Joe Biden’s Record on Race

What's your source on those crime numbers?

Great podcast, I was in 1st class of busing Can NYT reporters come back to DE? These stories may help readers News Journal “If Biden is to be indicted for his past, so should Delawareans.” https://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/columnists/matthew-albright/2019/06/28/desegregation-isnt-just-joe-bidens-problem-its-delawares-too/1593174001/ Chief Justice Strine https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.delawareonline.com/amp/710350001 Wilm & New Castle Co still wrestling w challenges: 40 years after mandatory desegregation, of the 11,500 Wilm city students, 74% fail to meet state standard in English/language arts & 83% fail to meet state standard in math Tony Allen served on Wilmington Education Improvement Commission https://amp.delawareonline.com/amp/2594960002 "Busing" ended in 95, so move to charter & choice schools needs to be reported as well This brief News Journal summary covers the history https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.delawareonline.com/amp/85602856 News Journal analysis of Wilmington’s role in Brown v Board & how we got to where we are today https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2014/05/16/sunday-preview-brown-v-board-years-later/9196775/ This year Gov Carney has pledged more money for high-needs schools https://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/01/15/gov-john-carney-pitches-60-m-weighted-funding-delaware-schools/2575044002/ State Sen Tizzy Lockman has a plan https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.delawareonline.com/amp/1497610001

Joe on incarceration. Not saying he was right but a look at the homicide rate in the US might provide a little context. In 1990 there were 10 homicides per 100,000 of population. Today there are about 5. The rate is half of where it was back then.

After listening to this episode, I feel strongly that Kamala Harris's attack was unwarranted and unfair. She completely misrepresented Biden's stance on busing and mislead the public about the details of a very complex policy issue. Busing was controversial across racial lines; this podcast makes that much plain. There were legitimate reasons to oppose the practice, none of which had to do with segregationist sympathies. But Harris presented the issue as a litmus test for racist tendencies. She also made it sound like Biden was opposed to busing writ-large, that if he had his druthers, she would never have been able to attend the schools she attended. That's simply not true. Biden's stance was that busing should not be mandated by the federal government, and polling shows that his view was not unique, even among diverse communities. He had no problem with voluntary busing, hence he would not have intervened to stop a young Kamala Harris from participating in her local program. There are plenty of reasons to question Biden's candidacy, but the busing attack was deeply disingenuous.

Thank you for the opportunity of getting to know a Joe Biden whom I did not remember from years past; a lot of history came regurgitating in my mind with this podcast. I am very disappointed Joe missed the point Kamala Harris was making and he continues to be defensive and he continues to be woefully oblivious. Yet, given our political reality, his identity and integrity overall were he the Democratic party's candidate in a heartbeat I would vote for him. Some lessons are hard to learn on account of the focus of our initial intentions, he is trapped in one of these. Wisdom will teach him in time, I am certain of this as he is demonstrated elsewhere and other times that he is that kind of human, he learns. Thank you for this podcast. Happy 4th of July all.

A good discussion of Biden's record. One issue that I think is overlooked by many liberal and possibly younger journalists, perhaps because it's complicated and somewhat uncomfortable: many of the supporters of the various "tough on crime" measures in the 80's and 90's were black people, because their communities were being disproportionately impacted by drug-related crime. That's one main reason why so much of the US black population loved and supported Bill Clinton. So if Biden wasn't aware at the time of what the terrible long-term consequences of these policies would turn out to be for black citizens--neither were many of those black citizens themselves aware at the time.

On the other hand, Mr Herndon is superb . . . A by-line to be watched for!

Partisans need to get with the program, forced busing has always been deeply unpopular with a majority of voters. Between this and the renewed clamoring for reparations, Democrats are really digging their own grave for next year...

The logic around 10:20 got quite strange. Biden on busing: 'It's not constitutionally required and the costs don't justify the benefits'. Followed by commentary saying: But then there's other times where he sounds like black people - "I don't know if I like this remedy, but I do know this issue of integration is important.' So again, the exact same statements, yet attached to this were all sorts of suggestions that he was being inauthentic and speaking out of both sides of his mouth. With this weird narrative were totally imprecise basically derogatory terms. No part of the above description, or really anything presented that I've seen yet has been 'contradictory' or really even at all 'nuanced'. He explained his position quite clearly. The most objectionable part is 'signalling' in relation to that passage. It's just a loaded term randomly thrown in. I have no idea if Biden was in fact guilty of such signalling at other points, but this is not at all supported from the narrative of that section. Other questions: where does the term middle ground come from? As the piece describes this was not a homogeneous policy. Why does supporting busing 'make you liberal'? Frankly, thinking about that stage it is unconscionable detain kids on buses for extended periods of time in rush hour traffic. That is an insane solution. Hasn't pretty much everyone agreed this was a bad policy? Why should liberals continue arguing over the worst alternatives?

Mr Barbaro notes that he does not understanding the issues involved in the struggles over school busing. Is he serious?

Key topic. Unfortunate in my view that the lead Times reporter turned it into an opinion piece instead of just letting us make the rational connections. Even though we may arrive at the same conclusion, it introduces an unappealing condescension to the piece. (Maybe best described as the feeling one has when discussing an important matter to, say, a coworker.... and being acutely aware they have inside info on the subject but decline to share it.). Not that he overtly stated a judgement of Biden's character in plain English, but he still made his conclusions unnecessarily clear. For example, when he used the either/or format to summarize a segment, it always began with a languid throwaway of a first clause, followed by an almost satirical "*oooor*..." and finished that "chapter" with conviction (I couldn't help imagine the briefest wink in our direction.) The Daily is usually so good that such things stand out. The only other podcast I noticed this on was on Rachel Evans. Not because it was a tribute of sorts (that was understood) but instead just lack of breadth. For instance, after her passing it was noted that many of her former adversaries were quick to pay tribute... but not that conversely other adversaries offered perfunctory praise followed by a nasty message that, "it was God's will her blasphemous ministry was cut short!"