What do I think of Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as the running mate for presidential hopeful Barack Obama? He mig
ht not have been my top choice for the VP spot, yet I can’t help but notice the number of people he is angering when it comes to immigration reform.
I have noticed the number of nativist nitwits the past two days who are polluting various Internet site comment sections with their views that the Obama campaign was made worse by the inclusion of Biden because of his thoughts on immigration.
IN GENERAL, HE’S for it. I guess this means Biden is the enemy of our enemy, which makes him our friend.
One particular site caught my attention.
Called NumbersUSA.com, the site offers an analysis that shows Biden relatively supportive of the interests of those people who want to come to the United States in search of a new life – which the people who put the site together seem to prefer to think of as foreigners leeching off the assets of “real Americans.”
The group trashes Biden for voting in favor of removing amendments to a 1996 measure that would have imposed greater restrictions on the number of people who could immigrate to the United States.
THEY ALSO BLAST Biden for being supportive of President George W. Bush back in the days when the president was pushing for a guest worker program that would have allowed people already in this country to live and work openly for a period of up to three years.
Biden also is branded with the Scarlet A (for Amnesty), because he voted in 2006 for bills that would have allowed people already in this country to remain, rather than have to lurk in society’s shadows and be thought of as criminals. At the same time, Biden also voted against various legislative procedures that would have allowed for continued debate on measures to crack down on the numbers of people allowed to immigrate to the U.S.
He also gets trashed for voting earlier this year to end discussion on an amendment that would have sought to have the federal government penalize municipalities (such as Chicago and Los Angeles) that designate themselves as “sanctuary cities” for immigrants.
Last year, Biden co-sponsored a measure that would have granted consideration to remain openly in the United States for agriculture workers who do not have all the proper papers.
AND HE EVEN took the “abhorrent” (to the nativists) position of co-sponsoring a measure allowing for in-state tuition rates to be charged to people under 21, even if they are not full-fledged U.S. citizens.
In fact, about the closest to a true negative (these peoples’ negatives are really positive) I could find was really more of a contradiction.
Biden is on record as being both for, and against, the concept of a wall being built along the U.S./Mexico border.
In 2006, he voted in favor of an amendment to a bill that would have required the U.S. government to consult with Mexico before any construction could be done on a wall, which if ever enacted would bring construction to an immediate halt. He also voted against a measure that would have extended the length of the wall by about 360 miles.
YET THAT SAME year, he also voted in favor of the “Safe Fence Act,” the measure that called for constructing about 700 miles worth of fence along the 1,900 miles of border (much of it desert) between the United States and Mexico. He also voted for the measures that provided federal funding to make the act financially possible.
The Safe Fence Act wound up passing by an 80-19 vote, and got several Democrats who did not want to give Republican political operatives subject matter for future negative campaign ads to vote for it. Besides Biden, Obama also voted for the measure. So did Hillary R. Clinton and John McCain.
The fact that Biden is on record supporting measures requiring outside consultation is likely evidence that he sees how silly it is to think that a barricade of any kind could be constructed along the border that would seriously reduce the flow of people in both directions.
And the fact that Obama would reach out to Biden is yet a little more reason why many Latinos are going to think it absolutely ridiculous to vote for anybody other than the Democrats come Nov. 4.
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EDITOR’S NOTES: I just touched on a few of the many bills for which Joe Biden is criticized (http://profiles.numbersusa.com/improfile.php3?DistSend=DE&VIPID=162) during his congressional career dating back to 1973. Another group hostile toward immigration (http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Joe_Biden_Immigration.htm) takes Biden quotes from throughout the years and tries to distort them.
Before we start anointing Biden as some sort of deity for Latinos, his congressional record (like any other elected official) has its share (http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2008/08/reports-obama-taps-joe-biden-for-vp.html) of negatives.
ht not have been my top choice for the VP spot, yet I can’t help but notice the number of people he is angering when it comes to immigration reform.I have noticed the number of nativist nitwits the past two days who are polluting various Internet site comment sections with their views that the Obama campaign was made worse by the inclusion of Biden because of his thoughts on immigration.
IN GENERAL, HE’S for it. I guess this means Biden is the enemy of our enemy, which makes him our friend.
One particular site caught my attention.
Called NumbersUSA.com, the site offers an analysis that shows Biden relatively supportive of the interests of those people who want to come to the United States in search of a new life – which the people who put the site together seem to prefer to think of as foreigners leeching off the assets of “real Americans.”
The group trashes Biden for voting in favor of removing amendments to a 1996 measure that would have imposed greater restrictions on the number of people who could immigrate to the United States.
THEY ALSO BLAST Biden for being supportive of President George W. Bush back in the days when the president was pushing for a guest worker program that would have allowed people already in this country to live and work openly for a period of up to three years.
Biden also is branded with the Scarlet A (for Amnesty), because he voted in 2006 for bills that would have allowed people already in this country to remain, rather than have to lurk in society’s shadows and be thought of as criminals. At the same time, Biden also voted against various legislative procedures that would have allowed for continued debate on measures to crack down on the numbers of people allowed to immigrate to the U.S.
He also gets trashed for voting earlier this year to end discussion on an amendment that would have sought to have the federal government penalize municipalities (such as Chicago and Los Angeles) that designate themselves as “sanctuary cities” for immigrants.
Last year, Biden co-sponsored a measure that would have granted consideration to remain openly in the United States for agriculture workers who do not have all the proper papers.
AND HE EVEN took the “abhorrent” (to the nativists) position of co-sponsoring a measure allowing for in-state tuition rates to be charged to people under 21, even if they are not full-fledged U.S. citizens.
In fact, about the closest to a true negative (these peoples’ negatives are really positive) I could find was really more of a contradiction.
Biden is on record as being both for, and against, the concept of a wall being built along the U.S./Mexico border.
In 2006, he voted in favor of an amendment to a bill that would have required the U.S. government to consult with Mexico before any construction could be done on a wall, which if ever enacted would bring construction to an immediate halt. He also voted against a measure that would have extended the length of the wall by about 360 miles.
YET THAT SAME year, he also voted in favor of the “Safe Fence Act,” the measure that called for constructing about 700 miles worth of fence along the 1,900 miles of border (much of it desert) between the United States and Mexico. He also voted for the measures that provided federal funding to make the act financially possible.
The Safe Fence Act wound up passing by an 80-19 vote, and got several Democrats who did not want to give Republican political operatives subject matter for future negative campaign ads to vote for it. Besides Biden, Obama also voted for the measure. So did Hillary R. Clinton and John McCain.
The fact that Biden is on record supporting measures requiring outside consultation is likely evidence that he sees how silly it is to think that a barricade of any kind could be constructed along the border that would seriously reduce the flow of people in both directions.
And the fact that Obama would reach out to Biden is yet a little more reason why many Latinos are going to think it absolutely ridiculous to vote for anybody other than the Democrats come Nov. 4.
-30-
EDITOR’S NOTES: I just touched on a few of the many bills for which Joe Biden is criticized (http://profiles.numbersusa.com/improfile.php3?DistSend=DE&VIPID=162) during his congressional career dating back to 1973. Another group hostile toward immigration (http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Joe_Biden_Immigration.htm) takes Biden quotes from throughout the years and tries to distort them.
Before we start anointing Biden as some sort of deity for Latinos, his congressional record (like any other elected official) has its share (http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com/2008/08/reports-obama-taps-joe-biden-for-vp.html) of negatives.
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