
The less-exciting and more responsible thing is to try and understand the motivation behind the words. Not a bad practice to assume good intent when multiple interpretations are possible or when your interpretation doesn't comport with what is known about the messenger.
This used to be considered 'good manners' or 'civil'. Now it is just 'boring'. People want the drama more than they want thier civic institutions.
8
I count myself as a liberal Democrat of 50+ years standing, but a cranky one, meaning that I am annoyed by a lot of what I see in today's political culture, including among Democrats.
The attacks on Biden's so-called "gaffe" reminds me of nothing so much as what we have seen with the Republicans since Gingrich's time but especially with the Tea Party. Stephen's rightly describes it as apocalyptic in its nature. If you are not pure by the current (shifting) definition then you are evil. The messy legislative work of democracy is too hard for those with this mind set. They prefer to strike poses. It is not any prettier when Progressive Democrats are making the same error.
The Democrats have to keep in mind that Trump will not be defeated in 2020 by just anybody who talks the angriest game. Pete Buttigieg's increasing appeal illustrates that voters are not necessarily looking for fire and brimstone evangelists who consign heretics to hell.
18
Good column, though Biden was foolish to in advertently make light of the racist use of "boy" in starting he was lucky to have been simple called "son."
1
It was a stupid thing to say. I’ll take Harris & Buttigieg.
4
I don't need a conservative enabler's advice on who to support, thank you very much.
8
@James S What you appear to need is an ability to read, comprehend, and evaluate opinions on their own merits.
With that in hand, you might form an actual opinion of your own, based on evaluating the information and arguments to which you are exposed, rather than reverting to pure tribalism and blindly deciding whose "advice" you should heed based on loyalty to your group.
Give it a try.
3
James, you are simply illustrating his point, which, incidentally, had nothing to do with telling anyone which candidate they should support.
3
A lifelong, utterly unapologetic Democrat, I agree with every word Bret has written here. What Harris and Booker are saying is: if they had a chance to work with Rep. Steve King, acknowledged white supremacist, to swing a House vote on infrastructure, they’d thumb their noses and let the bridges collapse.
Biden has risen in my esteem. If he apologizes, I might have to amend that “unapologetic” part above.
447
Nice try, but Booker and Harris, as sitting senators, have demonstrated more recently than Biden has that they can work with people they disagree with. Biden's most recent experience, as vice-president, was a disaster as far as bipartisanship went. He might think it's a good idea. That's fine. But he can't deliver the goods except when he capitulates completely. That's not "working together." That's not "compromise." That's incompetence.
Biden is responsible for the specific words he used to make whatever point he thought he was making, and his unwillingness to take responsibility for them shows neither good character nor fitness to be President. And, sadly, this is not a one-time aberration, but a career-long refusal to consider how his words, actions, and votes affect others.
16
@Victor
In addition to Harris and Booker, who are unspecific as to what they believe Biden said that was unacceptable, add Warren who accused Biden of “celebrating segregationists.” She must know that is a dishonest interpretation of Biden’s remarks.
38
@VictorI think of the days in the Sixties when the country was in turmoil over civil rights and the war in Vietnam; Church leaders were at the forefront of these struggles, many risking imprisonment protesting the war and fighting for voting and minority rights (think of the Berrigan brothers). Many of the loudest voices of today's Democrats would have shunned these same people because they were anti-abortion. The Democrats would rather lose support on important issues rather than ally themselves with people who do not agree with them on litmus test issues like abortion. These people (Senator Gilibrand to name one) are naive and stupid in the ways of politics. The handwriting was on the wall with the excommunication of Senator Franken without so much as an ethics hearing. FOX News and MSNBC are now opposite sides of the same coin and those of us who look at issues on a case by case basis are called idiots and fools from both sides if we do not comport, and go along, with the pure doctrine of the day. I registered as a Democrat in 1976. I am now a proud Independent.
34
This is the truth. Those on the left who would shrink the boat, beware!
7
Brett Stephens has a shtick. He looks for any evidence of Democratic voices tussling in the open marketplace of ideas and castigates the ones he disagrees with as loud, obnoxious, rude, and zealous. A hysterical middle finger to the middle class. It’s a branding exercise to frighten people away from progressive ideas and a fine example of whataboutism.
Biden works with those he disagrees with. Fine. Biden dredges up hurtful racist language and appears oblivious to the irony of being called “son” rather than “boy”: not fine. Biden is immediately rebuked by Corey Booker, gets huffy and indignant, and later the two have a private conversation about their differences. That’s what adults with passionate views do.
Our society needs to address and repair the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. The Democrats are engaging in that effort, loudly. That does not make them equivalent to rabid bigoted Trump supporters. Period. Period. Period.
8
It is important to recognize Biden’s larger point—the importance of working with people you do not necessarily like or agree with in order to effect legislative reform. Biden’s observation is even more compelling given that the two senators to which he refers were Democrats, but the more immediate political context is the intractably partisan divide between a Republican Senate and President and a Democratic House.
Biden’s real faux pas was in suggesting that the segregationist senators at least did not call him “boy,” but rather “son.” “Son” references Biden’s relative youth and could be interpreted as an expression of fondness. “Boy” embodies the condescending denigration of a black man. As a white man, Biden would not be subjected to “boy,” except under highly unusual circumstances.
Surely Biden is not so out to lunch that he does not understand the historical resonance of “boy.” If anything, Biden is guilty of obtuse whimsicality. As for the matter of an apology, Biden no doubt understands that to acknowledge one’s error in our prevailing culture of opportunistic “wokeness” and one-upmanship is to open the door to future reproach.
Bret contributes to the partisan divide by taking yet another potshot at “the histrionics of Biden’s primary rivals, the hysteria from parts of the progressive base and the inevitable media pile-on.”
Hope no one objects to my use of the term “denigrate.”
1
Oh, come on! Biden demonstrated his 'civility' by shouting at reporters, loosing his temper, yelling he was not a racist at everybody, while the subject had not been brought up, and using the same old Pelosi/ Feinstein garbage that they have been at it for so many years and so know so much more than anyone else - Biden has often used his self-definied superiority, in the past, he is known for his amtrak or traffic cop stops, where he resorts to shouting, "do you know who I am??"
Civility, thou are not Biden..He is just another pol waiting to find which way the big money wants him to go ..Your perception of him is as incorrect as those voters who see Trump as a 'man of the people, someone who has worked in contracting.."..I mean really, lets get some clearheaded people talking about this, other than the late-night comedians, for goodness sakes..It is as plain as the insanity of another war of agression, in 2003, plus the non-existence of WMD, for those of us who were alive for that..
6
It's always richly amusing when Democrats are accused of having no taste for compromise and Republicans, who brook no criticism of their autocratic approach to governing, are left entirely out of the picture.
9
Biden making an alliance with old man Eastland is like FDR making his with Uncle Joe Stalin. Both were evil, but the alliance was expedient.
3
Did FDR call Stalin ' an example of civility'?
Yes, progressives (I am one) are occasionally guilty of unfairly castigating those with whom we disagree, including over minor quibbles. However, this is not one of those instances. There is a difference between alluding to compromise with colleagues who doggedly believe in different economic policies, for example, than compromise with those who are outright racists and segregationists. Couldn't Joe have chosen a palatable reference? Clearly he lacks the political intelligence to realize that this comment would induce serious blowback from within his own party.
The concept of "electability" (one's perception of another's perception) strikes me as somewhat ridiculous. Biden is perhaps a potential prescription if you think Trump is the disease and not a symptom of it. Unfortunately, Trump was elected because enough Americans were tired of the status quo that perpetuates the systemic disease (growing income inequality, healthcare, education, etc.). Not only does Biden represent the pre-Trump status quo, he is making so many unforced errors that he may alienate a good portion of the base (hint: Joe, maybe stop "complimenting"/alluding to the looks of 10 and 13 year old girls).
I am open to hearing out candidates in the coming debates, but for the time being, Warren seems the most sensible. Would you want to hire a CEO for your company or a coach for your team who has an actual game plan, or just broad vision and platitudes?
2
The funny thing about Joe Biden is that he is the ultimate emblem of affirmative action - he was a repeated failure in presidential politics. He only got his chance because a black man decided to hire him as his running mate. I think Biden's a decent guy and certainly isn't a racist - unless, being a certain age and being white inevitably condemns you to being racist - and for some people that might be true.
But at this point Elizabeth Warren has made a far better case for her presidency. I'd hope we'd focus on policy and not the psychobabble references to the hack psychologist Paresky.
This election is really about whether America is a viable democracy. So let's try to maintain our focus!
4
On RCP tonite, Rush Limbaugh pretty much sums up the Biden story. Stephens seems late to the game. Whether or not he is toast is unclear, since all the Dem front runners are ridiculous. Let's see where we are in August or September. (And that presumably will be before any indictments over SpyGate or Collusion Gate, of whatever you want to call it.) My guess is that this will be hair ripping time, when Dems will say, we demand a do-over. Huh? A little late. You enabled the corrupt Clinton Foundation slush fund. You allowed Biden to take a $1.5 billion bribe from a country that harvests organs from political prisoners. They have an image of Mao-tse-Tung on the currency, one of the worst human beings in history. No problem. After the corrupt spying campaign, you then engineered the corrupt Mueller investigation. But because you are (relatively) new at this, contra Beria, you forgot to fake the evidence. And so now you are where you are. But Stephens is defending Biden? My view is that a whole lot of this is about sex. A fundamental divide between the two parties today is do you accept a conservative Biblical view about sex and its importance, or are you still besotted with the view of the 1960's. Stephens clearly fits into the latter camp, even as we undergo this weird historical oddity, whereby Trump has switched sides, and is promising a SCOTUS pushback. The latter looks more likely by the day.
I think of the days in the Sixties when the country was in turmoil over civil rights and the war in Vietnam; Church leaders were at the forefront of these struggles, many risking imprisonment protesting the war and fighting for voting and minority rights (think of the Berrigan brothers). Many of the loudest voices of today's Democrats would have shunned these same people because they were anti-abortion. The Democrats would rather lose support on important issues rather than ally themselves with people who do not agree with them on litmus test issues like abortion. These people (Senator Gilibrand to name one) are naive and stupid in the ways of politics.
The handwriting was on the wall with the excommunication of Senator Franken without so much as an ethics hearing. FOX News and MSNBC are now opposite sides of the same coin and those of us who look at issues on a case by case basis are called idiots and fools from both sides if we do not comport, and go along, with the pure doctrine of the day. I registered as a Democrat in 1976. I am now a proud Independent.
2
@Romeo Salta
In my state being an independent would mean that you have no say in the nomination process of either party. It would mean simply opting out. I don't know how it works in NY.
3
"The world is mean, and man uncouth
And sad to say, he tells the truth."
Threepenny Opera, Bert Brecht.
1
I look forward to Mr Stephens' critique of the uncompromising and anti-collegiate GOP that have been on show since Clinton was president.
Is the op ed section becoming a series of "bubbles" as well?
Mostly I don't waste my time with Stephens or Douthat. I now see he has a cheer squad so I at least know he isn't lonely.
3
@Alan If Mr. Stephens were to critique the uncompromising and anti-collegiate GOP, would that suddenly make you accept his argument about the uncompromising and anti-collegiate Democratic Party? Can criticisms of the Democrats only be true if the GOP is similarly criticized, or is it possible for them to be correct independent of what one does or does not say about anyone else?
2
As is so often the case with Biden, it is not what he says but how he says it. He comments that Eastland and Talmadge did not call him "boy," they called him "son." Of course, they did not call him "boy." That was an epithet reserved for demeaning black men. If you look at Sen. Booker's comments, that is the part that enraged him.
2
Wouldn't put too much importance -- either way -- on another one of Joe's gaffes.
One the one hand, wonder what kind of column Stephens would have written if Biden had reached across the aisle to work with rabidly anti-Israel anti-semites.
Yes, politics is not conducted in an atmosphere of moral purity. On the other hand, where one draws that "Red Line" depends on whose ox is being gored...right?
5
So, how Biden's 'civility' is different from Trump's 'there are good people on both sides'?
2
More advice for democrats from a right wing Republican. Thx but no thx. Brett is also still in love with the mass incarceration “crime” bill. And is a climate change denier. But the Times wants him to advise us who to choose to replace the disaster that is Republican Trump.
5
For once I agree with Stephens. Did he really write this piece?
1
No, Bret, the point is not that you should never deal with awful people; it's that you shouldn't boast about it in a crass and insensitive way, ignoring the harm that such people have done and continue to do, ignoring injustice.
While we're at it, there are certain similarities between Biden's galling bluntness and your throwing around loaded terms like "hysteria" and "histrionics".
I think you need to calm down. Try to be less emotional. It's clouding your thinking. When you can show that you can be objective, then we'll listen to you.
6
The Republicans have been so hateful and bullying for a long time now. Why should you compromise with people who step on your neck, spit in your face? The time for compromise is gone. Now is the time to stand up for decency - compromising on that only leads to its lack.
2
If I believe racism needs to be destroyed and replaced, guilty. If I believe that the Trump presidency needs to be destroyed and replaced, guilty.
To my fellow Democrats. Stop! Just stop! We are faced with the worst, most dangerous, most ignorant president ever. As the editorial in the Orlando Sentinel noted, the 2020 candidate to endorse is NOT TRUMP. Tests of political purity are like the circular shooting match that President Obama warned about. If the dozens of narcissistic Democrats go after each other, they will give us four more years of Donald Trump.
3
@VKG
I totally agree! -- and sincerely hope I'm not the only Democrat listening to what you're saying.
2
Well, it is perfect time for Democrats to nominate somebody who stands for Democratic principle, not trying to accommodate to everybody for sake of 'civility'.
In heaven's name, Democrats, what are you thinking? You must defeat Trump not each other!
2
throw all the fish in a small tank and they'll start feeding on one another.
The last Democratic Presidential candidate to win the Presidency with more than 50% of the white vote was LBJ.
White voters vote majority Republican. This idea that Biden is going to change that is silly.
It's about as silly as the column's potshots at John Brown.
Apparently Bret Stephens doesn't believe that anyone had the right to liberate slaves? Sad.
Like most conservatives Stephens is evidently ignorant of what MLK had to say about white racism. Perhaps Stephens should read what MLK had to say about "our sick white brothers".
2
Once again the Democrats are cannibalizing each other while the Republicans gulp at the trough.
3
For the umpteenth time, I find myself asking why the Times's conservative columists are soooooo concerned about the Democratic Party. Bret Stephens frets that the Democrats are practi"apocalyptic" politics. What does that make the GOP? Post-apocalyptic?
2
Bret Stephens carefully leaves out of his essay what many people found objectionable about Joe Biden's comments: I'm paraphrasing here, but that he was called "son," not "boy," by these senators.
What about Nazis? Could the author have a civil conversation with them? Could he bring them up as an example of civility just because they liked him? How is it different from 'there are good people on the both sides'? It is OK to work with extremists, just don't bring them as an example of civility.
This is spot-on. I am watching the Democrats lurch to the loony left. The whole demand for ideological purity prior to any accomplishment is stupid and outrageous. The upshot: it is likely to re-elect Donald Trump.
3
It is going to take a coalition of ALL Democrats, disaffected rule of law Republicans, and Independents to beat Donald Trump. Attacking Joe Biden for once working with segregationist senators is not going to help. It was a clumsy example by the former vice president, but Trump will put a crowbar between the generational wedges of the Democratic Party. We need to stay focused, keep our eyes on the goal, and fight for what unites us as decent Americans. Biden is much better than Trump. Never forget that! He is not perfect, and neither was Washington, Lincoln, or FDR. The Democrats need to forge a candidate and unite. Biden, in the end, may be the best one.
4
Bret, you have articulated in a most eloquent way the views of the majority of the populace that are sick of the current politics in DC and so very tired of the incivility of individuals who chirp napalm sound bites.
Thank you!
5
Oh, yeah, that explains why we have all these uncivilized people in DC in the first place.
So nice that Bret Stephens is concerned about the Democratic party. Maybe he should look at his own party which abandoned democratic principles years ago.
7
Mr. Stephens and Mr. Biden miss the same point. They continue to think white men have all the right answers for society's problems after considering all the information. They still don't get their limited perspective on the word, "all."
When a segregationist never calls a white man boy, it doesn't mean the segregationist doesn't see all black people as beneath him. When a white man offers a casual caress to a woman he doesn't even know, he doesn't even consider what life brought her to their encounter.
Those days are over. The bar has been raised for all of us in what we expect from a president and a columnist.
We are not turning back.
4
I resent when far left democrats try to write me out of the Party because I support Joe Biden. They display a lack of knowledge of how a democracy actually works. It requires negotiating with people you may not agree with to reach a desired outcome. If FDR didn’t work with white racist southerners we would not have passed Social Security or Medicare.
4
Stephens is 100% correct.
4
His whole record is one big praise of segregation and those that would enshrine it. We don't question his utilitarian relationships, we question his record in which he formed the closest alliances possible with these haters and then praises them and their records of civility. Hysteria? In a country that has watched out of control officers murdering unarmed black men with no punishment for years? That has out of control incarceration of black men for the smallest crimes? We'll go after any frontrunner who shows through his actions and his record that he is unfit to lead the nation.
Ridiculous assertions. Biden’s history in the Senate and in the White House working to strengthen civil rights is well known, and his recent comments hardly amount to “praise” of those old segregationists. Why else would such African American lions such as John Lewis and Elijah Cummings leap to his defense?
2
Joe Biden has a history of controversy . During the 1988 Presidential campaign Biden was accused of plagiarizing a speech by Neil Kinnock, leader of the British Labour Party.
Kinnock's speech: Why am I the first Kinnock in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? [Pointing to his wife in the audience:] Why is Glenys the first woman in her family in a thousand generations to be able to get to university? Was it because all our predecessors were thick?
The Biden version:I started thinking as I was coming over here, why is it that Joe Biden is the first in his family ever to go to a university? [Pointing to his wife in the audience:] Why is it that my wife who is sitting out there in the audience is the first in her family to ever go to college? Is it because our fathers and mothers were not bright? Is it because I'm the first Biden in a thousand generations to get a college and a graduate degree that I was smarter than the rest?
While I am not that upset wirth Biden over his relationships with racist Democrats, I think he could have found a better way to describe his bipartisan bonafides. What really bothers me is that at the same fundraiser, Biden told the group of wealthy donors assembled that they shouldn't worry, because he was not going to demonize rich people, or fundamentally change our economic structure.
There simply is no way you can fix the current problems we have without a major reorganization of our current economics. Taxes must be raised on the wealthy, and if Biden is not intending to do so, then he will be just like Obama, and nothing substantial is going to get done!
He also is going to waste a couple of years trying to find bipartisanship with a GOP that is completely uninterested in doing so, just like Obama.
3
To disqualify a candidate for being too moderate —and willing to work even with those with whom they disagree —is to do Trump’s work for him by dividing those who want to defeat Trump.
Too moderate. Too progressive. Too old, white and male. Too young, dark-skinned and female. Too...anything, will just divide us. It plays the identity politics game within the Democratic Party. The more we play “I am this, so you are other( and therefore less desirable), the more we act like those whose actions we purport to condemn. It’s not only wrong. It is foolish.
5
He said, they didn’t call him “boy”.
End of conversation.
2
@John
Actually, that should be the beginning of conversation.
And one long overdue.
3
That particular comment was incredibly tone deaf and stupid, but Bret's point stands.
1
I couldn't agree more with this article. We Democrats have turned into a gaggle of scolds. The least little infraction is blown way out of proportion. This "political correctness" is what the average American hate most about liberals. Rather than defending Biden based on his long support for civil rights, we attack him as if were a lifelong bigot. The media certainly aids and abets this knee-jerk hypocrisy by harping on any tiny gaffe. We are well on our way to losing the White House in 2020.
5
The attacks on Biden are a kind of liberal McCarthyism. Biden is correct when he says that they are wrong and that they should know better. He was doing his job. He was there to pass legislation, not to be a holier than thou partisan. The people in the Senate today should take notice. Everyone in the Senate should do exactly the same thing that Biden did. We desparately need a Senate that is full of Bidens: Senators, both Democrat and Republican who represent America first and thier party second. No one has questioned Biden's beliefs or his consistant support for civil rights. They are questioning his style. That is "ageism". Or they are quesioning his tactics. That is anacronistic. People that go balistic over "micro agressions" have no business in high office. I would like to see a Warren/Biden ticket this fall. Unfortunately I don't think Biden will be satisfied with the #2 position. He was a perfect VP. He should do it again.
5
I guess there's no need to talk about his opposition to busing as a means to desegregation
1
@Mollytov And how did busing work out as a means to desegregation?
It didn't.
1
Who are these people who are trying to take Biden down? Russian trolls? It benefits absolutely no one except trumps to do so. I believe that most people see through this ploy.
5
Cory Booker and Kamala Harris are Russian trolls now?
Cue my outrage to not when he worked with segregationists in Congress, especially so long ago, but because even now, 2019, he thinks the fact that they didn't call him "boy" but called him "son" shows their respect of him. HOW can he not know it was because he is white? How can he claim decades of civil rights work, even a marcher, and not know the context, the pain, of "Hey, boy." ? That's the outage. His lies. His lack of self awareness. He is the epitome of White Privilege.
8
I would favor the stand of Sen. Charles Sumner against appeasement rather than the equivocating of both Biden and Stephens. Sumner’s stand cost him a violent beating. What do Biden’s and Stephens’ mealy-mouthed hypocrisies cost them?
3
I'm not diminishing the harm caused by segregationists, but Sumner's refusal to compromise on the practice of slavery really isn't comparable to this situation.
1
I couldn't agree more. The left-wing, oh-so-pure firebrands screaming for Joe Biden's head are going to be the death of Democrats' hope to unseat the ogre in the White House. I'm not a huge fan of doddering Joe but his approach to getting things done is ever-so more practical and reasonable than that of his fellow party holier-than-thou pc-ers. I pray that the coming debates serve to narrow the bloated field somewhat -no, make that a lot - and give open-minded people a viable choice to rescue the country from the Trump/GOP syndicate.
5
@john belniak
I disagree -- I doubt that you can point to instances in the Senate, in committees, where any of the senators running have shown intransigence. Mr. Biden wants to be known as someone who can work with anyone. Can he work with Sen. McConnell? Sen. Cotton? Sen. Grassley? Sen. Barasso? These are people more recent and more relevant to his claim. Or, if he wants to talk about Democrats, talk about Sen. Feinstein, Sen. Warren or Sen. Franken.
Biden had a different point in mind besides touting his capacity for bipartisanship with openly avowed white supremacists. His remarks were exquisitely calibrated to send a dog whistle to the white electorate that's swung for Trump: moderate and right-wing Republicans, conservative Democrats, and Independents.
Connect the dots: he made this comment (and to be clear--segregationists would never call Biden "boy" and would work with him because Biden was white like they were) the same evening that Trump launched his official campaign. News reports came out the same day Congress held hearings about reparations. Biden arrogantly refused to apologize to Corey Booker's reasonable critique. The message sent to Trump's swing vote?
"I'm not bossed by Black folk--anymore. I'll tolerate those who hold hard right-wing stands. Do you oppose reparations? Did you think Charlottesville was too hard to call? Do you want a wall built to secure our southern border? Or did you vote for Trump but he's too crude and reckless for you? I can work with you. I can be your guy."
Biden crafted his "Sister Souljah" moment, which is now a ritual for the Dems' Presidential nominee. Barack Obama played it against Rev. Jeremiah Wright in 2007. Bill Clinton originated it in 1995: take a hard stand against a Black political issue or figure to show you're not beholden to the Black electorate.
Judging from columns like Stephens', Biden played his moment perfectly.
2
I disagree with Bret Stephens often, but he's correct here. Biden is not my favorite of the Democratic candidates, but these attacks on him are overblown.
There's something important about it, though. It's a proxy for the worry that Biden is too willing to compromise with current Republicans who are in no mood to compromise. It's the worry that he won't stand up for progressive values, and that the Overton Window will continue moving to the right.
5
Sure, he had to work with his Democrat brethren- those were the days. And, yes, work with them on anti- busing- that’s what even liberals did in those days. And, no, they didn’t call him “boy” which was very civil of the segregationists at that time.
But you know what, it’s 2018 and this dinosaur is running for President
69
@PeterC- Give me a break! It's called History - something
so lacking in today's world of ignorance toward the past -not knowing or learning from it. It has infected our youth and is showing up in our current decline of civility and respect for one another. Yes, it's actually 2019 and we have a lot to learn from the past.
44
@pkay
Totally agree. The world wasn't created yesterday. A fact that a lot of people seem to be unaware of.
9
Is it 2018 already?
6
The Progressives are on a downward descent into a rigid, authoritarian right-speak orthodoxy. They may be successful in getting one of their acolytes nominated for President. But, if they do so, they will discover in 2020 how few followers of their religion there are in this country.
9
In all other western democracies there are multiple “Lefts”. Here there is only one Left, a conglomerate that must somehow contain all the insidious voices that have always been there.
Today in the US, the apocalyptic few just have Twitter. But in England or Germany or Canada they would have their own small party and bullhorn that everyone would ignore.
1
Early in my career in the corporate world, to myself, I defined “emotional maturity” as the ability to work productively and effectively with people whom I despised (about ten percent of the people with whom I worked).
Being a senator was Joe Biden’s job. To be effective in his job, Joe Biden no doubt had to work productively with people whom he despised. It sounds like Georgia Senator Herman Talmadge, “one of the meanest guys [he] ever knew,” was one of them.
Was it a mistake for Joe Biden to work civilly with Senator Talmadge?
Life is complicated.
Was it a mistake for Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson to use Georgia’s other segregationist Senator, Richard Russell, to advance his own political career?
Lyndon Johnson hid his personal beliefs about civil rights until he was in a position to act on them effectively. Then he muscled The Civil Rights of 1964 through Congress over the opposition of Senators Richard Russell, Herman Talmadge and their ilk.
As citizens of one state, we don’t get to choose— as much as we might like to— which other states are in the union. We’re stuck with the states we’ve got. Hence, senators don’t get to choose their colleagues.
People elected to the Senate can weep, wail, wax hysterical and cancel for as long as their state continues to elect them to the senate. Or they can choose to work with people whom they despise and, thereby, be effective.
Personally, I prefer effective politicians to hysterical ones.
5
@Raised Eyebrows
The problem is that Biden was effective in supporting a racist agenda.
What Democratic initiatives did his racist Senate colleagues support? None.
This isn't bipartisanship; it's capitulation.
Amen! You nailed it and saved me a lot of typing.
1
Remember that thumbs down John McCain vote that would have wiped out ACA (and preexisting)? Mr. pediatric cancer funding Fred Upton co-wrote that bill. Last year, for the first time in 27 years, Upton had a strong challenger from the left; a public health Dr. who was within 4 percent. Three weeks before Election Day, Biden flew in and spoke for Upton. He was paid $200,000 for that speech. Upton accused his opponent of being a "fake doctor" because he did not practice, The State of Michigan came out months later assuring the public that Upton's opponent was indeed a Dr. Upton had won by 4%. I do not consider Biden's ability to walk across the aisle a super power. Biden knows how the game is played because he is a player.
1
As far as I can see no "leftist" and certainly not Booker has claimed that Biden is a racist; nor have they suggested that Biden should not have engaged with members of congress who were segregationists around legislation.
What many have said is that the language used by Biden in describing those efforts was offensive to African Americans (Biden's use of "boy") and that he seemed more generous to Eastland and Talmedge than their histories justified. Of course Biden should make clear that he showed poor judgment, should have known his remarks were hurtful and won't do it again.
4
Corey Booker and the others of his ilk (Bernie, Warren, et al.) want not so much a political party as a religious order. Adherence to the creed must be absolute, any deviation and attempt to collaborate with the abominable heretics--no matter on what issues--is regarded as apostasy and require excommunication. It is a suicidal impulse, and I hope it is in fact nothing but hypocrisy and opportunism. That would be perhaps an understandable reaction in candidates trailing badly in the polls. I only hope that saner, shall I say more "ecumenical", instincts will prevail. Our aching nation needs them.
5
"The last thing Democrats need is to allow the nasty left [to] do to them in 2020 what the nasty right did to the Republicans in 2016.
In 2016, the Republicans won.
2
Civility does not need to be doled out with cherries of pleasantries. I understand how, diplomatically, one can smile and maybe even laugh amid a pleasant lunch setting with people who maintain vile cultural opinions—scoundrels are often charming. The problem is Biden's words to the press, which should have been along the lines of "I seek to find ways to work with colleagues with whom I heartily disagree," not fond recollections of being called "son" by a vile racist.
Detestable on both sides: Trump and the Dems, with the latter making extraordinary efforts to alienate non-socialist leaning, prospective anti-trump voters. However, having climbed on the bandwagon, and tooting their horns, the progressive contingent will succeed, as they did when "the Hill" was their game -winning candidate, in losing again.
1
In the 30s. Lawrence Dennis wrote a book titled ‘Is Capitalism Doomed?’ It took on the forces on the far right (Father Coughlin) and far left (Huey Long). To Dennis, ‘undoubtedly the easiest way to unite and animate large numbers in political association for action is to exploit the dynamic forces of hatred and fear’, which is precisely what Trump and his billionaires buddies have done. The answer to this, the counterbalance can’t be use of the same, as we will no longer be a democracy, or the United States, as we know it. We need a leader to be popular among all and help redistribute the wealth and resources in this country to include the other 90 percent. No more tax cuts for the rich and deregulation for corporate donors or their will be a revolution as Huey Long suggested or fascism as Father Coughlin initially endorsed. We need a leader like FDR, who no one saw as the great leader he became before circumstances warranted his greatness. Biden doesn’t appear to be an FDR, but neither did FDR before the Great Depression and WWII. We need a uniter not a divider like Trump. We need a real champion of the people, specifically the Middle Class which is being squeezed from millionaires and those in dire straits, who just want a kinder, gentler society where they can live in peace and harmony with neighbors, have clean air and water, ease of transportation to good jobs with benefits that include healthcare, safe public schools and cleaner environment to live in.
1
What Mr. Stephens seems to miss is that in the wonderful old days of “comity, civility and ordinary decency” that he and Mr. Biden miss so much, compromise was possible because women and people of color were not at the table. Compromise was white men finding an acceptable middle ground on how much civic membership women and people of color would be allowed. Compromise is more difficult today because those whose tights have always been subject to negotiation are now at the table, demanding the full equality they are still being denied.
2
The problem with Joe Biden is that he can’t seem to express himself without putting out major distractions. Had he tempered his comments with a reference to the ugly racism at the time, for example, people might have heard his point about civility. As it is, he distracts his audiences unnecessarily and his larger point is missed. In doing so, he displays a tone-deafness to the concerns of a significant segment of voters and we are left debating what he really means and believes. This inability to consistently connect with voters will result in a fair number of democrats staying home in 2020. It also means that should he become president, he will not be able to lead the country toward the major economic and social reforms we desperately need, and that’s assuming Biden believes reforms are necessary. Frankly, what the man actually believes is usually open to debate.
1
I credit Joe Biden for not sinking to the new liberal agenda of "apologizing". I am uncertain at these times of apologizing what group is going to receive the apology? He comes from a time when politicians actually got things done and found ways to work together. Senator Edward Kennedy for all of his faults actually always showed up to work to at least moved the ball. The modern politicians all seem to want to take their toys and go home. There is little leadership, and less courage from the majority of them. That's all they do is quarrel and run for re-election!
5
Biden has my vote and the other mature candidate Mayor Pete would be a great match .
3
Booker's hit job on Biden is on the same level of Gillibrand's chopping the legs out from under Al Franken. In both cases they were getting no traction, and it was clearly done to eliminate a competitor and try to get some notice. With these two, their conduct isn't even failing a purity test and removing a viable winning candidate against Trump via the circular firing squad that Obama warned about, it is just naked ambition. If the moral high ground is to be seized by a candidate that will run against Trump, both of them should be ruled out because they fall below sea level.
476
@Kevin
Gillibrand also worked for Big Tobacco, helping them lie to us about cancer.
16
@Franco51
No friend of Gillibrand here--I view her as repellent--but I believe she worked for BigLaw, one of whose clients was Big Tobacco. Most young lawyers at large firms do not have the luxury of selecting which of the firm's paying clients for whom they will do work.
20
@Kevin
Well said, Kevin. More hysterics for the "hurt feelings" crowd. So transparent - and destructive.
12
If Biden winds up as the Democratic nominee, then Democrats need to support him.
But with McConnell's stonewalling of essentially all Democratic legislation and the GOP tactics used for Supreme Court and federal judge appointments, it's difficult to see how Democrats and Republicans can get back to working together anytime in the foreseeable future.
215
No.
Biden guarantees Trump wins.
Again.
Hillary 2.0
Please, no.
16
@Lilly
Blue Moon only said that IF Biden is the nominee, we should support him. You disagree that.
So, if Biden is nominated, who will you vote for?
11
@Lilly
Quite honestly, the only thing we should all be saying "No" to is another four years of Donald Trump.
Don't forget that.
36
I am simply going to accept Cory Booker at his word that Biden's remarks were racially offensive to him, and presumably to others. I didn't hear them that way.
But what I did hear was an old candidate talking about getting along with people half a century ago, arguing that he can do it again. The problem is that we all just watched him go through 8 years of not doing any such thing with McConnell or Ryan. But he is using an ancient example, pulled from a Congress that was ready to impeach Nixon - obviously different than this Congress, to claim that it would all be different now than it was during the Obama administration. It's one of the central claims of his candidacy, and it makes no sense at all to me.
280
@JackKelley Being offensive is meaningless in a political culture which exists to be offended. Racism lost its meaning when it became an accusation flung at every idea or opinion deviating even slightly from the accuser's. If we are get rid of Trump, perhaps we should be less offended by other Democrats and more offended by the Republicans.
39
@JackKelley
Those 8 years he was VPOTUS, not POTUS. His own personal belief and behavior is better observed in his Congressional record. And it is a most difficult situation for any President today to bring together two ideologically entrenched factions. I want someone D or R who will act like a leader of all Americans first, not the leader of their party (or their own narcissistic orange head) first.
9
@JackKelley You do understand that being a Vice President of the United States is very different from being a President of the United States. Basically, the VP's job is to stand there and look pretty until or unless the POTUS keels over and dies or becomes incapacitated. "Uncle Joe," whose verbal faux pas are legendary, was very good at standing there and looking pretty while our hard-working POTUS was trying (and in many cases succeeding) to get things done. If "Uncle Joe" becomes the POTUS, his job description will be completely different and he will be in a position to get things done while his own VP stands there and looks pretty.
6
What Biden says is true:
There were segregationists in the Democratic party right up into the 1980s.
And sometimes you needed their vote to get a bill through.
573
@Broken
And he could also enunciate impassioned programs aimed at reducing racial injustice, poverty, food and housing insecurity. He could talk in the present tense.
Hhe could wake up.
Right now he is facing a Republican party who are more dangerous than segregationists. What they are threatening is much worse. They are willing to sell out completely, to almost anything, including the ruin of our government.
They are reckless and are enabling a madman, who is looking a war with Iran, as I write this.
And Biden and Stephens are cooing about compromise in the 60s? Who cares?
Wake up! Talk about now! Matter!
18
@Broken Yes, but look at the bill Biden is highlighting as his example of compromise. It was a crime bill that systematically incarcerated people of color for decades, turning the U.S. into one of the world's leaders in mass incarceration and decimating communities.
And that's important. Biden was saying, "Hey look, in order to push through a crime bill (that systematically locked up young black men for decades), I had to work with segregationists." Is that really something he should be bragging about?
Biden is the one not seeing the forest for the trees, here, not the people who are criticizing him.
13
@Eric
Yes, What Eric said.
2
I am not excited about Joe Biden's candidacy, but I agree with Bret Stephens about this issue. Biden was not endorsing segregation, but merely stating an idea that used to be well understood in the U.S. Senate: senators cannot afford to make enemies, because the senator who is your enemy tpday may be your ally tomorrow.
786
@Chris Rasmussen
Question? Can someone who believes one race is superior to another ever be an ally. What kind of suspension of disbelief does one have to had to countenance such thought?
Eastland and Talmadge were abhorrent individuals.
Biden should have walked away from them. He didn't.
Case closed. By Joe.
11
@Chris Rasmussen Then why to Republican senators do it so often now, and now only get away with it, but also get rewarded for it? My complaint about Biden is not that he was civil to segregationists, but that he is being unbelievably naive and foolhardy to imagine that this is possible with the current GOP, just because Trump would be gone. Did he sleepwalk through the Obama Presidency?
38
The remedy for separate and unequal was bussing. If you opposed desegregation, that makes you a segregationist.
5
I agree completely with Stephen's opinion on Biden. The only way this country can move forward and advance is through compromise. Neither the left or the right can win political domination as the loser will always become the new resistance. Thus the loser blocks everything and the country stagnates. So you have to sometimes work with people whose beliefs you disagree with. Our country is split politically, so the best our leaders can do is to support both sides as equally as they can. And this is unlike Trump's approach to reward only those who voted for him at the expense of those that didn't.
However I disagree with Stephens here:
"The irony here is that the left’s apocalyptic tendencies have everything in common with the behavior of the Trumpian right."
This statement is not ironic. The action of the left is in response to years of Republicans waging war against Democrats/liberals in which any means is implemented to reach its end.
And by the way, the idea that one's political opponents are irredeemably evil originated with Republican Newt Gingrich's Contract on America. Our politics has been broken from that point on.
3
It happened long before 2016.
Look at the article about Newt Gingrich in November’s Atlantic.
4
Excellent article, and since our party has moved so far left and away from anything JFK, LBJ, or RFK would recognize, the purpose of all the Biden critics today is to purge our party of all moderate and conservative people and voices. It has also been operating in New Mexico, I don't recognize our party anymore, and every moderate/conservative here can expect a left wing/socialist primary challenger funded by Justice Democrats or the like.
6
@Michael Johnson Ph.D.
Thats nonsense! So far Left? Come on Doc, how do you not realize that the Right and Left sides, the so-called boundaries are simply in constant movement. The Left is simply leftier, and the Right is way rightier.
Of course things are more left then in the years of the ancients you list! Are we really worried that JFK, RFK, LBJ (was LBJ really left, or politically pragmatic?) wouldnt recognize the party? God,I hope so! If we're still entrenched in those days of what to "look" like, we're doomed!
Would Lincoln recognize his party? IS the GOP worried he wouldnt? No! They don't care about such things. Rightfully so!
The GOP is in it to win it, not worry what their ancients might say about them now.
This is the problem with Dems right now. So lost, so confused...and spineless!
1
While I'm not a fan of Joe Biden, I want thank you Mr Stephens for a well-reasoned article that describes the necessity for civility in a healthy, democratic society. Well done!
9
Ditto. I'm not a fan of Biden and am afraid that a war chest of gaffes has been accumulated to nicely "Swift Boat" him during the campaign ahead, but to impugn him for post dealing with types like Eastland while a junior in Congress is just pointless drivel.
Demos, whining about non-issues like this weakens one's political voice for the hard battle ahead.
This OpEd piece has cemented it for me. I am all in for Joe!
3
Biden cut short and treated dismissively the testimony of Anita Hill in the Senate hearing on the confirmation of Clarence Hill as supreme court justice the 70's, of which he was chairman. and had a terrible record on crime as a senator.
He supported 51 new categories on the death penalty and supported Clinton in his 1994 CrimesControl Act, responsible for the incarceration of hundreds of thousands of black people for
possession of cocaine.
He also supported credit card companies in their successful effort
to not allow bankruptcy in credit-card debt for students, and said not a word about the bank's role in the 'o8 crash, even allowing bank executives huge bonuses in that year.
2
These critiques, valid or not, do not address the point of the article.
2
Yeah, Biden demonstrated how deep his instincts for civility run by shouting at reporters that he wasn't a racist, in his immediately angry arrogant and intolerant response. No, Bret, dems have been burned by twenty years of republican devious and all-pervasive disrespect for the rule of law, from Gore losing the presidency to a republican SCOTUS, through years of gerrymandering , to Merrick Garland - No we don't disrespect civility. We just recognize the inexcusable state that respect for the other side has gotten us..The climate crisis cannot be ignored. We don't need old white men who pretend to be civil, while stabbing us in the back, their thin skins apparent for all to see in their shouting angry response to any questioning of their self-defined 'superiour" intellect and values..We can't afford the emperors new clothes anymore. And whataboutism with the MAGA hat wearing party just doesn't make any sense for those of us who want to save the planet and all the creatures great and small. For the price of regulating plastic straws and plastic bags..
3
I don't know what constitutes the left or right in America I live in a liberal democracy and in liberal democracies elections have consequences. America believes in neoliberalism and an economic and social system ruled by wealth.
Liberal democracy is about government of the people by the people and for the people. Elections determine whether the people want more or less public involvement or oversight in the economy. Here in Quebec it means that certain policies remain sacrosanct such as a publically run electric utility and a large publicly owned financial institution run by the best talent available.
I am a leftist because in the days when OPEC ran the world's economy I supported a government run oil company and major government involvement in making my country responsive to the needs of citizens.
I don't know where on the spectrum I would fit in the neoliberalism that is America's social and political system. I am a believer in liberal democracy not communism, oligarchy, plutocracy, neoliberalism, aristocracy or what America has now Kakistocracy. The antonym of liberal is autocratic and for all its faults I am a liberal even in these most interesting of times.
It was 130 years before the potato blight that Swift wrote his Modest Proposal a satirical essay on neoliberalism and the Irish peasantry's exclusion from the food export economy. Two million victims of a neoliberal economic system tells me I am neither left nor right in America. Its core is an abomination.
2
There are times that i can find common ground with Stephens. I think the “apocalyptic tendencies” of the trumper cult is causing too many in the opposition to go the same way but on the left. Too many wild pendulum swings. And dems should resist falling into the daily trump show trap that should be obvious by now to everyone.
Dems and liberals need to keep their eye on the ball. By the way, the daily media/social media outrage machine (of which Stephens is a part of and trump manipulates so well to our detriment) plays a huge role in making this situation much much worse.
3
This is a perfectly written column that is 100% on target.
In my opinion a subtext to all of this is something that I have come to think of as the "trump virus" which has infected our body politic. It's symptoms are clearly defined by extreme thinking and delusional views that exclude moderation and empathy. It's most disturbing feature is the compulsive desire by those who are infected is to try and destroy those who not yet been infected. Most disturbingly, we are seeing variations of this virus throughout the globe. It is time to wake up.
5
Thank you, Bret. I’m fearing I may have to vote for a third party candidate if all this nonsense on the part of the numberless, desperate-for-attention Democratic contenders don’t just stop it!
1
@PATRICIA
So, you’ll help Trump if the Dems nominee isn’t your favorite?
1
I found it deliciously ironic that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would crow about her partnership with Senator Ted Cruz, not a racist but repugnant nonetheless, and then turn around and critique Joe Biden for working with racists in his own party on shared interests. That's politics, finding common ground with people you disagree with. The circular firing squad is alive and well.
12
To all who read this article and mistook it for an endorsement of Joe Biden for Pres, you miss the point entirely. Mr. Stevens has publicly suggested that Mayor Pete Buttigieg would be the best candidate. He isn't endorsing Joe Biden in this piece, he's lamenting the group think masquerading as progressivism. This purity police has more in common with fundamental religion than liberal democracy. Nobody has a claim on moral authority, and nobody should. The minute someone tells you his/her ideas are the right way and any shaded or opposing view is morally wrong, that’s the moment you know you’re in the company of a fraud.
7
"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Such is politics.
People should take time to speak with blacks about how they feel about this, and about Biden in general, before concluding he's the candidate of white working class men.
It's no accident Biden does better with blacks than every other group; far better than with working class whites, (though he does better with them than many other Democrats). The people who truly despise Biden are what I, who grew up working poor and went to college on merit scholarships, call the white radical campus left.
Those of us from racially diverse families doubt many who attack Biden ever speak with average working people of color. I just spoke with a large group of black voters who strongly support Biden. A host of polls, including a Morning Consult poll, show 50 percent of black women back Biden for the primary above all other candidates by a huge margin.
People (meaning white people) don't get why blacks support Biden, glibly saying it's because he worked with Obama. It's a huge blind spot. Biden, an older more experienced white Senator lost to Obama, a younger black Senator, yet was thrilled after losing to work for Obama because he thoroughly believed in him.
It's hard for white people to fathom how rare such total respect from an older white man for a younger black man he lost to is. It never happens. Still, Joe Biden not only did it, he didn't care less that white people (like Trump) saw this as a total betrayal of whites, because it exposed the fallacy of racial superiority.
4
Couldn't agree more with this column but want to remind Stephens it is HIS party what demands a toadying adherence to a position no matter how scurrilous. This is just the jockeying of a large group of potential candidates as well as a few snowflakes speaking up.
2
I don’t particularly like Biden, but every time the Dems have a meltdown over something like this, I like him more. It’s amazing to me how much Dems seem to misunderstand the American psyche right now. I mean, fine, please the extremely left of center on social issues wing of your party, but you’re handing the election to the Republicans. Stick to economics and speaking out for the working class as a whole.
5
Since it looks like Biden may well get the nomination, the smart Democratic hopeful would do well to look like a good candidate for VP. Let's wait and see who the smart ones are, and are not.
2
The purity that Stephens describes occurs among college students making apocalyptic demands that professors be fired who express views at variance, with their own or those of their parents. Warts and all, I don't abhor Joe Biden although I believe Democrats could do better. The public revulsion of Biden, to me, seems apocalyptic, yes, actually rather psychologically immature. Yet, this piece by Stephens is less about Biden than it is about Democratic progressives of today, demanding a narrow orthodoxy without tolerance for those with overlapping but broader views. It explains why older voters, as myself, feel much less affinity toward the Democratic Party than in years past.
5
Great column. The Democrats have a long history of eating their own. I well remember all the sniping at Al Gore by the Washington "insiders" that brought Nader into the race and helped elect the woefully under-qualified Bush the Younger. Any politician who's been in the national spotlight as long as Biden has is going to have gaffes galore in his history. But all the Democratic dart-throwers should remember several overwhelming facts about Biden: the people of his state re-elected him to the Senate six times and the people of the nation as a whole elected him twice to the vice-presidency. Over Biden's 36 years in the upper chamber and 8 more in the executive branch, Delaware voters, national voters, Washington power players, and the media have gotten to know Biden very well, warts and all. And for the most part they like him. Even Republicans will tell you, "He's a good guy." If we want our politics to start working again, there's nobody better than Biden to make it happen.
8
Trump's greatest "victory" if you could call it that is unleashing the animal spirits in all of us---which, when I am around Trump supporters takes over my civility and willingness to listen. Not that I act out this visceral disdain, but, to be honest, am bothered by how internally, without really knowing these people, I dislike them and dislike is a mild term. But these animal spirits have been growing over the last decade--The beginning being Mitch McConnell's comment that he would do everything possible to make President Obama a one term president---Now, having said that, the "payback" to the McConnells and Trump's is winning in 2020--and Biden's expression of civility is what I feel the public is looking for.
7
The subtle nuance of human relationships required for building healthy and flowering community lost its glamour on modern time when intelligence and rational thinking drives us constantly in our daily life. Biden’s thoughts seem to us foreign and opportunistic. Over the last few decades the Western liberal education and Media focused too much time and effort to create a world of good and evil and lost the sense that vast area of our daily life is gray - we must know how to navigate this unknown and unknowable territory. Morality and ethical depth of a person is tested during the worst moments of a person’s life and Biden demonstrated that depth in his life during many personal crisis. Yes, Biden is not able to articulate this deep senses with proper expressions on election trails, but that does not mean he can not feel it. I request Biden to meditate on this issue to find out the expression from his inner core and then share it to us, and not follow the recommendations from his strategists. This will touch the core of Democratic voters heart.
1
Anti-racism is no longer a social and political position. It is now a religion, complete with it’s Inquisitors, vigilance with regard to hidden sin and uncleanliness, constant efforts to be holier than others, ever more stringent definitions of purity, eliminationist rhetoric towards enemies, etc.
4
It is strange that Mr. Biden says that he can bring back civility but has to go back 40 plus years for an example -- that of working with segregationists. Isn't there anyone more recent that he can point to? Anyone currently in the GOP senate? Anyone he worked with while under Obama. Biden seems to underscore the point that the politics of the past is PAST and he's part of the past.
2
Everyone who has ever created anything legally and ethically knows that when working with people holding different interests or views, the only way to actually achieve something is through compromise. It is through compromise that we learn to respect our negotiating counterparts and develop an understanding of opposing views. It is not surrender and it is not capitulation. In fact it’s harder, much harder, to achieve consensus than to score a victory. A crushing defeat feels great, but it only invites future battles. There are exceptions, of course, and sometimes an enemy deserves no compromise. But our democratic system is designed to work slowly, deliberatively and through compromise. Unfortunately our two-party system does not require coalition-building in order to create a facsimile of governing, so we are left to rely on the integrity of our elected representatives to tamp down their absolutist instincts. Right now Republicans and many Democrat candidates have revealed that they are not up to that task. Biden is, and I believe others are too, if they would only receive support from the party.
5
The former VP has been in public life for half a century. I gather his purpose in making this public remark was to demonstrate a quality and talent he has that others in the field are presumably but not demonstrably lacking. That is, to work with others to achieve someting of value. It seems to me he could have chosen at one example from the no doubt thousands of examples in his experience that would have the point without creating an unnecessary controversy. This calls into question his judgment, not his bias for me. Why inflame a situation or create a situation when there is no need?
1
Joe Biden is likely to come out of this little snafu with an improved image as elder statesman and holder of the political center, where most of the votes come from that elect presidents. Heck, he may have even picked up some support from the right just by mentioning the names Eastland and Talmadge.
4
@Rob
That is exactly the problem -- Mr. Biden is sending dog whistles of his own by name-checking people from long ago that only fervent segregationists and people of color could remember... he's trying to pick up more of the former while assuming that the latter won't notice.
3
@kate
If there's anything you can be sure of -- it's that Black people are watching and noticing. EVERYTHING.
Let's be honest and face it:
Neither the left or the right will ever let racism go. Both sides do all they can to keep it alive. It is too powerful a political tool to abandon. It is a gift that keeps on giving.
Authors like Ta-Nehisi Coates need it to keep their own revenue stream flowing. The worst thing that could ever happen to them is if we all were able to live in harmony. They will continue to do all they can to not let racism die.
So the flames need to be fanned from time to time and the attack on Joe Biden is a testimony for how desperate these people are to continue to sow discord to further their own agenda.
Judging by that measure, we need enlightened people like Joe Biden more than ever.
3
@Kara Ben Nemsi
About the need to fan the flames: Who do you think MLKJr was referring to when he spoke of a promisory note still unpaid? All those things Biden suggests were accomplished through civility with ardent segregationists? Reminds me of Faust selling his soul to the devil....
The 2018 Congressional elections showed that the Progressive Agenda is alive and viable. Stalling, obstruction, and attitudes about "fine people on both sides" are not.
Biden seems like he's standing on third base and thinks he hit a triple. He wouldn't be a front runner if Obama hadn't picked him for VP. As a Presidential candidate on his record Biden was gaffe-prone and a non-starter. Other, younger Democratic candidates have bigger fish to fry in SC and across the country.
I hardly consider myself a consider a conservative, and its unlikely Brett Stephens is anywhere near liberal. But this article makes such good sense that I just wish my fellow progressives would lighten up on a lot of different things. I resent their know-it-all attitude and monolithic and borderline Thought Police view of things. It makes us look a lot like what we spend all day bitching about. What invariably happens is, the other side (meaning the not-so-good-intention-conservatives) win elections and really drives so-called progressives into a concentration camp of their own making.
7
Biden unlike most of the other Dem candidates knows that a Dem. presidential candidate has to do in the South.They need to do what Clinton did in the South- break the GOP stronghold and show respect for famous dixiecrats and GOP bigots in office.
And some of the current GOP members of Congress would have referred to Obama as boy and Biden as son. That's why they were a perfect team.
Corey Booker and even Bernie would have accomplished nothing with Eastland or Talmadge.
2
@LVG
Exactly. And that's also the reason why JFK picked LBJ as Vice President, and Lincoln picked Andrew Johnson.
1
I am a Republican, but no fan of Trump. I will vote for Biden if he is the nominee, but likely not for any of your other front runners. There are a lot of us out here who feel the same way. All of you progressive absolutists need to keep this in mind. If you really want to beat Trump, that is.
9
Mr. Stephens is correct! The very fact that Mr. Biden picked out two of the most racist members of the Senate as examples only goes to the heart of the issue. If one can work with those whose ideas you abhor, but whose support you may need to get good things done, then the American system of government can be made to work. Our system is based on compromise. Democracy breeds many points of view. It is at once its strength and its weakness. Seeking ideological purity in our political relationships is a recipe for failure in the most basic requirement for the success of a large democracy.
7
The latest Biden episode simply spotlights one of the most salient reasons why we find ourselves in the mess we’re in: instead of focusing on the important issues that currently affect and will continue to affect our lives we the voting public and those running for president seem to be more interested in the “gotcha” moments that undoubtedly will happen in our seemingly never-ending presidential campaigns. And the media outlets happily contribute and hungrily promote them as items worthy of a National Enquirer issue.
So Biden said that he was able to work and get things done with two avowed segregationists. Does that mean he himself is one? Neither Cory Booker nor Kamala Harris are arguing that. Do they have to hold their nose and work with people they do not care for, even in the Democratic Party, in order to get things done? I bet they do. But they needed something to use to weaken Biden’s support among African Americans without whom no contender will get the nomination and they thought this was their chance.
I’m not a Biden fan in this election cycle because I believe this moment demands a different perspective. But Booker and Harris are not doing us or themselves a favor by blowing this moment out of proportion. Shame on them for trying, shame on the media for stoking the flames, and shame on us for allowing ourselves to be ensnared into a nothing burger controversy. Meanwhile, dear leader is sitting there enjoying the spectacle and licking his chops.
4
I couldn't agree more.
2
As an anti-Trump independent, this Democrat outcry has me wavering. Tell them to STOP.
1
I’m not upset that Biden tried to work with colleagues with reprehensible views.
I’m upset because he thinks this is something to brag about.
No need to credit that crowd with anything, no reason to equate their patina of civility to a fellow white Senator with actual civility.
Go Biden go. No, really.
2
Bret, you don't get it. Joe Biden is 1) white, 2) male and 3) of an older generation. He can do no right according to the emerging 1) non-white, 2) non-male and 3) 'new (and naive) generation of Dems.
6
@Paul
As a white male of an older generation, Biden has a boatload of baggage. That he expects other people to
carry for him.
The lefts are same like Trump? Maybe, but why left should worry, giving the success of Trump? Trying to accommodate everybody ends in accommodating nobody.
I cant stand the thought of 4 more years of Donald Trump & the Republican Party and I so much want to vote against Donald Trump in 2020 but the Democrats are making it very hard for me to understand what they stand for other than liberal outrage. I agree with Bretts comparison of the Left simply becoming the liberal version of what has happened to the Republican Party and I find them both very very distasteful. Joe Biden is the best of the lot and the indignation with which his comments have been received I find another extreme example of political expediency and an attempt to see who can go further to the left.
6
I don’t favor civility but I should. Swift boat veterans for truth brought down John Kerry. A recording saying “if John McCain fathered an illegitimate black child would you be more likely to vote for him” ran in South Carolina. Dukakis was filmed inside a NATO tank with the voice saying he favors the UN. Trump beat Gov. Bush by highlighting a quiet “low energy” demeanor. The Vice President Biden is getting attacked as he should. We must embrace apologies and it should separate our dems from an unapologetic GOP. The political playing field should get gritty because we want to beat lying Trump. We should officially apologize for slavery and the Trail of Tears but also must win by getting in the mud.
As a 10 yr old white kid in 1970, I knew that 'boy' was a derogatory word to call Black people. Biden wasn't called 'boy' by the segregationists because he was white, and its kind of unbelievable he didn't know that. (And as has been noted, he was referring to other Democrats, not to Republicans.).
Again how successful was he as Obama's 'man in Congress'?
1
@LK. Eastland called Ted Kennedy ‘boy’ so maybe it was a diminutive term he used for anyone he didn’t respect? I can’t say I understand Biden’s comment, but there may be some context lost.
1
Among Biden's work with racist colleagues was his fight against busing. Let"s not forget that "detail."
1
@Deborah I would like to hear from Biden why he opposed busing. I was too young during this period and not in one the affected communities so I don’t have personal experience, but I read the book All Souls, which follows an Irish American family in South Boston during that period, and it’s hard to finish it without seeing busing from a different perspective. It’s a very personal account of the violence and terror, told from the point of view of a community that opposed busing. I’d be curious to hear Biden’s response.
Ashamed is what Booker should feel as he attacked Biden, Booker never got his bump in the polls which was all he was hoping for behind his comment. Biden comment really had nothing to do with race, just how many white men would feel comfortable being called son by a racist bigot. It just more hype being used out of context to boost some poll numbers and shame on the media for blowing so much air into it. Both Biden and Trump are just way to old for 21 century politics and presidency.
4
the false equivalency of progressives going the way of trump and his conservative party is tired with a capital T. progressives want to expand civil rights and justice and equality and open the tent to all citizens. they are not in the business of carrying torches and killing people because of their race, cultural heritage such as those of jewish heritage, or sexual orientation. its the republican party and its members who condone the racist POTUS, period. if you work with those of the likes that biden is so proud of working with in the past across the "isle," you are condoning murder, period. the segregationists thrived on lynchings, torture, good ole straight while male club who protect themselves while killing innocent "others who are not white, straight or christian." Segregationists were/are (charlottesburg) murderers....no candidate who has the possibility of being a future POTUS should be proud about his past work across the isles with segregationists, period. stephens equating the progressives of the left with the right wing conservative murderers is ludicrous, period. biden is not suited for the presidency and should withdraw his candidacy.
Mature electable Biden but every other Democratic Presidential Candidate mirroring immature undergraduates spouting microaggresions pablum.
4
Wow, spot on! It’s about time.
2
Would Stephens write a column defending someone who had kind things to say about Khalid Muhammad?
To ask the question is to answer it.
2
The irony is that the same progressives Democrats who took great offense when Ilhan Omar was accused of anti semitism are jumping on the throat of Joe Biden and accusing him of racism. Get over yourselves. This country was hijacked. There is a mad man on the wheel and someone has to stop him. Instead of being offended by the other passengers who ultimately will face the same disastrous consequences, help the one willing to grab the wheel with both hands. And no, it does not have to be Joe Biden.
11
Who are these people? Stephens nonsensical comparison of his made-up relationship with an Iranian spy to Biden’s deal with racist devils to ensure “separate but equal” education of American school children takes the cake. Joe Biden is an over-the-hill, go-along-to-get-along, twice-rejected presidential candidate. Been there, not done that. Twice. The third time is not the charm for gaffe master joe. And his involvement in sliming Anita Hill and the Mass Incarceration “Crime” Bill sez all I need to know about his race credentials.
1
It looks as though Bret Stephens has all but declared he's jumping ship & voting for a Democrat in the general election, as long as it's Biden.
This could, with further reflection, be at odds with Stephen's affinity for the Bolton/Pompeo push for war with Iran. This is just a bad time for armed intervention, from either Demo or Repub. I think Biden will disappoint Bret.
Umm I think both parties are changing the republicans are nothing like their predecessors and now the democrats are morphing into something unrecognizable to me. It’s as if the earth opened and split and all those standing in the middle have been swallowed up. Biden is holding a life line the question is can he save the party from the fate that has consume the Republicans?
1
Harris and Booker made their comments, I'm sure, after careful political calculus. IMHO this was a profound miscalculation. It may, and probably should, ultimately prove to be disqualifying. What part of majority rule do they not understand? The country is hemorraghing because of my-way-or-the-highway Republican rule. 51% of voters are not interested in or motivated to replace it with my-way-or-the-highway Dem rule.
5
I think the issue that should be addressed is how to "get things done" with a Republican party that is committed to not getting things done, at least not with a Democrat as president. My suggestion is to approach the voters in Kentucky and all the other constituencies that elect the McConnells and Cottons and Meadows and virtually all the rest with positive ideas about making the voters' lives better. This is probably naive and at best a long shot. But the problem will not be resolved with civility. it requires votes.
2
Mr Stephens,
If Biden could speak on this matter half as well as you did in your essay this morning, his candidacy would be well beyond the issue.
To me, the problem is his inability to inspire us with his vision for our country. We are all left with a story (his vision), that across the board, simply doesn't satisfy our realization that we need to change deeply and as quickly as we can.
Obviously, he can pick the road map for change that we vote on, but if he doesn't inspire us and motivate us and challenge us, I think the electorate will look elsewhere for a new leader.
Thanks for all you do to help us think through these issues.
This is good analysis. I find that I agree with Mr. Stephens when he is in deep analytic mode, and strongly disagree with him when he himself goes apocalyptic—which he does on all things Middle East, as when he called for sinking the Iranian navy (no worries here about the number of lives lost: Trump here was a smarter and more compassionate analyst than Stephens). But Stephens is right that the Democrats who want to bury a person for every mistake are going too far. That said, Biden really did step in it with his choice of words in telling how he worked with segregationists. Unlike Elizabeth Warren, Biden is not much of a teacher. You have to supply your own context for his historical remarks. And some people—including me at first—supply an apocalyptic context.
2
These so -called “progressives” are leaving me behind. The better word for them is “ intolerant “. If you disagree with them you need to be “re-educated”. It reminds me of the “Four Olds” during Mao’s Cultural Revolution: Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas. It’s dangerous group think. Senators Booker and Harris have lost my support. Don’t apologize Joe.
8
@MD Monroe
Spot on assessment. And oddly enough, this "intolerance" reminds me of the same thing they're so quick to rally against -- or worse, the same problem with lock-step Republicans.
There's nothing "progressive" about that.
2
@N. Smith
They are regressive not progressive. They are not liberal. They are radicals and their ideology eschews science, rationality and objective reasoning.
I think there's good reason to be more fearful of these types than the Trump right.
@Little Donnie
There's reason to fear both because of their inability and unwillingness to see beyond their own set of political ideologies.
1
A conservative, neocon, neoliberal, former WSJ editorial writer Republican giving advice to Democrats on who to vote for?
Yeah, that's the ticket!
6
Of course Bret likes Joe Biden. He's a Republican. Stop listening to him.
6
So, Bret, as we stand on the precipice of war with Iran, I’d love to know how your lunches moved the needle?
“How dare he try to work with his opponents...” Opponents? Try “the morally depraved”. What would this country be like today if politicians had an ounce of principles and more than a fair share of courage and didn’t normalize bigots by working with them?
No. The time for tolerating oppressors and racists has passed. They are literally dying off and this country will be better for it. Let’s try doing what’s right for once and see how that goes. And with that, Biden’s a hard pass for me.
2
I agree on Biden and appreciate Mr. Stephens referring to the "Democratic party." Many Republican right-wingers now say "Democrat party."
I'm convinced they do so because "democratic" has a positive connotation, which they are unwilling to attribute to the party. But all they do is sound like idiots who don't know an adjective from a noun.
1
Look, the real issue here is this; The Dem absolutely stink (I'd prefer to use harsher words) in the most fetid of stinks - how to get any coherent message out. Its ridiculous at this stage how bad they are at communicating the simplest of messages.
To me Biden, and I love the guy (and I get his touchy feely nature and its not bad) is a prime example of their ineptitude. They need to hire consultants (I'm for hire) who know how to talk in the exact terms that communicate common sense. That when Joe (any of them) is on the verge of a gaffe, his thinking-brain clicks in and instead of his usual face-palm choice of words, he says the things that make people go," yes, I get that, that relates to me and my everyday life."
Take this "I got along with a jerk" incident. First find a better example then a racist jerk like Eastland, etc. Pick a guy we all mostly like, say John McCain. But if you already let the flub slip, make it relatable! Say something like; "Look we've all had to work with people...okay, lets call them jerks for now. Racists, sexists, your garden variety jerks, but You had to figure a means to work with them, and hopefully with the right efforts against them and in turn rid the place of them!" "That's what we all do, thats what I did and will always do! Get the job done no matter the opposition. Like it or not, you gotta work with some really difficult people in Washington! I did, I can, and I will!"
Not hard. But Dems simply stink at communicating.
1
Great column, Bret, but I noticed a tiny word error, and corrected it for you:
"All of this is evidence of what psychologist Pamela Paresky calls the “apocalyptic” approach to politics that increasingly typifies today’s POLITICAL PARTIES." (not 'progressives' alone).
You are so perceptive, yet still can't see the moat in the GOP's eye.
1
Joe's too old
to get
what's politically correct
Once upon a time
This was fine
Never mind the facts
Now it's not corret
For better or worse, politics has evolved. It's no longer reaching across the aisle, so much, as gaining the majority and ramming through an agenda. Biden isn't up to speed on this, he's advocating for what Obama tried for 8 years, with very limited success. It takes two to play his game, but two aren't currently available.
@brooklyn
That may be true, but there is broad disagreement within the party on what to "ram through"
That's what you get when the party is a coalition of vastly different groups with different desires.
It's a serious weakness and already cost the 2016 election and I'm not so sure it doesn't cost us 2020
@Little Donnie
You're still thinking in the old paradigm, top down. The "Moral Majority" played the long game, they started getting seats on community boards and school boards and worked their way up.
The Democrats will suffer as long as they continue to look for a quick fix and, unfortunately, that might take an election cycle or two.
1
Paging George Santayana.
I've been listening to Mike Duncan's Revolutions podcast on the French Revolution. It has been appalling to hear to how yesterday's great patriots are labeled insufficiently revolutionary today and are carted off to the guillotine.
And while in 2019 the insufficiently revolutionary are condemned to public shaming rather than to the guillotine, still it seems at best to be a foolish and unproductive response to a difference of opinion.
Hello. You are missing the point of this discussion. It is how Biden choose to talk about these men and how he made that “cute” comment about how they never called him “boy” but only “son.” This isn’t about inflexibility but about years of Joe Biden saying stupid things and his used car salesman personality. Read George Packer’s THE UNWINDING and his portrait of good old Uncle Joe. And what about the disgusting, pandering, wink wink-nod nod to the wealthy donors at that same fund raiser? Talk about tone death. No, people are furious about is the anointing of this man. No one deserves this nomination. No one. And Joe Biden is no better than any of these candidates and if he wants the nomination — he needs to prove his worth. And so far — he isn’t coming close to that.
6
@Daisy Foote: Well, he's the front runner by far in the polls, so there's that. Warren is my favorite, but if it has to be Biden, so be it. Biden will bring back the normalcy that sane Americans crave and with a Democratic House and Senate to propose legislation, the country could do much worse. A Democratic controlled Congress, Senate first of all, is much more important than which Democrat becomes president. VOTE!
3
“Civility is never a vice among fellow citizens, especially when it is in short supply.” That is a great line!! We should all type it out and post it where we will see it several times a day. I am weary of the name calling in our politics.
5
The hysterics over Biden's comments aren't genuine. They are a way for the forgotten Dems running for president (Corey who?) to get back in the news. Biden addressed it and now should largely ignore it, other than proportionate return fire. The Dems want to lose to Trump by embracing a radical, reactionary, woke agenda that's riddled with divisiveness and antisemitism. Biden needs to not get sucked into their game.
7
The forces of order and disorder, light and dark, Yang and Yin, are constantly in conflict. Our words betray us. We speak of excommunication or apostasy or jihad and other examples of a fundamentalism which only serve to drive a wedge between each one of us.
Men disparage women as airheads; women rankle at mansplaining.
Every politician must carve out a position for himself or herself, including Joe Biden. By continuing to disparage others on multiple fronts, it is both ineluctably sad and undeniably true that no politician could ever expect approval of 51% of the electorate. Screaming at one another only serves to support an ineffective indeed dysfunctional government regardless of its party label it carries at any one time.
Dems have to work together and find the middle because if the nominee is a strident left whiner expect them to carry the Northeast, save Maine and NH, win close in Illinois and take the West Coast, but lose every other square foot of this country in a landslide.
4
@A.C
And spend four more years complaining that the rest of the stupid country just can't appreciate how rightous and smart they are...
Cable news has hi jacked the Democratic process and has taken the position that compromise is a dirty word. The Founding Fathers built had country on compromise.
6
That's why it had slavery until 1861.
Given his long years of service to the American people as a Senator it is inevitable that Joe Biden will have made what we now see as 'gaffs' along the way. Should he be hung ,drawn , and quartered for then 40 years on ,I think not .
Biden sells himself as someone who can sit down with people he disagrees with and come to terms on a deal .
This is not a bad thing and something if he is elected President the country will need its leadership to be well versed in.
Trump has just about destroyed this countries good relationships with our allies ,and has no good will towards political opponents.
Biden will I am confident be able to mend both , and thereby Make America Gracious Again.
4
Guess someone fears change, that to which histrionics is necessary to history.
1
A younger generation of progressives seems to have a strict purity test. Better to hurl antagonistic labels at the opposition and fire up a limited base than moderate the vehemence to attract bigger support. Victory is defined by intransigence and the invectives you spew. Joe Biden was pointing out that fallacy. The key to victory in the 2020 election will be attracting swing voters. Two hundred and seven counties voted twice for Obama but switched to Trump in 2016. If Democrats can’t recognize that reality they’ll spend the next term of President Trump screaming that the electoral system is unfair and telling each other how stupid Red state voters are.
6
@PeterKa
First of all. The Electoral College system is unfair and the history of why it even exists readily testifies to that.
And it's not a matter of Democrats telling each other how "stupid" Red state voters are -- it's a matter of anyone who votes for Donald Trump must have their sanity seriously questioned.
I'm not a Biden fan, but the response of his fellow dems and the MSM is beyond ridiculous and shows how out of touch with reality today's demwits are. I don't think Biden would make a good president, just better than any of the other 20+ dem candidates in the race at present. This elbowing each other out of the way to show how progressive they are is not laudable, it's ridiculous.
A new green deal would be a disaster.
Not fixing the border problem is an ongoing disaster (would almost want the dems to win the house senate and presidency just to see how quickly they would pass meaningful legislation to protect our southern border).
Virtually all of the policy prescriptions the dems have put out are simply variations on a lefty theme -- and none of them are put together in detail particularly when it comes to paying for these feel good plans.
We need leaders who are are centrist and not slaves to some multi pillared religious like doctrine. Biden is the only one in the dem party who isn't bent way left -- and he may end up mouthing far left sentiments in order to get the nomination.
Any party whose chief strategist and ideologue is a 29 year old former barista who yabbers gibberish is in deep deep trouble. It may play well to the lefty base but when push comes to shove in Nov 2020, the thinking centrists will vote Trump vs anyone who appears to be a left wing nut (all the others do except Biden). But elect a dem and you'll see the economy fall flat.
4
"The last thing Democrats need is to allow the nasty left to do to them in 2020 what the nasty right did to Republicans in 2016." We watched Trump win the nomination, and the surreality of it was staggering. This will be as easy to stop as that was. Though I'm no fatalist, I am a pessimist: I think the Left will win this intra-party fight eventually.
People like Ta-Nehisi Coates -- who said he felt nearly no compassion watching the Twin Towers burn and that climate change will be whites' just deserts for the evils they've inflicted on mankind and the natural world -- see the West in the opposite way from someone like you.
Your type sees the living standards raised by the spread of open markets and notes the deep linkage between merchant societies and freedom -- the very concept of which is Western, as Orlando Patterson says. You think of the victory of individualism, human rights, dignity, decency, over darkest despotism.
The Left doesn't care about markets, as one can see from their rhetoric ("The Constitution of Liberty" they use as a doorstop). Defeating the Third Reich, Imperial Japan, and seeing off the Soviet Union? Nothing. What the Left sees, all it sees, is white supremacy, imperialism, exploitation, oppression. "Capitalism" isn't the best route to betterment for the poor; rather, it's a system that best ensures the rich rule.
The truth is, neither Left nor Right is wholly wrong. Getting many to see THAT might be the hardest but most beneficial thing we could do.
1
I wonder if Biden is doing this deliberately. After all, in trolling the screamers in the party by bringing up his personal ties to such individuals (who, apparently, must now be erased from the history of the Democratic Party), it's ultimately Biden who looks like the adult in the room.
3
@James
FYI. Both James Eastland and Herman Talmadge were fervent "Dixiecrats" -- and as such, represented a Democratic party that's far removed from what it is today.
Much the same as the Republican party of today no longer resembles the "Party of Lincoln".
1
Once again, Stephens misses the point entirely and writes yet another histrionic, hysterical column about the "progressive base" of the Democratic Party. And once again he doesn't give a single thought to the legitimate issues that the reaction to Biden's comments represent. Biden could have talked about civility in politics without using two hateful bigots as examples. Eastland and Talmadge may be long dead, but their crippling legacy lives on in a society and culture that for many among us has been anything but improved and perfected. To then equate the negative reaction to the behavior of the Trumpian right is not only false, it does absolutely nothing to move us toward a productive political dialogue.
2
I'm so over the loudest voice Looney tunes camp taking over the Democratic party.
Bidens not my first choice but my goodness, these folks won't be happy until they've laid waste to everything and everyone (including themselves no doubt)
8
I suppose moderation and bipartisanship are arguably useful traits in a presidential candidate, but you’d think there would be less outrageous examples to cite. Proving you have a diverse group of friends does not require pulling a picture of yourself and Jeffrey Dahmer from your photo album.
5
Despite general reservations about Stephens (who conveniently ignores the tendencies to extremism which are much more common in the Republican party than the Democratic party) I'm very much inclined to agree with his sentiments here. Most of FDR's radical New Deal legislation was passed with the votes of Southern segregationists. Harry Truman relied on the help of Arthur Vandenburg to pass much of his national security agenda. As far as Biden is concerned his 20 (?) opponents are just looking for sticks to beat him with. Outside of the usual suspects on the far left of the Democratic party this is essentially a storm in a teacup
6
Bravo! I'm a lifelong moderate Democrat. Years ago, weighing between choosing the party whose far left included the Al Sharptons of the world or the party whose far right included the Pat Robertsons, I decided to remain a Democrat despite how unpalatable their far left was. Today's current crop of self-righteous, inflexible, know-it-all, walk in lockstep or be be banished ideologues are making me question my decision every day.
3
To my way of thinking, Biden is on the right side of this discussion. President Obama was correct to reach out to Cuba, because our stance for 60 years with Cuba was obviously not having the intended result. President Trump was right in a sense to reach out to the North Korean leader to break some ice. How that works out is still open to discussion, but reaching out was not a bad idea. Comity in foreign policy is often a good strategy. Confrontation and war can develop soon enough. A softer approach and strategy, dare I say diplomacy, can often work best at the start of a conversation.
1
Intransigent ideology is the larger issue here, whether it be of the aroused left or the Tea Party right. Biden correctly spoke to this larger point, but unfortunately with ineptitude. 'Boy' and 'Son' are not comparable historical references and he should be aware of how freighted his choice of words can be. Obama demonstrated his mastery in choosing thoughtful and considerate words of compromise, a skill we need more than ever in today's world of nationalism and confrontation. This is not a skill shared by Joe Biden which is why this controversy erupted and why he is not the man for our times.
5
I think the primary campaigns are actually pretty civil. I never took Biden seriously in previous elections, but really enjoyed him as Obama's VP. I'm more liberal than pretty much all of the candidates; I am a lifelong Democrat who was thinking of going Independent because I saw no distinction anymore between DEMs and GOP. Then the GOP elected Trump and, guess what?, now I see the distinction. I am fully cognizant of Biden's flaws, and I am also able to interpret for myself what his statements about difficult bipartisan relationships mean. I may well vote for Biden in the primary and will definitely vote for him if he gets the nomination.
I think the political analysts don't necessarily have their finger on the pulse of voters. None of them thought Trump would get the GOP nomination, let alone win the election. I don't think they are necessarily better informed by how we DEMs will vote, either.
5
@PhillyExPat
Most of those political analysts don't seem to leave the big media capitals or their Twitter feed long enough to get an idea of what the rest of the country is thinking. Joe Biden may be the best hope to win back working class voters that went for Trump last time.
1
There is nothing apocalyptic about the progressives' mistrust of compromise. It is just common sense. In order to compromise, you need someone to compromise with. Can anyone seriously believe Mitch McConnell would be willing to compromise on anything? Or Trump's base, for that matter? It is not that progressive Democrats do not want to compromise: it's that they know they can't. Talk of an apocalyptic stance by progressives and Trumpista equally is to commit the fallacy of false equivalence.
6
Good Column. The “apocalyptic” approach to politics is the way of many "so-called Conservatives" and Trumpists. The Republican party has fallen deep into to dark side -- the Democrats should no follow.
Civility and working at times with those whose idea you oppose is not a bad think if it gets things done from criminal justice reform to transportation funding to with-straining the war powers of the president.
Some now running for the Democratic nomination have work with or voted for bills supported by the likes of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Does that make them supports of the ideas and positions of the current GOP???
3
Past civility is not the issue and Stephens is right to defend it. The problem, clearly, is civility in Mitch McConnell's Washington, which is really an extension of Dick Cheney's Washington. But I agree that a candidate should not be rejected on this basis, if only through self-interest: these are the candidates that can win a general election. However, I'm not a Biden fan. I think there's still time for a few serious candidates to come forward. But it needs to happen soon.
1
Mr. Stephens seeks to restore the boys club of the Senate. While the Old South ruled the place when Joe Biden arrived—a fact of life for then Senator Biden—he’s wrong to ignore the last decade of hardening lines (and hearts) of Mitch McConnell and the GOP. Political views and actions do not spring from nothing. The anger and even fury expressed by Democrats from the Senate to city hall is the result of Republican extremism.
McConnell packed the Supreme Court with Heritage Foundation clones—and is willing to do even more in an election year. The GOP robbed American taxpayers by a giant transfer of money from the poorest to … fuel stock buy-backs! The failure to repeal of ACA was not for lack of trying—putting the health care of millions at unnecessary risk. The gerrymandering of the Census and the GOP efforts at the state level to disenfranchise people of color adds a special sting to past hobnobbing with overt segregationists. The assault on women—and not just by the Grabber in Chief—to invade their persons for the sake of religious zealots who want to invalidate Roe and return us to the 19th Century, only round out this list.
The Democrats are obliged to respect the voters. Well, the voters do not like the current Administration or leadership in the Senate or conservative majority on the Supreme Court. We, the majority, did not elect them or select them. Yet they govern as though they have divine right. Civility is the least of our problems.
4
Recent polls indicate the top priority for Democrats is to beat Trump. Also that were Democrats to vote with their hearts, they would choose Elizabeth Warren, but think their heads are telling them to vote for Joe because he is most electable. On civility and segregationists, Joe booted it. Instead of showing as he intended that he can work across the aisle with anyone, even haters, it instead called attention to the fact that he indeed worked with Eastland to stop busing designed to thwart segregation in schools, as the Senator from MBNA he championed bankruptcy reform to keep people - black and white - chained to their debts, and criminal justice reform which resulted in incarcerating a large segment of the black community. Black voters are smart and will hold their nose to vote for the lesser of two evils. Recall, they did not move over to support Obama in 2008 until he proved he was not a vanity project and white people would vote for him in significant numbers. Should Elizabeth Warren come out with a race-neutral plan to create economic opportunities in neglected communities both black and white - entrepreneural capitalism for the masses, you might just see hearts and minds reunited, as they were in 2008.
5
It is not the content or the background of Biden's comments that is disqualifying. It is the lack of judgement and failure to anticipate the reaction that makes him unsuitable. He seems to be a good man, but not a particularly strong or principled one. To many positions in the past (see Anita Hill) that need explaining and will continue to produce foot in mouth, discordant responses. After Trump we need more moral clarity, strength and less baggage.
5
Let Joe be Joe. No, he’s not perfect, but compared to the current occupant, he’s a freaking Genius.
Period.
6
I don't disagree with Mr. Douthat on the basic thrust of this column with regard to Joe Biden, but he would have a lot more credibility in his argument if he would drop the false equivalence. The "smash-mouth" politics of "incivility" he denounces are the very soul of the national GOP and have been for decades. Dems have been playing an asymmetrical game for years, continuing to believe in the reach-across-the-aisle politics of an earlier day, while the GOP has been determined to thwart, stall, delay, poison their Democratic counterparts by any means necessary. I don't begrudge Biden for his past relationships in the politics of an earlier day, but his insistence that the problem is Trump, rather than the radicalized modern GOP, which is incapable of compromising on anything for the sake of governance, shows he's living in a fantasy world. By extension, so is Mr. Douthat.
2
Stand tall, my friends. The pendulum will swing back to the middle, one day, but I hope there is something left to govern at that point.
2
I think Biden really believes he can reach across the aisle and get things done with Mitch McConnell. That belief is contrary to all existing evidence. Where was he during the eight years of the Obama presidency? At what moment did the Republicans ever work with Obama on anything? The Democrats need someone who knows they’re in a fight.
8
Biden is acting like Trump. Fine people on both sides, no apologies. It’s brilliant.
7
@LBL
I don't see the analogy between the two.
And why should Biden apologize for being able to reach across the aisle? -- Or perhaps you haven't noticed that's something Trump can't do.
1
Is Biden really the best we can do? Seems to me he is merely Hillary reborn: strong and corrupting linkages to big financial institutions (substitute MBNA for Goldman Sachs) and support of the bogus Iraq invasion, for starters. Beyond Hillary, there is his condescension toward Anita Hill and his general Republican-lite mentality. The Democrats can do much better.
3
It's deeply satisfying to hear John Lewis and Jim Clyburn,two bulwarks of the Civil Rights movement, jumping to Biden's defense. The Democratic Presidential nominee will not win -- repeat, not win -- without a massive outpouring of support by black voters. To abandon Biden for his realpolitik actions in the 1970's would be an astronomical mistake.
5
Don’t assume all black voters feel the same about Joe Biden’s comments. Heard an interview with one yesterday who said that we need people in leadership who can reach across the aisle and talk with opponents, as contrasted to the current crop.
@PaulB67
That shouldn't be a problem because Black voters never come out en masse to vote Republican -- and with good reason.
Stephens is saying the obvious but it is still needed. The extreme Left is as dangerous as the extreme Right.
6
I am a left of left, civil rights proponent for decades and totally agree with this article. The silly kerfuffle we have witnessed in this tempest in a teapot is exactly how Dems get side railed on distractions. We dilute our energy and power when we focus on minutiae and lose the big vision.
Grandstanding and hyperventilating is not going to get our side elected.
5
I speak for many who remain silent. The progressive left is as scary as the extreme right. They censor thought; bully people into acquiescence; and look for upheaval not change. Give me Biden’s civility and experience over them all.
8
@Michael Bachner I agree with you and appreciate your observation. I am about as liberal as they get, but I don't like being corralled or silenced, and there is certainly a contingent among the left who try to do just that. Lockstep and meek uniformity are counter-productive.
3
@marjorie. Obama’s vice president and friend is now insensitive to race. This is progressive search and destroy. Paving the road for DJT term 2.
As a young congressman, Biden played the hand he was dealt. This included doing business with other congresspeople, including conservatives with a terrible history of supporting segregation and perpetrating a barely disguised hatred of racial minorities. If the current Democratic Party continues to draw such stark boundaries around an individual politician's acceptability, then they will have no one else to blame when they lose the centrist vote.
3
I'll keep posting this until some NYT writers do their homework and explore how Ranked Choice Voting is one solution out of this bipartisan mess the GOP started, Trump perfected, and the DNC is a victim of.
RCV ha the power to run over bipartisan politics because it allows for more than two voices, in fact it promotes multiple voices without potentially dividing votes between two of the favored candidates in a 3 way race.
6
Biden doesn’t get it, and he doesn’t really seem to be trying. His non-apology to Anita Hill (essentially, “I’m sorry she feels that way”), his touchiness about his touchiness, and now his inability to grasp how these recent remarks are coded: he doesn’t seem to understand the terribly offensive deployment of the term “boy” (Booker had to call and explain it to him) and he certainly fails to account for the framing of “civility,” which is a term almost always preferred by those already in power to check those who are not in power (or who do not have as much power), and it almost always involves tone policing. This column’s “Hysteria” title plays right into those old tropes. I, like many others, am desperate to elect Democrats up and down the ticket but, right now, Biden is missing too many of these essential marks.
2
Why does Bret think there is anything anomalous about his relationship with the Iranian ambassador. Leaving aside whatever human pleasures they shared, they both made a living rationalizing, justifying, misdirecting in the service of brutal, repressive ideologies and murderous systems.
5
Politically motivated condemnation of Biden's history of civility is more Stalinist than Jeffersonian. Watching Jim Clayborn's "World Famous Fish Fry" in South Carolina was enjoyable and instructive, laced with good cheer and candid observations. Retail politics have hardly gone out of style, and the Beltway mentality which infects candidates looking for cheap headlines has taken firm hold with TV pundits (where do they find these people, anyway?)
When an icon like Rep. John Lewis so firmly defends and praises Biden, it's time for Booker, Harris, Sanders and company to look for new angles. Here's a zinger: Biden had a hair transplant in the early 90's. If that doesn't expose inauthenticity, what does?
1
Cornell West was interviewed by Anderson about this issue. I highly recommend everyone to watch it. He gave a very balanced assessment of the situation! "I've got White Supremacy inside of me...I grew up in America. I have to conquer it every day." And I say we all do and so does Biden!
I believe Bismarck said politics is the art of compromise. There are few politicians n Washington.
2
It wasn’t just a “friendship of utility “ he was actively working with them to prevent busing.
1
Civility with people you don't agree with, and even disdain, is one thing but it cannot cross into approval. That is the problem here. Was Biden too chummy?
1
On my political abacuses of presidential candidates Biden's moved a bead down for lack of diplomacy, which is a feature that I believe is important in a president. His critics' abacuses moved down two beads each for either ideological rigidity, insincere opportunism, or lack of strategic thinking. No abacus has gone back to zero, yet.
2
I seldom agree with you, Mr. Stephens, but I see little reason to disagree with you on your take on Biden and the "histrionics of Biden's primary rivals."
I didn't think Biden should run but Biden's co-operation and collaboration with the likes of Eastland should not disqualify him from running for POTUS.
Many Senators, including Biden, worked with Senator Robert Byrd, once an enthusiastic Ku Klux Klan member. It is silly to make all of them guilty by association.
As you so aptly put it, "Civility is never a vice among fellow citizens, especially when it’s in short supply. "
1
Mr. Stephens is being disingenuous. He knows full well that the outcry was over Biden’s anecdote using the term “boy.” It was very clearly not a complaint about the notion of needing to work with distasteful people to get legislation passed.
7
The point is not that he had the relationships. The point is that in 2019, of all the things he could be saying, he chooses to elevate them as a model. What should he gain from bragging about being "civil" with virulent racists? Better that he be hated by them and welcome their hatred as FDR did with the malefactors of great wealth. Including them in a speech about the kind of government he would run is an entirely different thing from holding his nose 45 years ago and doing what he had to do to make a difference.
The Democrats have been letting the Republicans set the agenda ever since Nixon, even when the Democrats hold the White House and both chambers of Congress. When are the Democrats ever going to set the agenda?
“The last thing Democrats need is to allow the nasty left do to them in 2020 what the nasty right did to Republicans in 2016.”
Look over some if not most of these comments. The “nasty left”, indeed. And if we are sifting through the righteous, judgmental ashes of defeat of superior “thinking people” who still don’t understand why we lost another presidential election....remember Mr. Stephen’s warning.
Mr. Stephens writes;
"The last thing Democrats need is to allow the nasty left do to them in 2020 what the nasty right did to Republicans in 2016."
What happened in 2016 again? The nasty right won the White House and kept the House of Reps and the Senat. "Nasty "worked for them didn't it?
In 2018, led by women, the Democrats took over the House of Reps. I see bumper stickers that say "nasty woman inside" lately.
1
If a politician doesn't understand the need to sometimes work with folks they find distasteful, perhaps even repugnant, then they have absolutely NO BUSINESS AT ALL running for president of the United States.
I'm with Joe.
5
Biden is absolutely right. Civility and working together even with people with whom you disagree is vital to running a democratic country.
But when politics is now regarded as religion; when any deviation from the catechism is heresy; when 'resistance' above all else is celebrated, there is no room for civility.
Congress is unlikely to work across the aisles again any time soon given the shrill extremist supporters who see every disagreement or divergent point of view as evil, racist, fascist, fill in the blank and the press that gives them legitimacy and a bullhorn.
3
Yes and yes. The mentality today stems from an egocentrism that derives opinions of the world only from within the cocoon of own's own perspective and experience. It's an isolationist mentality that disallows one to ever comprehend 'the other'. It's the mentality of a young child. If people don't grow up that worldview will sink us.
2
I don't mind Joe Biden. I think he's probably a nice old fool. But civility has been a losing strategy for the Democrats. Obama was as civil as they come. And what did Mitch McConnell and his band of obstructionists do? Where's Merrick Garland today?
Beyond the rather obvious fact that the party of Fox News, Newt Gingrich, Lee Atwater, and Donald Trump has been ruthless not civil for decades, Biden has a history: the Anita Hill hearings, the crime bill, his support for big banking and the Iraq War. These are not the policies that Democrats want today.
And then, at a time when reproductive freedom is a major issue for Democratic women, he expresses support for the Hyde Amendment. And when Black people are being profiled and shot by the police, when even White Democrats are greatly troubled by the treatment of minorities in this country, he makes insensitive comments about working with segregationists because they were kind enough to call him "son" not "boy"—apparently failing to recognize that "boy" was a softer version of the n-word and reserved for Blacks.
There's nothing crazy about the left here. This is a primary and Biden's positions are at odds with the positions of a large portion of the Democratic party. Of course there's strong opposition from those who want the party to go in a different direction. That's just politics.
Personally, I think Biden should switch parties and primary Trump. Now that might be truly useful.
5
Biden historically has had a respectful relationship with the African American community.He is devoted to the First African American president who he served with for eight years.To take his comments about cooperation and blow them into a huge gaffe is a mistake.It shows an inability on the part of the other candidates to look wisely at the threats that we face. Trump is a racist and they should save their ire for him.The I am purer than you-the don’t even go There attitude does not distinguish the other candidates who are shrill and dogmatic.Voters are not looking for the most irate candidate-they are looking for truth and perspective and respect.
2
What do conservatives do when they aren't making excuses for racism?
Stephens neatly omits the elements that really made Biden's comments so objectionable.
When Biden approvingly related that Eastland “never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son’” he revealed a deep insensitivity to what Eastland represented. How many full grown adult Black men from Eastland's state of Mississippi could not make the claim that Biden so cheerfully made? How many did he routinely call 'boy'? How many lived and died under the reign of white supremacist terror that he represented without ever even having the right to vote against him?
And what precisely was Biden referring to when he said of his notorious colleagues, "we got things done"?
Here we need to recall that Biden worked closely with Eastland to restrict the ability of the federal courts to mandate the use of bussing to desegregate public schools. The effect of Biden's efforts would be to stall out the advance of school desegregation by the 1980s and to then reverse it with predictably bad effects on the educational opportunities and outcomes of many Black children.
Biden can claim that he didn't agree with Eastland on much, but his record in the Senate tells us differently. In choosing to hold up his relationship with a hardcore racist like Eastland as an example of a lost civility, Biden reminded those who only know him as Obama's BFF of just how conservative and, yes, racist he actually is. His wounds are self-inflicted.
1
Purism that emanates from self righteous positions is a problem for Democrats.
Waving hands and pointing fingers in the classic j’accuse manner will hobble the future of progressive democrats.
Don’t copy Republican bad behavior by stepping on someone else’s neck to get ahead.
4
The column is spot on! What Biden did was what every President and Congress has done since the end of the Civil War, and that is work with people they may not like or always agree with. We have a current President and party that refuses to acknowledge a large majority of the country, and it is not working out well for the country. We send our elected officials to Washington to work for the whole country and to get things done. We cannot go on as we are now. We need people who can work across the aisle and who can stop the nastiness that has permeated the country.
9
I’m pretty progressive but I completely agree that “Civility is never a vice among fellow citizens, especially when it’s in short supply.”
6
It is not Joe Biden who is out of step, but the moral absolutists on the left, the call-out cultists. They are out of step with the vast majority of voters for whom the important issues are low wages, the rising costs of housing, health care and college, and different rules for the wealthy and poor. What these voters want, above all, is for their elected representatives in Washington to stop the internecine warfare, and begin to address the real problems they face.
"Apocalyptic" is a good word to describe the politics of the left. Every issue, no matter how small, is met with a tidal wave of moral outrage. I like to think of it as a moral outrage derangement syndrome, arising, I suspect, from unresolved issues of parental authority in the early years of life. It is infantile rage carried into the adult world. It will help no one but Donald Trump. It will destroy the Democratic Party and assure his reelection.
With Joe Biden we have a conciliator, someone who can bridge differences and get things done. The central question of our time is: will the center hold? With Joe Biden in the Oval Office, it will stand a good chance. My advice to Joe: ignore the left-wing Furies, and their constant demand for political correctness. Be yourself; that is what your supporters want.
10
The objections to Biden's reminiscences of civility made me long for the days when I worked as a staffer (one of two black lawyers) on the Senate Judiciary Committee. That was when policy differences were debated and compromises achieved. The result was legislation that was hailed as achievements in good governance. It was the late 1970s, just on the precipice of Nixon's Southern strategy and southern segregationist Senators (Eastland, Stennis, Byrd) were then Democrats and wielded great power from longevity in office. The young Democratic liberals - Kennedy, Bayh, Biden - had to work with them to get something - anything - done to add to their accomplishments. They had to cut policy deals. And they did it by having what is now sadly arcane - civil discourse with those whose politics were anathema to them. It worked. Today, Biden's most vocal detractors are young -- all of that professional courtesy was of a time before they were even born. Our old-fogey looks back are not as leafing through paper and paste scrapbooks of sepia-toned photos. It was tough work - gritty at times. Eruptions happened, but were few, name-calling rare, and the decidedly odd filibuster shocked Senate decorum. Why? Because the common goal was agreed upon; all were there to make government work. Those days in Arcadia were numbered. I'm glad that Biden summoned such a past to remind. I hope that after the dust settles, it will exhort as well.
9
The strident progressives are hardly equivalent to the strident anti-government libertarians in the GOP... But after a decade of McConnell-ism in the Senate and the GOP's blind support for a POTUS who wants to seize power who could blame the Democrats for becoming more "apocalyptic"? If compromise isn't in the vocabulary of the GOP why should it be in the vocabulary of the Democrats?
The bottom line question regarding Biden's relationships with the segregationists is whether he got them to yield on ANY legislation that diminished Jim Crow or whether he yielded to their fervent anti-integration in order to get what he needed. TRUE compromise requires BOTH sides to yield to some extent... and the GOP has shown no evidence that it intends to do so when it comes to racial or economic justice.
1
I agree that getting things done in politics necessarily requires trying to find common ground and adopting a pragmatic approach
There is a similar intransigence in the mentality and strategy of both ends of the political left and right
4
As a Liberal myself I very frequently disagree with Brett Stephens, especially when the topic is how Democrats should be behaving. But with this article I agree whole heartedly. There are plenty of reasons not to prefer Biden in this Democratic field of candidates, but to suggest racism is one of those reasons is just bananas. The Trump administration is locking up brown children at the border and “Proud Boys” are flashing white power symbols outside of his rallies - Biden simply pointed out how he’s been able to find compromise with difficult people. Let’s keep some perspective here.
To the greater point of apocalyptic politics - sooner or later this country needs to return to a place where our politicians can compromise, and regular Americans can disagree politically and still respect each other. To be clear, the Republican Party has all but eliminated the willingness to compromise, so I don’t know how to get there from here. But for Biden to want to try doesn’t make him a bad guy.
12
Is JB the best possible candidate? Probably not, but unless we elect a centrist our political system will remain broken at time when it desperately needs to be fixed. While not a defender of DT in any way shape or form, he has challenged the dem's for action on health care, immigration, etc. They have refused to work with him in the same fashion that the GOP refused to work with Obama. The challenges this country faces are far too great to let identity politics rule the upcoming election. We need leaders who can work together to achieve real results.
3
So, Mr. Biden chose a toxic example to illustrate his point – that to get anything done in government, you have to work with all kinds of people. But after all, isn't the worst example the best illustration? He has hit the heart of why our national government is so ineffective these days.
I'm pleased that so many commenters understand this. And frankly, it's a mystery to me that so many in Washington don't.
11
When you are negotiating with someone in politics, you can't have a winner take all attitude. Both sides have to feel like they came away with something they wanted. Sometimes you will have to concede a little. Or a lot. Even Abraham Lincoln conceded on smaller issues as he worked towards the abolishment of slavery. As a shrewd politician, he understood what it meant to lose a battle but win the war. Now, during the Biden's time of working with segregationists, politicians worked together in good faith. This is not so much the case anymore and a new standard has been set by the GOP.
3
The anti-Biden forces misunderstood (in some cases probably deliberately) what Biden was saying.
His point was that progressives used to be able to work with extreme conservatives, even if they found some (many) of their views to be odious. Today's hyperpartisanship results from the application of litmus tests. If you disagree with someone on one issue, you can't work with them on others, even if you can find common ground. Attitudes like this are why the Republicans have become a minority party and Democrats shouldn't follow their example.
To illustrate his point, he chose segregationists because he found those views to be reprehensible. But he could still work with them on other issues, which does not happen today. His point would have been a lot less vivid if he'd picked something safer, like tax policy, but the impact of his call for bipartisanship would have been lost.
7
I am asking myself why Biden couldn't or wouldn't express himself with more nuance, explaining that the Southern Democrats did their worst for years in rejecting even the mildest civil rights legislation, that their legacy is tainted even if they were "civil" and could compromise on other issues. Biden has a responsibility to recognize that the hatred, racism, anti-semitism unleashed by the current administration, the many questionable police shootings, and Republican support for unconstitutionality have rubbed people's emotions raw. Biden may have been making a useful point, but it is not hysteria to call him on how he does so with an excessive lack of sensitivity.
3
@Daisy
And I'm asking myself why so many have taken it upon themselves to rush to judgement, instead of trying to understand what Biden was actually saying.
If anything, "sensitivity" appears to be lacking on both sides.
1
I would posit that Bernie Sanders is a model for angry lack of compromise- and I am a progressive. In his memoir, Barney Frank noted that Elizabeth Warren did a lot more for financial regulation than Sanders did.
Sanders has been good at bringing home the bacon to Vermont ( protecting arms manufacturers, getting the f-35 in his state). He is not the model of purity but he is the model of anger, it feels to me.
I am not crazy about Biden-I think there are some past votes he could apologize for-or feel remorse or regret over. That may be part of having a long career-I don’t know. He is not my first choice but that is not because he is friendly to Republicans.
In my state, governor Bullock could not have gotten Medicaid Expansion passed without being friendly to Republicans, who control Montana’s Legislature. The bill to set up office for missing and murdered indigenous women could not have passed without Republican support. We are number one for suicide-bills to reduce that needed Republican support. Nothing could be done here without working across the aisle.
13
The point is well taken that Biden was making a point about having to work with those whose views you may detest. However, the fact that he brought up this particular example demonstrated poor judgment IMHO. It was a self-inflicted wound and if he does that too often it will be the end of his candidacy. That alone would not be a tragedy unless it contributed to 4 more years of Trump. I hope he starts getting and taking better advice.
3
@Concerned MD
On the heels of his comments about the Hyde Amendment. It's as if he's on a mission to stick his thumb in the eye of every important Democratic constituency. It's as if he thinks white male Republicans are more important than Democrats.
3
Brett,
The challenge here is that the Democrat Party needs the votes of African Americans, unlike the Republican Party.
In this context, Biden does need to offer up explanation when queried about his past relationships.
Remember, he ripped Anita Hill as part of his past as well.
So, it's not like the Dems are only relying on white, working class men.
Dems are relying on everyone, and, everyone counts.
10
@Michael
You should take time to speak with blacks about how they feel about this, and about Biden in general, before concluding he's the candidate of white working class men.
It's no accident Biden does better with blacks than every other group; far better than with working class whites, (though he does better with them than many other Democrats). The people who truly despise Biden are what I, who grew up working poor and went to college on merit scholarships, call the white radical campus left.
Those of us from racially diverse families doubt many who attack Biden ever speak with average working people of color. I just spoke with a large group of black voters who strongly support Biden. A host of polls, including a Morning Consult poll, show 50 percent of black women back Biden for the primary above all other candidates by a huge margin.
People (meaning white people) don't get why blacks support Biden, glibly saying it's because he worked with Obama. It's a huge blind spot. Biden, an older more experienced white Senator lost to Obama, a younger black Senator, yet was thrilled after losing to work for Obama because he thoroughly believed in him.
It's hard for white people to fathom how rare such total respect from an older white man for a younger black man he lost to is. It never happens. Still, Joe Biden not only did it, he didn't care less that white people (like Trump) saw this as a total betrayal of whites, because it exposed the fallacy of racial superiority.
1
Biden is merely showing his age and disconnect with a quickly evolving Democratic electorate. We don't want someone who continues to look back on what they believe were the golden years because we know the present and the future are much different places that require a different management style.
8
@Ed
Just for the record. Who is "we"?
No offense, but I have a problem with comments where someone uses the plural form to speak for others beside themselves.
Besides, what you're saying is totally ageist.
2
In regard to: "the “apocalyptic” approach to politics that increasingly typifies today’s progressivism". I'm pretty sure it's Newt Gingrich who holds the patent on the apocalyptic approach to politics. He let that genie out of the bottle more than twenty years ago and it's defined Republican politics ever since. There may be elements in the Democratic party who want to use the same approach but, thankfully, the old guard still has the upper hand and still wants to reach across the aisle and try to make a deal.
9
Mr.Stephens seems to be under the pretence that both the left and right have equally valid points and hence compromise is something to be celebrated. Well, in reality there are some issues on which no compromise can be allowed. There can be no compromise over same sex marriage as it would relegate LGBT folks to second class citizens. Same with slavery in the past. Same with women’s suffrage. Same now with the fight for universal healthcare. The truth does not always lie in the middle.
5
Well said. What seems to be lost today is an understanding that compromise is at the very heart of democracy: everyone has a place at the table, everyone has a voice in the conversation, everyone has a say in the outcome. When the process works right, it is messy. It also means that with most outcomes no one is 100% happy because no one got 100% of what he/she wanted. In our modern set-up, folks seem to believe that "winners" should get 100% and "losers" should simply acquiesce. That is not democracy, it is, at best, the tyranny of the majority, at worst dictatorship.
20
You are so right about this Mr. Stephens. I find it very distressing that my fellow "Liberals" are being so closed minded about what Joe Biden said, and about so many other things as well. We - as "Liberals" - should be: more civil with each other....receptive to working with those who don't agree with us on everything, to get important things done for our fellow citizens.....and more forgiving and encouraging of redemption.
Joe Biden was just saying he can work with those he disagrees with in order to get important things done. For so many of his fellow candidates to attack him for his honest comments is wrong, and it may hurt our chances in the 2020 Presidential Election as well...an election we can NOT afford to lose.
10
@Tom Christiano
Do you think that Edward Brooke had fond memories of John Stennis and Eastland?
Isn't it possible that Biden is overlooking the fact that as a white man, and one who was opposed to busing and affirmative action, that he was in a better position to work with and have the respect of white segregationists than any Black Senator or Representative would have been?
And Biden may not have noticed but the base of the Democratic Party has changed. Fondly reminiscing about working with people who were pro-lynching and pro-discrimination isn't going to fly in today's Democratic Party.
2
Yeah, and the Republicans have shown how willing they are to “compromise”. Did you miss the Never-ending attempts to completely scuttle evil Obamacare? Or the stolen Supreme Court seat? Wake up.
Well written defense of Biden.
If the Democratic Candidates stick to their policies and not attack each other during the debates it would go a long way towards proving that Democrats stand for people, not Party or philosophy of Purity. It will also go a long way towards binging civility back to this country.
Leave the attacks to Trump and don't mention him by name. It will drive him crazy to be labeled "my opponent".
13
The Democratic Party is playing a dangerous game that may cost our country dearly. Mr. Trump is a media creation. Who told voters he would be a great leader, and who tells his base, now? We vote for who we "know", but where does that "knowing" come from? Forty percent of the country believes that he is a great business leader. Why? Isn't deliberate misinformation dangerous? Obama played the game of hoping that the public would see the positive consequences of legislation in time for the next election, but lost the midterms, helping to elect Trump. Bad bet in Small Town USA. When highways are repaired, who asks where the money comes from and votes based on those policies? We vote for a media message. Could a physically unattractive candidate win? Voters believe the media, and voters believe auditory and visual messages. The attacks on Biden by Dems are a huge worry. The effects of years of Republican obstruction are cumulative. What Biden told us, in plain English, was that once upon a time non racist Senators worked with racist Senators for a greater good. Not today. Republicans like McConnell govern by obstruction. Just compare 1970 with 2019. It would have been far better for Corey Booker to use Biden's comments as a chance to attack McConnell and Republican Reactionaries, rather than to help re-elect Donald Trump.
5
I was in graduate school in Washington, DC in the "60's" during the height of the "free speech" movement and the protests against the Vietnam war. While I would not consider myself a 'radical leftist" I did sympathize with the protests, and took part in them on occasion. What I could never understand or support were the protests against the so called "right wing" speakers who were invited to speak on college campuses or other public events. How can you support "free speech" and then protest against the right of those to speak when you disagree with them? I always thought that was the greatest hypocrisy imaginable. Unfortunately this unwillingness to hear from, or engage, with those they disagree with seems to remain a characteristic of many on the "left". While my example may not be entirely on point, I think that Joe Biden's willingness to engage with the worst of his opponents for the sake of the national good is exactly what is needed at this time in our history. I can only hope that others will follow his lead.
11
And that is why liberals are given so much space on Fox News to be part of the “conversation”. You are kidding, right?
I could not agree more. The best political editorial I have read in a long time. Bravo.
15
What it boils down to, is that the new demographics of the United States and the Trump presidency have opened the door to a naked struggle for power within the civil society.
The transactional approach to politics is certainly wise and fruitful. The question is: at what level should compromise be sought in such a context?
What kind of Republic will come out of this crucible?
3
Wanting to seek consensus is a desirable trait - I cannot blame Biden for that. However, for the past 10-20-40-back to Goldwater years, when Democrats seek consensus, Republicans respond with “my way or the highway”. At some point Democrats have to say this is the way forward, Republicans come with us if you want but this is where we’re going.
3
It appears Mr. Stephens is condemning progressives for doing exactly what conservatives have been doing for three decades. Not that I agree with either mindset purifying their ranks and not that factions on both sides share the same reasons.
Progressives at least are thinking about the past, the changes that made things better, and what needs to change to make other things better in the future. Conservatives appear to dwell in the past, some resentful of changes to the extent they purged their ranks of those more accepting.
Some today judge history with a modern lens. As the traditions and morals of societies and cultures change enough to become more widely accepted, some think these changes are reasons to judge all those who came before. It is not that ethical and moral consciences did not exist in the past; it is that they were not as widely accepted and things (society and power structures) were different. We have the luxury of a modern lens because of the changes that occurred.
Because I was born into, and vividly recall, a segregated, apartheid, undemocratic America, I can appreciate all those who worked for Civil and Equal Rights to make this country a more perfect Union.
I do not judge the current words of the former Vice-President as anything but how things were. It is understandable some are sensitive, and rightly so, to words dredging up an ugly and disgusting past. In my view it is better not to forget and not to discount those who worked to change things.
8
Might as well get to this now. Whoever comes out of the primary process will have to deal with this from Trump. If Biden can weather (and actually stay the course) with this , he can do the same against Trump. If he caves or his numbers drop a lot, he can't beat Trump. The question will be can anyone else handle their demons and come out a winner?
2
I think you miss entirely the point. We are at a time when voters, especially young voters, are begging the Democratic Party to stand up for them and fight to restore our society. As if in a deliberate slap in the face Joe Biden has chosen to stake a position that fighting for what matters is somehow weak, and that he has a greater sense of nobility that those who call for social justice.
It is not a matter of "civility" that the nation has radically dis-invested in higher education for our young, it isn't about "good manners" that the nation went $1 Trillion into debt to give corporate oligarchs a further pass on social responsibility, it is not "radical" to oppose the systematic disenfranchisement of minorities.
This is where the sense of outrage comes from. Biden represents the cohort of Democrats who have dominated the party for the last three decades providing little resistance and even offering cover to Republicans as they dismantled the middle class. It is not that he is a realist that knows he has to work with loathsome people in his own party; it is that he appears to take more pride in his willingness to work with those people than in fighting for what is right.
170
Pollsters are reporting over half the voters in Democratic primaries and caucuses will be over 50 years old. The voters under 30 will not be nearly as significant as they will have a much lower turnout rate.
18
@Dave D
The 50+ crowd might scratch their heads and ask themselves if they'd actually like to create change in criminal justice, poverty, illiteracy, before they die, or if they'd rather be known for their talk of civility.
Im 65 and would like to see some jails go empty, a ton of money and great policy go to education and training for racial minorities, I'd like to see a lot of inspired and enthusiastic change, real quick, because there isn't that much more time for me.
23
@Dave D, well I'm an over 50 voter who won't vote for Biden and I'm not alone.
14
Ronald Reagan worked with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Mikail Gorbachev) didn't he? Did that make him a card-carrying communist? Did that also make Gorbachev a capitalist? I was no fan of Reagan's, but he did work with Gorbachev to help reduce the chances of conflict between the two nuclear superpowers. That was an example of two people who did not agree on multiple (most) issues working together to make the world a little safer for humanity to exist in.
5
@Sisyphus Happy
Obama did a similar thing with the Iran Nuclear Deal, and Trump has now withdrawn even though Iran did not violate the agreement, the other four signatories are distressed and disgusted with us, and we're coming perilously close to war.
Please, just tell me how much we Democrats are supposed to smile and put up with for the sake of working across the aisle?
And, while Reagan wasn't labeled a commie, people have asserted, to my face, that Obama is a Muslim terrorist.
Things have changed. Joe Biden should not play up his dubious talent of being able to get along with racists. He should stick to policy. It's time for us to decide what we are as a nation, and stop with the 'good people on both sides' nonsense.
4
Just another example of the "circular firing squad" that will eventually doom Democrats along with their chances of getting into the White House.
But then again, this country is so politically divided these days and has grown so tribal that it's simply impossible to imagine somebody reaching across the aisle to those with a different opinion and mindset.
That Mr. Biden should be so harshly criticized for saying he could talk with segregationists, or were even friends and then demanded to make an apologize for it has nothing to do with "political correctness", and everything to do with hypocrisy.
After all Congress like life, is filled with all kinds of people--and the task of any thriving Democracy not only requires the ability to compromise, but the ability to retain some modicum of civility. Without that, we're lost.
And apparently we are.
5
"The aim of those demanding he apologize isn’t to see him redeemed. It’s to watch him capitulate, and, in so doing, seize the right to declare who’s morally fit to be in the party, and who isn’t."
I find myself agreeing with Stephens here. While I certainly wish Biden had framed this topic using other senators, or ommitting the terms "boy" and "son," the essential points he makes about civililty are dead on.
The Democrats have enough problems in this troubled time without adopting the weapons and attitudes of the Trumpian culture that has made this election so crucial. With so many crying for a return to comity and civilityin our political discourse, trying to subdue Biden on this issue is counter-productive.
I often read that Democrats eat their own while Republicans join forces even when behavior is as abjectly objectional as is that of our sitting president. While I believe the primary season is a time for sparring, and producing a great candidate, focusing on Biden's remarks about compromise is distracting and weakening the Democratic party.
We should have no time for that.
18
@ChristineMcM Yes, and this is scary to watch. You would think after 2016 we would have learned something. But instead we have the same "Progressives" who were complicit in handing the country over to Trump by persuading their followers that they were being self-righteous in withholding votes at the top of the ticket to seemingly lay in wait for Biden to let one word slip out that they can latch upon to attack. Biden is going to get a taste of what Hillary had to put up with.
@ChristineMcM
Balderdash. This is the primary season. This is EXACTLY the time to put everyone through the ringer, including Biden.
It is always interesting to me that Republicans and so -called moderate Democrats always lecture progressive Democrats about compromising. But they always mean that progressive Democrats should move to the right and moderates and Republicans will move further to the right.
1
@Lilo Put through the ringer, yes. The problem, as in 2016, is that hordes of political Newbies find themselves unable at the end to keep their eyes on the prize: So enthralled they become with their own self-righteousness and purity. How many of them even heard of not only the Supreme Court but all of the lower courts that Trump is stuffing to the point where we will be affected for a generation? To many of them it seems almost a game. And demagogues on the left promote this for their own political purposes. Looking at you Bernie.
1
Are there any republicans that can meet in the middle? It seems like it’s always the democrats that make concessions. Look at what’s happing in Oregon: the entire republican chamber left the state in lieu of governing. Good for Joe that he can work with the devil. I won’t negotiate with people who make up phony facts and deny science. And I don’t want a president that does either.
8
Hysteria and increasing standards of ideological purity serve no purpose but to empower a small handful of "activist" leaders and talking heads who rely on clickbait, on both side of the ideological fence. The sooner we can take the air out of their flame by brining our politics back to a boring middle that serves the boring interests of ordinary people who don't spend their lives on Twitter, the better.
I am a registered Democrat, and I consider Biden's attitude towards working across the aisle as a feature, not a bug.
7
@A F
This misses the point. The Republican Party today is not interested in working across the aisle. That was true when Biden was VP. It is even more the case today.
And reminiscing fondly about working with pro-segregationists, neo-confederates and pro-lynching advocates as a mark of "civility" is simply tone deaf to where the Democratic party is today.
1
This is an excellent opinion piece with which I heartily agree. Biden's critics appear to be ignorant (I would say invincibly ignorant) of the power the seniority system in Congress gave to long-serving Dixiecrat senators like James Eastland and Herman Talmadge.
4
Thanks, Mr. Stephens. Insofar as Joe Biden is concerned, my sentiments exactly. On the other hand, Donald Trump really is irredeemably evil and those who continue to support him really are unbelievably stupid. Which is precisely why we need to elect Joe- or whichever one of his Democratic opponents ends up with the nomination. No exceptions. No hesitation.
4
If you're a politician, sometimes it's necessary to deal with the devil. And none of these people would pass a purity test.
2
I would give more weight to this column if Stephens were to truly reckon with how the Democratic Party has gotten to this position. We on the left have quite literally been pushed here by a Republican Party that has long abandoned all sense of common purpose, and turned national politics into a truly nasty zero sum war.
The Democrats tried to play nice during Bush 43’s term, and wound up endorsing a series of horrendous wars and fiscal policies. The Democrats continued to try to play fair when they nominated a candidate who ran and won two campaigns premised on national unity and compromise.
It was the GOP that refused to work with Obama in literally every way from day one, and when that wasn’t enough, they disenfranchised all of us who voted for him by blocking Merrick Garland.
The Democrats, I suspect, are done playing nice. It’s a reactionary position, but at least it’s a reaction to a real and present problem, unlike the reactionary right. Why on earth would the Democrats play nice when the GOP has given zero indication that they view politics as anything other than political warfare?
I suspect the moderate right, of which Stephens is a member, bemoan new ascendant progressive posture because it means they can’t just bully us into neoliberal centrism anymore.
11
@Theo Baker,
1) There is no more moderate right - what is considered "moderate" these days are the conservative vestiges of the pre Reagan, pre Gingrich, pre tea party era.
2) Stephens is not moderate right either. He is quite conservative when it comes to taxes and role of gov't.
Thank you so much, Bret Stephens. I have tried to articulate this--you have succeeded.
4
Exactly my sentiments Bret. The piling on by various Democratic candidates is a transparent ploy to gain some advantage over Biden for the nomination. They are rolling the dice with the obvious consequences of their vapid attacks, that they could weaken possibly the best chance to unseat Trump, that being Biden. I was lukewarm at best for any of the other candidates, but now the word “detest” comes to my mind. There is too much at stake for this kind of idiotic and short sighted tactics. Corey Booker, try and show me what you’ve got, rather than grandstanding. Such a disappointment.
5
No matter how this shakes out and who the democratic nominee is I am pretty certain that all democrats will swallow whatever choice they may have preferred and vote for the nominee. Is there any other option?
Independents? Undecideds? This really will be a referendun on Trump. Trump and the republican senate both are what's for dinner in 2020.
1
Yep, the tearing at one another begins in the Democratic Party. I was hoping everyone could keep their wigs on while we got that truly dangerous man out of the White House.
How silly of me. By all means, let’s tear away over gaffes and less than perfect responses. After all, how much more damage can Trump do with 8 years rather than 4?
3
Warren is my pick for the primary but I agree with Biden that "getting things done" is why politicians get elected. And only a child thinks he can get everything and not give up anything. Yes, politicians should have scruples and ethics but that doesn't mean at the loss of complete stalemate. And irony of irony, Cory Booker has repeatedly talked about the importance of civility, even bragging about his ability to work with the Republicans, yet he is getting his butt kicked the polls and he is now pandering to those who had rather be pure, vote for Jill Stein, wait for a revolution that will never happen, and watch the democratic experiment under Donald Trump wither and die.
2
In citing his relationships with these two specific Senators, Eastland and Talmadge, was Biden’s objective a plea to restore civility in politics? Or was it a strategic dog-whistle directed at white working-class voters in states like Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin? Good old avuncular Joe did not just fall off the back of turnip truck; he is a practiced manipulator, albeit sometimes clumsy.
4
It seems many Black commentators are reacting to the "boy" reference as much as anything. I'm not Black so I don't get to tell them how they should feel about this. But I admit I don't understand why it's such a big deal. In the face of all the actual inequality and injustice that African Americans still face in the this country, is this really so horrible? Especially when it comes from somebody that they know has been on the right side of the issue for years, if not decades? I've always thought picking your battles is important. Dems risk losing to Trump again if the candidates get in a war about who's committed more PC "sins" than the other guy. I fear everyone is too easily offended these days.
1
@JL Pacifica
Can you imagine Mr. Stephens writing such a column defending someone who broke bread with dedicated anti-semites? If someone who wasn't Jewish claimed that well since David Duke never used any anti-Jewish slurs against me so civility works, would you see that as a particularly compelling argument?
And no, given that Biden was against affirmative action and busing we don't know that he's been on the right side of the issue for decades.
Calling a black man "boy" is a big deal. Perhaps you should read Thomas Curry's "The Man-Not" to understand exactly how white denial of Black manhood is used to insult and deny human rights to understand why.
Timing is everything! The creepy touching is beyond redemption and no amount of apologizing will work now.
1
Thank you for beautifully putting into words what is going on with the Democratic party!
2
Great intro Mr Stephens! Blunt enough to get through to readers? Judging from comments: nope. Thanks for trying!
1
Yes and no.
It's important to register that there are among what is euphemistically called "the Left" in the U.S., those who are just as much mindless goose steppers as many in the Church of Fox on the right. Consumed by a combination of ignorance of reality and uber-piety, those two groups appear, comically from a cosmic perspective, tragically from that of Earth, ready to combine unintentionally to burn the world down.
On the other hand, Joe Biden's great shortcoming is that he doesn't seem to get that not everyone will intuit his intent and meaning when his choice of words and examples from his career are profoundly sloppy, to put it charitably. Joe didn't have to choose Eastland and Thurmond and Talmadge to make his point, did he? Surely a columnist like Mr. Stephens can understand that some word and example choices are far better than others?
I admire Joe in many ways despite his flaws and past errors. As of now, I still think he is both our best bet to rid the world of Trump and the Democratic candidate most likely to be an effective president. But if he can't get much smarter with his mouth (and his campaign) between now and the first primaries, I predict he'll be gone by Super Tuesday. And that would be appropriate.
1
I am ashamed of my own party for attacking Biden and not listening to what he said.Indeed, I believe, his history of working across the aisle is why I think he'll be our next president.....no other candidate have anywhere close to the number of Republicans supporting them like Biden.
3
Joe Biden is down on my list as to whom I would like to see as our next president if I had my druthers but the last thing I want to see is the Democrats forming a circular firing squad out of desperation to score some points for their own candidacy.
Biden being Biden did not express himself as well as he might have, especially the part concerning "boy" vs. "son". But I think we all knew what he meant. It's time for the rest of the field, especially Cory Booker, to stop with this feigned indignity. For better or for worse Biden may end up as the Democratic candidate to face Trump and I would not like to see him go into that race fatally injured by his own party.
2
Nobody is standing on Biden's throat and blocking his ability to inspire us, but I'm not sure Bret Stephens much cares if black people are even included beyond statistics.
If Biden had an articulated policy on racial injustice and poverty that he was hollering about from a soapbox, would this kerfuffle matter?
If he were courting the brave black women who got rid of Ray Moore for us, asking them to consult with him as equals on their best ideas, their support would drown this stuff out.
Biden is subsiding in the shadow of the faith people had in Obama, whose agenda was so stymied, that all we have is faith, for instance, that he wanted sea change in criminal justice reform.
Does Biden deserve that?
Last week he made a very awkward address to rich donors, at a time when economic inequality is the single greatest problem in our domestic sphere. If he can't get nimble there, and speak clearly, what's he got?
Whatever Biden was trying to say (perhaps it was just a non sequitur), he wasn't saying that the problems of the poor and the racial minority were his very own deepest problems.
If they aren't, I have no interest in his parsing, because the problems of the poor and the black are my problems, and it is time for them to come front and center in 2020, before my generation dies without having made a difference.
5
@Eric PREACH!!!!
Bret Stephens as usual is blaming the wrong people for the loss of the culture of compromise. Mitch McConnell killed that dead when he proclaimed the job of the Senate was to make sure the black upstart was a one term president, and denied him the right to appoint a Supreme Court Justice ten months before the end of the term. So, I agree that civility is necessary, even with people one detests, but don't talk to us about how the Democratic party is losing democratic instincts. Your party has put a stake through democracy's heart.
6
@S North
I don't know why columnists like Mr. Stephens ignore what happened on Inauguration night in 2009. Republican Congressional leaders plus out-of-office Newt Gingrich plotted to deny Obama any of his agenda. If he was for it, they were to be against it. Obama should have pushed something like 'red, white, and blue' as official national colors to test the Republicans adherence to their vows made that night.
Bravo!! Bravo!! Bret is absolutely right. All the supposed aggrieved need to take a deep breath and remember all their plans and proposals will be for naught if Tump benefits from Democrats destroying each other. The VP is the only answer to Trump. With strength and civility he will restore our democracy and the soul of America.
4
If only Biden could defend himself as eloquently. And there lies the rub of his candidacy: he fumbles for the right tenor and response while he holds the high ground. That ground will crumble beneath him to the drum beat of “apocalyptic politics” if he cannot sharpen his arguments. Can you teach that old dog new tricks? I doubt it.
Mayor Pete has the rhetorical gifts and the acumen to support the politics of unity we desperately need. If he wasn’t gay, he’d be at the head of the pack of democrat contenders. It’s a bitter irony for this election cycle that the most apt candidate for this political moment could fall from consideration because our inherent biases.
1
The Times quoted Biden as saying "“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” said Mr. Biden, 76, slipping briefly into a Southern accent, according to a pool report from the fund-raiser. “He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’” That's not a statement in favor of civility or Ralpolitik that's a racist dog whistle. No? OK why else would a very seasoned politician like Joe Biden say such a thing? Civility, especially amongst people who strongly disagree is a good thing - it allows disagreement to focus on issues not personalities. Compromise, when possible, is a good thing as well. In politics, like life, we rarely get everything we want, we have to pick what's truly important to us and allow others what's important to them. Reminiscing about being tight enough with hard core racists to not be called "boy" is a paean to racism, not to civility.
4
The Democratic Party is engaging a circular firing squad.
Franken had the best chance to beat T. Gone.
Biden, they want a sure winner to disappear.
Mayor Pete, I guess he has to go too.
Hillary II will force enough swing voters into the arms of Trump for him to win.
My beef is with the education these young whippersnappers have received. Didn't they learn'em that important House and Senate committees were chaired due to their seniority by staunch segrationists who were effectively elected for life? Many had Klan or white citizen's council membership. Make nice or your bill will never see the light of day.
To paraphrase George Wallace, "Ignorance now, ignorance tomorrow, ignorance forever.''
2