Tag: Joe Biden (page 5)

Joe Biden is bad on crime issues.

Joe Biden brought us the Rave Act and has been a supporter of increased rights for law enforcement and wiretapping. Here's his voting record on issues of import:

• Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
• Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
• Rated 60% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)(Note: he improved in subsequent years.)
• Rated 36% by NARAL, indicating a mixed voting record on abortion. (Dec 2003) (Note: he improved in later years.)

He also introduced this doozy of a bill:

More...

See Joe Biden on Meet the Press this morning. Crooks and Liars has the video in which Biden says he won't vote to cut off war funding.

When asked by host Tim Russert if he would vote to cut off funding for Iraq if President Bush refuses to accept a withdrawal date, Biden moves directly to the “cutting off funding means you don’t support the troops” mentality pulled straight from the pages of the RNC playbook. Instead of speaking the truth, that it means appropriating funds to begin a safe and smart withdrawal from the country, not abandoning out troops, Biden instead says he won’t vote to cut off funding and chooses to chastise Democrats who support it.

It’s infuriating to say the least to see Biden falling for the White House framing– not one single Democrat in Congress wants to leave our soldiers stranded in the middle of the desert with no food, water, ammo or protection–and cutting off Bush’s funding would not do that–and Senator Biden should know better.

Update: See below for some of the reasons I've never favored Joe Biden.

Sen. Joe Biden's 'Rave Act' (renamed the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003) is still drawing well-deserved criticism. Biden slipped the Act into the Amber Alert bill that became law on April 30, 2003. Critics charge that the law

... could not only throw innocent promoters in jail, but also scare off property owners from renting out halls, clubs and fields for any event - from concerts to political rallies - where someone might use an illegal drug. That, they say, could violate Americans' rights to free speech and free assembly.

"The law is so wide open that it could shut down anything, like a Rolling Stones concert, a hip-hop show, any kind of show," says Alex Virasayachack, a Cleveland promoter and disc jockey. "It's a pretty Draconian thing," says Marvin Johnson, a counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "Owners and promoters can go to jail for something that they have no control over."

As evidence of their charge, critics point to the DEA's actions in Montana last month which resulted in NORML cancelling a benefit.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has acknowledged that an Eagles Lodge in Billings canceled a May 30 concert scheduled on its property after a DEA agent showed up that day with a copy of the new law and suggested the lodge could be held liable if concertgoers used drugs. The concert was a money-raiser for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Ed Childress, a DEA spokesman in Washington, said the incident appears to have resulted from a misinterpretation of the law by the local DEA agent.

The DEA says it has drawn up guidelines for the enforcement of the Act.

Prosecutions will be aimed, he said, at people holding events "for the intended purpose of promoting" drug use or sales. The agency also has directed agents to coordinate any enforcement of the law with headquarters, he said.

....The real targets of the law, he said, are people who promote electronic-music dance parties known as "raves" in a way that makes clear that drugs like Ecstasy will be available.

The assurances of the DEA that concert promoters and business owners won't be charged just because patrons illegally use drugs at a concert is somewhat reassuring. But, these are guidelines only, which means they could be revised. Guidelines are not law. The law still needs to be amended to make this point clear. [link via What Really Happened]