Joe Biden early life and career

2009–2017: Vice presidency

Hunter Biden meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office.
Official White House Photograph

As he assumed office, Biden's responsibilities as vice president were not made clear. He had no specific portfolio of responsibilities. He alarmed the nation on April 30, 2009, by going on network television to warn Americans to stay out of confined spaces such as subways and airplanes, lest they catch Swine Flu. Health officials rejected his scare tactics and the White House immediately repudiated them.

Under President Obama the budget deficit reached over $1 trillion for the first time in history. When asked over the fate of the United States' going into bankruptcy, Biden stated at an AARP meeting, "Now, people when I say that look at me and say, "What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’" Biden said. "The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you."

Biden eventually was placed in charge of promoting the Obama administration's Recovery Summer in 2010, an attempt to highlight the Democratic Congress's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, or "economic stimulus program. During Recovery Summer, the workforce shrank, unemployment swelled, and economic growth slowed to less than 2%. More Americans fell victim to Democrat economic policy and by the 2010 Midterm election sweep no less than 27,000,000 people were unemployed or underemployed.

Panic-mongering

One of Biden's first actions as Vice President was to set off a national panic over the Swine flu which the White House was forced to walk back. Biden warned Americans to stay out of confined spaces such as subways and airplanes.

Seal Team 6

In killing Osama bin Laden, Obama transformed the War on Terror from a preventative war against terrorism to a war of vengeance and retribution to enhance Obama's re-election prospects.

The families of Navy Seal Team 6 blame Vice President Biden for revealing the identity of the Navy Seal Team that killed Osama bin Laden. Seal Team 6 is a covert action force, and all its members are sworn to secrecy to never reveal the actions they participate in. The government likewise is bound to protect their identities against reprisals. In boasting of the killing, Biden named Seal Team 6 by name as the unit that found bin Laden.

On August 6, 2011, the Taliban ambushed a Chinook helicopter carrying 30 U.S. service members — including 15 SEAL Team 6 members — in Afghanistan. Everyone on board was killed. In a show of multiculturalism, the Obama administration insisted a Muslim cleric be present when the bodies were recovered.

Families of the slain SEAL members held a news conference at the National Press Club demanding an investigation into why their sons had been identified, despite specific assurances by the Obama administration their identities would be protected. To add insult, the families complained about the Muslim cleric that the Obama administration required to preside in a ceremony over their remains, damned their souls to hell as infidels in an Islamic prayer proclaiming victory.

Past campaigns

After 45 years on the public role as a civil servant, Biden, his brother Frank, and his son Hunter amassed personal fortunes of tens of millions of dollars.

Liberal Biden, notorious for his long-winded speeches and his foot-in-mouth moments, as illustrated by his declaration that "we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt." A favorite of the liberal media, Biden avoids the mockery that greeted a less gaffe-prone predecessor, Dan Quayle.

He ran for President in 1988 but dropped out of the race after admitting he had plagiarized a speech by the leader of the British Labour Party.

Biden considered running as a Presidential candidate for the 2004 elections, but then decided against it, saying that it would be "now too much of a long shot.". He was later mentioned as a possible running mate for Democratic Senator John Kerry, but he instead urged Kerry to chose Senator John McCain.

He won few votes when running for president in 2008; he dropped out after placing fifth in Iowa in January, 2008. Biden became Barack Obama's vice-presidential running mate. His campaign stressed his Irish Catholic roots in appeals to working class Democrats, who had deserted Obama in the primaries but returned in the fall.

1988 Presidential campaign

Joe Biden announced his candidacy for President in 1987. He ran on his experience, saying in an campaign advertisement "The White House isn't the place to learn how to deal with international crisis, the balance of power, war and peace, and the economic future of the next generation." His campaign was short-lived due to controversies. While campaigning in New Hampshire in 1987, a civilian asked about his grades in college, to which Biden yelled, "I think I have a much higher I.Q. than you do." He went on to say that he "went to law school on a full academic scholarship - the only one in my class to have a full academic scholarship" adding that he "ended up in the top half" of his class (Biden graduated 76th in a class of 85) and "graduated with three degrees from college."

Biden explained his comments "I did not graduate in the top half of my class at law school and my recollection of this was inaccurate...I graduated from the University of Delaware with a double major in history and political science. My reference to degrees at the Claremont event was intended to refer to these majors - I said 'three' and should have said 'two'."

Later in the campaign he was found to have plagiarized a speech from British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock. The plagiarism was considered all the more serious, because it included details of Kinnock's life which were not true in Biden's case. Biden dropped out of the race in December 1987, and did not participate in the 1988 Democratic caucuses and primaries.

2008 Presidential campaign

Main article: 2008 Presidential election

Biden declared his candidacy for President on January 31, 2007 but withdrew in January 2008 after coming 5th in the Iowa Caucus, receiving only 1% of the vote. He ran on his foreign policy experience and credentials in the Senate. Biden voted for the Operation Iraqi Freedom - the War in Iraq. On November 15, 2007, during the CNN presidential debate, he said

“

This is not about experience. It's not about change. It's about action. Who among us is going to be able to, on Day 1, step in and end the war?.

”

In a presidential debate, when asked, “Would you call for tariffs to protect American consumers from unsafe products from China? Are you willing to go there?” Biden answered, “I’m not. No, I’m not willing to go there."

During an ABC Democratic presidential debate, Biden was asked about the statement he made regarding Barack Obama. Biden said:

“

I think he can be ready but right now, I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training. I think that I stand by the statement.

”

Biden told a crowd his homestate

“

Delaware was a slave state that fought beside the North. That's only because we couldn't figure out how to get to the South. There were a couple of states in the way.

”

2008 Vice presidential campaign

Biden campaigning for Barack Obama, 09/24/08

Biden had been mentioned as a Vice Presidential candidate for Senator Barack Obama, in that he would add foreign policy experience to the ticket. When asked in June over the speculation, Biden stated, "I'd make a great president. I'd make a great Secretary of State. I'd make a great vice president." On August 19, Biden was asked by reporters of his VP status, to which he replied "Hey guys, I'm not the guy. See ya." It was Joe Biden's son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, who issued an arrest warrant on fabricated charges to attempt to discredit Larry Sinclair's National Press Club news conference where he alleged a gay affair with Obama and claimed he was using cocaine at the time. Biden was nominated by Obama choice for vice president a week later.

In August 2005 Biden paradoxically and nonsensically said, "John McCain is a personal friend, a great friend, and I would be honored to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off."

However, on August 23 it was announced that Biden would be Obama's 2008 running mate. They appeared together in Springfield, Illinois. Obama proudly introduced Senator Biden,

"Let me introduce to you, the next president — the next vice president of the United States of America, Joe Biden."

Biden took the stage and endorsed Obama, saying,

"In this election year the choice is clear, one man stands ready to deliver change we desperately need, a man I'm proud to call my friend, a man who will be the next President of the United States, Barack America."

Obama hoped Biden would help the ticket in multiple ways:

• Biden has extensive foreign policy experience in the United States Senate and as such could have helped to bolster Obama's comparative lack of experience in this area.
• Biden is Catholic, and Obama was weak with that key voting bloc; however, the Catholic Church may have taken offense at Biden's pro-abortion positions (see below).
• Biden was born in Pennsylvania, a must-win state for Obama where he was thought to be weak;
• Biden's son is going to Iraq, which may have helped to rehabilitate Obama's image as anti-military; however, Biden himself never served.

Almost immediately after his selection, the conflict between his pro-abortion position and that of his church surfaced:

Biden has said: "I am a long-standing supporter of Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose." But Biden's own bishop, Bishop Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., has ... denounced the notion that politicians can 'personally oppose' abortion, but refuse to pass laws protecting the unborn. He made clear that pro-abortion Catholic politicians should refrain from receiving the Eucharist:

"The promotion of abortion by any Catholic is a grave and serious matter. Objectively, according to the constant teaching of the Scriptures and the Church, it would be more spiritually beneficial for such a person to refrain from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. I ask Catholics in this position to have the integrity to respect the Eucharist, Catholic teaching and the Catholic faithful."

In September of the campaign Biden asked Missouri State Senator Chuck Graham, who has paralysis, to "Stand up, Chuck, let 'em see you. Oh, God love you. What am I talking about? I tell you what, you're making everybody else stand up, though, pal. I tell you what, stand up for Chuck."

Biden's Republican opponent for the Vice Presidency was Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. They participated in their first and only Vice Presidential debate on October 2 in St. Louis, Missouri. Biden was elected the 47th Vice President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

2012 Vice presidential campaign

Biden got a pass from fellow liberals in the media despite acting like a rude clown during his vice presidential debate with Paul Ryan in October 2012. Biden repeatedly interrupted Ryan and engaged in other offensive behavior, and even complained about not getting more time despite talking more than Ryan did. At one point Biden even nonsensically interjected, "so now you're Jack Kennedy?" in interrupting a valid point being made by Ryan.

1973–2009: U.S. Senate

Biden on Meet The Press, 09/09/07

The Council for a Livable World (CLW), a communist front organization founded in 1962 by long-time Soviet agent Leo Szilard, is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to "reduce the danger of nuclear weapons and increase national security", primarily through supporting progressive, congressional candidates who support their policies. The Council supported Joe Biden in 1972 in his successful Senate run as candidate for Delaware.

Biden unseated the liberal Republican Senator Cale Boggs in the 1972 elections. In 1973, he hence became the fifth-youngest U.S. senator in U.S. history. He was later reelected six times.

Biden, as a senator from Delaware from 1973–2009, served on the Senate Judiciary Committee and subsequently the Committee on Foreign Relations, alternating as the chair or ranking member on both committees. Biden in 2007 was ranked as the third most liberal Senator by the non-partisan National Journal.

Biden has close ties with lobbyists, receiving $5,133,072 in contributions from lawyers and lobbyists since 2003. Biden requested 116 congressional earmarks in 2008 alone, resulting in $342 million in taxpayer money.

During a late-night marathon debate over President George W. Bush's tax cut bill, 98-year-old Sen. Strom Thurmond began ailing. Biden told the New York Daily News "I saw Strom sitting in his seat, he looked awful. I said, 'Strom, you should go home'. He's an old buddy."

Biden was for the Iraq War before he was against it.

On June 6, 2012, the Council for a Livable World, along with its sister organizations Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and Council for a Livable World's PeacePAC, celebrated the 50th Anniversary of their founding. An evening celebration was held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. Congressman Barney Frank acted as the Master of Ceremonies and, in the process, received a lifetime achievement award from former Rep. Tom Downey, a member of the Council's Board of Directors. The Robert F. Drinan Peace and Human Award was presented to former Representative and PeacePAC Chairman David Bonior and the late Edith Wilkie, a longtime advocate and leader for peace and justice. Videos were shown in which Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren celebrated the organization's 50 years although they were not able to attend in person.

Abortion

On the abortion issue, Biden is pro-abortion and opposed President George W. Bush's two nominees to the U.S. Supreme court. On Roe v. Wade he said, "I strongly support Roe v. Wade....That’s why I led the fight to defeat [Robert] Bork. Thank God he is not in the Court or Roe v. Wade would be gone by now." He received a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006, but not in other years because of his opposition to partial-birth abortion and public funding for abortions.

2nd Amendment

He is a strong opponent of 2nd-amendment rights, earning an F by the National Rifle Association. Biden has also voted to give Social Security benefits and citizenship to illegal aliens. On energy, he opposes increased domestic oil production, saying proponents of offshore drilling want to "rape" the Outer Continental Shelf.

Judiciary committee

Biden was a long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, which he chaired from 1987 until 1995 and served as ranking minority member from 1981 until 1987 and again from 1995 until 1997. Biden read the "N" word into the Congressional Record during an open hearing in 1986. He almost never supported a supreme court nominee who was not in his party and presided over two of the more contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings ever, Robert Bork in 1987 and the racially motivated hearings for Clarence Thomas in 1991.

Sen. Arlen Specter, who jumped to the Democrats in 2009, wrote in his memoirs that Biden admitted to him that Biden believed Anita Hill was lying.

Biden crime bill

The Biden Crime Bill of 1994, also known as the Superpredator Act, came in response to the Central Park jogger case and trial of the Central Park Five. On its twentieth anniversary the Brennan Center observed,

It expanded the death penalty, creating 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes. It eliminated education funding for incarcerated students, effectively gutting prison education programs. Despite a wealth of research showing education increases post-release employment, reduces recidivism, and improves outcomes for the formerly incarcerated and their families, this change has not been reversed. And the bill created a wave of change toward harsher state sentencing policy. That change was driven by funding incentives: the bill’s $9.7 billion in federal funding for prison construction went only to states that adopted truth-in-sentencing (TIS) laws, which lead to defendants serving far longer prison terms. Within 5 years, 29 states had TIS laws on the books, 24 more than when the bill was signed. New York State received over $216 million by passing such laws. By 2000 the state had added over 12,000 prison beds and incarcerated 28 percent more people than a decade before.

War on sovereignty

Main article: War on sovereignty

In 1992, Joe Biden penned a piece for the Wall Street Journal entitled, "How I Learned to Love the New World Order," in which he extolled "collective security" through the United Nations and called for a “permanent commitment of forces for use by the Security Council.”

On July 14, 1993, a little over a year after writing the Journal op-ed cited above, Senator Biden introduced Senate Joint Resolution 112 urging the new president, Bill Clinton, to initiate discussions to establish a standing United Nations army. Under his proposal, United States bases and facilities would be made available to train UN forces, and the president would not “be deemed to require the authorization of Congress” to make American troops, facilities, or other assistance “available to the Security Council on its call.”

He also called for the creation of a “new world order” at the Export-Import Bank conference in Washington on April 5, 2013. “The affirmative task we have now is to actually create a new world order,” he exclaimed.

Foreign Relations Comittee

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden voted against aid to the government of South Vietnam leading to its collapse in 1975.

He called the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini in the Iranian Revolution in 1979 a step forward for human rights.

Biden opposed Ronald Reagan's development of the Missile Defense System and ending the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction.

He voted against the Persian Gulf War in 1991.

Biden voted for the Iraq War in 2002. In a 2005 interview with Meet the Press, Biden advocated a troop surge saying, "I’ve been calling for more troops [in Iraq] for over two years, along with John McCain and others subsequent to my saying that." On July 23, 2007, Biden said, "there's not a single military man in this audience, who will tell this Senator he can get those troops out in six months if the order goes today, let's start telling the truth." He advocated Iraqi federalism based on national and religious differences for Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis.

Biden's vote for the Iraq War is expected to hurt him in the 2020 Presidential Election, as Donald Trump opposed that war and used this issue effectively in 2016 against Hillary Clinton among millennial voters and regions which have suffered more from military casualties.

Biden’s membership came at a critical time for China, when it applied to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Membership would enable China to trade more freely with the rest of the world to boost its economic development. It would also enable China’s wealthy politicians and politically connected elite to prosper and profit from the trade boom, money which they would later want to invest overseas.

During China’s application, Biden supported free-trade legislation that helped China join the WTO. In 2001, when China was admitted, Biden became committee chairman, now holding a position of significant global influence in which he should strive to act in the US national interest. At a minimum, the SFRC chairman should be free of foreign interference.

In his early days as chairman, Biden was described as a policy hawk. Prior to China joining the WTO, he argued that “...if China continues to behave as a rogue elephant on weapons proliferation, we should be prepared to retaliate with a clear and unequivocal message...denying China most-favored nation trade status.” During the Clinton presidency, the scandal on Chinese access for donations were termed “serious stuff” and should be reviewed for any “correlation of quid pro quo”.

In August 2001, Biden visited China for state-level talks with then CPC Chairman Jiang Zemin (江泽民), where Biden was tough with China on issues such as weapons proliferation, its judicial system, and human rights record. But as the 2000s progressed, Biden became gradually more accommodating of China’s rise. In 2004, he was pictured meeting the Chinese Ambassador to the US at the time, Yang Jiechi.