Changes

[[Image:Biden_on_Meet_the_Press.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Biden on Meet The Press, 09/09/07]] In 1972, Biden unseated the liberal Republican Senator [[Cale Boggs]]. In 1973, he hence became the fifth youngest U.S. Senator in U.S. history. He was later reelected six times. On the [[abortion issue]], Biden calls himself [[pro-choice]] 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." <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130312002759/http://nrlc.org/Election2008/comparison0909084c.pdf Where Do the Candidates Stand on Abortion?], [[National Right to Life Committee]]</ref> He received a 100% rating from [[NARAL Pro-Choice America]] in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=53279</ref> However, not in other years because of his opposition to [[partial-birth abortion]] and public funding for abortions.<ref>http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Joe_Biden_Abortion.htm</ref> On government spending Biden requested 116 congressional earmarks in 2008 alone, resulting in $342 million in taxpayer money.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/biden.earmarks/?iref=hpmostpop Biden, Obama helped keep 'Bridge to Nowhere' alive], [[CNN]]</ref> 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 more domestic oil production, saying proponents of offshore drilling want to "rape" the Outer Continental Shelf.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=400058</ref>

[[Image:Biden_on_Meet_the_Press.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Biden on Meet The Press, 09/09/07]] In 1972, Biden unseated the liberal Republican Senator [[Cale Boggs]]. In 1973, he hence became the fifth youngest U.S. Senator in U.S. history. He was later reelected six times. On the [[abortion issue]], Biden calls himself [[pro-choice]] 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." <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130312002759/http://nrlc.org/Election2008/comparison0909084c.pdf Where Do the Candidates Stand on Abortion?], [[National Right to Life Committee]]</ref> He received a 100% rating from [[NARAL Pro-Choice America]] in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=53279</ref> However, not in other years because of his opposition to [[partial-birth abortion]] and public funding for abortions.<ref>http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/Joe_Biden_Abortion.htm</ref> On government spending Biden requested 116 congressional earmarks in 2008 alone, resulting in $342 million in taxpayer money.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/23/biden.earmarks/?iref=hpmostpop Biden, Obama helped keep 'Bridge to Nowhere' alive], [[CNN]]</ref> 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 more domestic oil production, saying proponents of offshore drilling want to "rape" the Outer Continental Shelf.<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/speech_detail.php?sc_id=400058</ref>

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden was a major player in making foreign policy. He voted against aid the government of South Vietnam leading to its collapse in 1975. He called fall of the Shah in the Iaranian Revolution in 1979 a step forward human rights. He opposed Ronald Reagan's development of the missile defense system. He voted against the Persian [[Gulf War]] in 1991, but voted for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, although he criticized the [[Bush administration]]'s management of the war. He voted against setting a timetable for troop withdrawal and is against cutting off funding for the troops on the ground. In a 2005 interview with Meet the Press, Biden said, "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, lets start telling the truth." <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wylferBh3IA</ref> He has also proposed dividing the Iraqi Population by giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis their own regions.  

As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Biden was a major player in making foreign policy. He voted against aid the government of South Vietnam leading to its collapse in 1975. He called fall of the fall of the Shah in the Iaranian Revolution in 1979 a step forward for human rights. He opposed Ronald Reagan's development of the missile defense system. He voted against the Persian [[Gulf War]] in 1991, but voted for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, although he criticized the [[Bush administration]]'s management of the war. He voted against setting a timetable for troop withdrawal and is against cutting off funding for the troops on the ground. In a 2005 interview with Meet the Press, Biden said, "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, lets start telling the truth." <ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wylferBh3IA</ref> He has also proposed dividing the Iraqi Population by giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis their own regions.  

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. 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 [[racism|racially motivated]] hearings for [[Clarence Thomas]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egTyaIAaqz8 Clarence Thomas High-Tech Lynching]</ref> in 1991.

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. 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 [[racism|racially motivated]] hearings for [[Clarence Thomas]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egTyaIAaqz8 Clarence Thomas High-Tech Lynching]</ref> in 1991.