08/23/2008
The Obama/Biden Ticket
So, as you likely all know by now, early this morning Barack Obama announced Delaware Senator Joseph Biden as his running mate (my text came at 3:19 am) although by that time the AP had already leaked the pick. The text: "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!"
Here's the newly launched logo that went live as soon as the text was sent.
Agence France Presse reports: "Barack Obama's running mate, Senator Joseph Biden, 65, brings decades of national security experience to the Democratic White House ticket, an area where the presumptive nominee is seen as lacking. As charman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, the new vice presidential nominee has met many of the leading actors on the world stage, and is an outspoken critic of the Bush administration's foreign policy.
The Human Rights Campaign hailed the nominee. Said President Joe Solmonese: "In selecting Senator Joe Biden as his running mate, Senator Obama has chosen a proven and effective advocate for fairness and equality that our entire community can be proud of. Senator Biden’s record in the United States Senate is one of support and understanding that has been unwavering throughout his career...If the support Senator Biden has proven on our issues is any indication of the type of Vice President he will be than our community can be assured that Senator Obama has chosen a thoughtful and staunch advocate for equality as his closest adviser."
Biden's record on LGBT rights, AFTER THE JUMP...
McCain's campaign almost immediately slammed the pick: "There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing -- that Barack Obama is not ready to be President."
The McCain ad attacks have also already begun, focusing on Biden's own statements against the presumptive nominee:
CNN discusses what Biden might bring to the ticket. And here are some examples of Biden's style that demonstrates his willingness to engage vocally and aggressively against his opponents, via the Huffington Post:
And his campaign attacks on Rudy Giuliani:
AFTER THE JUMP, Biden's record on LGBT rights, via the Human Rights Campaign:
Highlights of Senator Joe Biden’s Record of Support for the GLBT Community
101st Congress (1989-1990): Overall Scorecard Rating 90%
102nd Congress (1991-1992): Overall Scorecard Rating 91%
103rd Congress (1993-1994): Overall Scorecard Rating 89%
104th Congress (1995-1996): Overall Scorecard Rating 78%
105th Congress (1997-1998): Overall Scorecard Rating 83%
106th Congress (1999-2000): Overall Scorecard Rating 86%
107th Congress (2001-2002): Overall Scorecard Rating 100%
108th Congress (2003-2004): Overall Scorecard Rating 63%
109th Congress (2005-2006): Overall Scorecard Rating 78%
● Helms Amendment – Hate Crimes Statistics Act (February 8, 1990)
Senator Helms offered an amendment to a hate crimes statistics bill (S. AMDT. 1251 to S. 419) stating that “the homosexual movement threatens the strength and survival of the American family” and that “state sodomy laws should be enforced.” The Helms amendment failed 19-77 (Record Vote No. 12). HRC opposed this amendment. Biden also opposed it.
● District of Columbia’s Health Care Benefits Expansion Act (July 30, 1992)
Senator Brock Adams (D-WA) offered a procedural motion to block attempts to repeal the District of Columbia’s Health Care Benefits Expansion Act, a measure adopted by the D.C. Council to provide D.C. government employees the opportunity to purchase health care coverage for their domestic partners. The motion failed 41-51 and implementation of the D.C. law was subsequently prohibited by Congress. HRC supported this motion. Biden also supported it.
● Justice Clarence Thomas Confirmation (October 15, 1991)
The Senate voted on President George H.W. Bush’s nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed his nomination 52-48 (Record Vote No. 220). HRC opposed this nomination. Biden also opposed it.
● Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement (November 4, 1993)
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) offered an amendment to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1993 (S. AMDT. 1097 to S. 1607) to increase penalties for federal crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation and other characteristics. The Feinstein Amendment was the first piece of federal legislation to provide protection on the basis of sexual orientation. The amendment passed 95-4 (Record Vote No. 351). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.
● Codification of the Ban on Gays and Lesbians in the Military (September 9, 1993)
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 1994 (S. AMDT. 783 to S. 1298) to prevent codification of the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy on lesbians and gays in the military. The amendment failed 33-63 (Record Vote No. 250). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.
● District of Columbia’s Domestic Partners Ordinance (July 27, 1993)
An amendment was offered to allow the District of Columbia to implement its ordinance allowing unmarried couples or partners to register with the D.C. government, making them eligible for group health insurance offered to D.C. government employees for a higher premium. It failed 43-55 (Record Vote No. 217). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.
● Employment Non-Discrimination Act (September 10, 1996)
In its first test in Congress, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (S. 932), which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, came within one vote of passage in the Senate. Senator David Pryor (D-AR), who supported ENDA, missed the vote for a family emergency. The bill failed 49-50 (Record Vote No. 281). HRC supported this bill. Biden also supported it.
● Hate Crimes Amendment to Defense Authorization (June 20, 2000)
Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, renamed the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act, as an amendment to the fiscal year 2001 defense authorization bill (S. AMDT. 3473 to S. 2549). The Kennedy-Smith amendment would extend basic hate crime protections to all Americans in all communities by adding real or perceived sexual orientation, gender and disability to the categories covered and by removing the federally protected activity requirement. This amendment was overwhelmingly approved 57-42 (Record Vote No. 136). HRC supported this amendment. Biden also supported it.
● Federal Marriage Amendment (July 14, 2004)
The Federal Marriage Amendment (S.J. Res 40), introduced in the Senate by Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), would have enshrined discrimination into the U.S. Constitution by defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman and prohibiting federal and state laws from conferring same-sex couples with marital status and “the legal incidents thereof,” thereby endangering civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. The amendment needed a two-thirds majority (67) to be passed in the Senate and a three-fifths majority (60) to proceed to a vote on the amendment (cloture). The cloture motion failed 48-50 (Record Vote No. 155). HRC opposed this cloture motion. Biden also opposed it.
● Federal Marriage Amendment (June 7, 2006)
The Marriage Protection Amendment (formerly called the Federal Marriage Amendment) (S.J. Res. 1) would have enshrined discrimination into the U.S. Constitution by defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman and prohibiting federal and state laws from conferring same-sex couples with marital status and “the legal incidents thereof.” The amendment would thereby endanger civil unions and domestic partnership benefits. The amendment failed by a vote of 49-48, falling 11 votes short of the 60 necessary to invoke cloture, a procedural motion to advance to a vote on the substance of the bill (Record Vote No. 163). The amendment would have needed 67 votes (two-thirds majority) to pass. HRC opposed this amendment. Biden also opposed it.
● Justice Samuel Alito Confirmation (January 31, 2006)
The Senate voted on President W. Bush’s nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed his nomination 58-42 (Record Vote No. 2). HRC opposed this nomination. Biden also opposed it.
● Judge William Pryor Confirmation (June 9, 2005)
The Senate voted on President Bush’s nomination of Judge William Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The Senate confirmed his nomination 53-45 (Record Vote No. 133). HRC opposed this nomination. Biden also opposed it.
Posted 10:11 AM EST by Andy Towle in Barack Obama, Democratic National Convention, Democratic Party, Joseph Biden, News | Permalink
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All this suspense, drama & wait merely to announce Joe "I Probably Have A Higher IQ Than You" Biden? Wow . . . what a power ticket: two bombastic self-aggrandizing lawyers who are impressed with themselves. I'm sure the trial lawyers assocation is creaming in its pants. When was the last time we had two lawyers on the same ticket? 1992 when Bill & Hill Clinton ran for the White House. And what did we get? Depends on what the meaning of "is" is.
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a THATSRICH a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 10:31:09 AM
Cindy might as well call the interior decorators and Architectural Digest. Her husband just scored their eighth house. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Mark | Aug 23, 2008 10:44:54 AM
"Cindy might as well call the interior decorators and Architectural Digest. Her husband just scored their eighth house."
. . . and the irony is that every gay who ever bought a beer west of the Mississippi in the last 50 years contributed to Cindy's fortune. I'd be curious to see whether her company ever sponsored any LGBTQ events out in the Southwest given the close relationship between beer distributors and the gay community.
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a THATSRICH a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 10:53:23 AM
Not a bad choice not a good one either. I guess it wont make too much of a difference to his prospects in either direction unless someone digs up stuff about Biden.
Posted by: SJ | Aug 23, 2008 10:55:54 AM
"The Human Rights Campaign hailed the nominee."
Oh thats rich. Obama could of named Donald Wildmon from the AFA to the ticket and the HRC would of still hailed the nominee.
Posted by: yoshi | Aug 23, 2008 10:58:15 AM
Obama bin Biden '08
Posted by: Mark | Aug 23, 2008 11:04:23 AM
Awesome! Joe Biden is the best choice. Like I said yesterday, he's a big help with Obama's alleged "not enough experience" issue. He's going to negate a lot of McCain's foreign experience advantage. He's tough and will do a great job ripping back at McCain with one-liners that will resonate with the voters. (Sadly, a lot of people respond better to a good rip than to a discussion of the issues.)
Posted by: Sandol | Aug 23, 2008 11:04:54 AM
As a rule I try to avoid re-posting comments in multiple threads, but since discussion of the VP pick, which began at the tail end of yesterday's VP speculation thread, has moved to this one:
Besides bringing a wealth of foreign policy experience to the table as the long-time chair (or ranking minority leader) of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (and someone whom the president of Georgia personally requested get on a plane last week), Biden:
• grew up lower middle-class, son of a car dealer
• was the least wealthy member of the last Senate, so despite 6 terms in office, he's never cashed in on his influence
• spent the first ten years of his life in Scranton, PA, and is extremely well-known and liked in both SE Pa. (because Philadelphia is the major media market that covers Wilmington) and Western Pa., where he often campaigns for congressional friends.
• enjoys strong labor support
• has had a 100% rating from NARAL in 4 of the past 5 years
• is Irish Catholic
• has survived adversity, including not only his bout with brain cancer but the deaths of his first wife and baby daughter in a car accident one month after he was elected to the Senate (he was sworn in at the hospital where his two sons were still recovering from the accident)
• and one of those sons is currently serving in Iraq
He has a great story; a shitload of experience, particularly in the areas where Obama is perceived to lack depth; support from and natural appeal to Catholics, working class voters, organized labor, our troops, and pro-choice women; a strong record of vocal opposition to Bush's Iraq policy (after first regrettably voting to authorize it); and he will rip McCain a new one each and every day on the campaign trail—and do the same to Romney in their debate. Furthermore, he'd be too old to run for president himself at the end of two Obama terms in 2016, so he'll be able to do the job without the usual tension that arises from an ambitious VP's need to position himself for higher office.
Biden's a fantastic VP choice for Obama.
Posted by: 24play | Aug 23, 2008 11:12:50 AM
How convenient: just this morning the Biden staff announced that he is returning campaign contributions he received from convicted racketeer Dickie Scruggs. Now what about any funds he received over the years from convicted felons Mel Weiss & Bill Lerach who have contributed millions over the years to the DNC and Democratic tools for the Trial Lawyers Ass'n? In 2005 Biden supported these "bottom feeders" -- his term -- while he was sitting on the Judiciary Committee.
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a THATSRICH a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 11:20:12 AM
Actually, HOGB/TROLL, it was announced 3 days ago that Biden donated Scruggs' contributions to charity. And BTW, Scruggs was just convicted last month.
Not that anyone in the world cares about Scruggs (or Weiss or Lerach...).
But keep on trolling, sweetheart!
Posted by: 24play | Aug 23, 2008 11:26:22 AM
Well said 24PLAY, he will be a great attack dog to the GOP, which is clear from here and across the blogs are already out in full force.
I mean you HOGB.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Aug 23, 2008 11:28:14 AM
One-time presidential hopeful Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware has returned campaign donations from former Oxford attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs and others associated with their fall from grace.
Biden was a candidate for the Democratic nomination much earlier this year and actively sought North Mississippi support late in 2007.
Federal Election Commission reports by Biden for President show the campaign made donations July 5 to a national prostate cancer group from four $2,300 contributions by Scruggs, his son Zach, Steven Patterson and Timothy Balducci.
The four men pleaded guilty to various crimes associated with the judicial bribery scandal that sent the Scruggses and an associate to federal prison recently.
Balducci and Patterson await sentencing.
A fifth gift, $2,300 from someone named Claire Scruggs of Pascagoula, also went to the cancer organization.
Biden reportedly is on presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's short list for vice president.
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=277976&pub=1&div=News
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a THATSRICH a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 11:29:08 AM
I am so happy that Senator Joe Biden was chosen as Obama's running mate. Biden was my first choice for President, way back in December- I even contributed to his campaign. The Republicans are in for a monumental smackdown. I can't wait until Joe speaks at the Convention. Congrats, Barak, on choosing the best candidate for the job.
Posted by: Rodney | Aug 23, 2008 11:35:53 AM
Wow, 24PLAY, it's nice to see that yet another democratic idiot such as yourself believes that the electorate does not care that the DNC coffers are filled to the brim with campaign contributions from sleaze-bag convicted lawyers like Mel Weiss, Bill Lerach and Dickie Scruggs et al. I guess you can hope that no one cares, and then representing more of the same an Obama president can pardon their crimes and commute their sentences.
By the way, your canned recitation in bullet point format in uncritical support of Biden obviously reflects a lot of research and thinking: did the Obama camp email the points to you and pay you a dollar to repost it? Or did you come up with it all by your very little self.
Calling me a troll because I dare say that the Emporer has no clothes? Well, I guess it's better to be a troll than a paid whore such as yourself, 24PLAY.
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a THATSRICH a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 11:42:39 AM
i'm with you Rodney. he was my favorite late last year. i think he's the only one of the bunch who isn't afraid to carry out the verbal assaults that the repuglicans have become some good at - and it is a fallacy to think that Obama could win with his smile alone. he needed an attack dog with loads of national security experience. sounds to me like he made the right choice.
and to all the trolls...
i'm sorry for your sad existence. maybe if it weren't the Bush/McCain economic plan you wouldn't have to get a job posting to blogs you don't read for $5 a pop.
poor, poor trolls.
Posted by: buzz | Aug 23, 2008 11:51:30 AM
And who is your choice HOGB? McShame? As for pardoning felons and crooked lawyers, I say Obama can't do much worse than W did with Scooter Libby.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Aug 23, 2008 11:52:41 AM
LOL alert.
why don't you guys click on through to HOGB's website and ask yourselves if he really reads Towleroad for the same reasons most of us do.
as a troll he should know to disguise his real motive/allegiance.
anyhow, his website is pretty comical.
Posted by: buzz | Aug 23, 2008 11:56:14 AM
"As for pardoning felons and crooked lawyers, I say Obama can't do much worse than W did with Scooter Libby."
And W is now the standard bearer? God how low the Democratic Party obviously has sunk. Because W is corrupt, it's okay for Obama to be corrupt? What another Democratic idiot.
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a THATSRICH a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 12:02:57 PM
i dont support mccain, but his ad on biden's comments towards obama and mccain is brilliant.
i think the 3am text message was ironicly humorous. good one for obama.
biden is truly lackluster. the whole "i know who my pick is, but i am not gonna tell you, nah nah nah noo noo" was all kindergarten variety. all the fuss over biden? obama is reversing course, he lacks any confidence in himself clearly. he picked someone who has experience because he lacks it.
biden does little to help obama. he is more of a rick, then again all the folks on obama's "short list" were jokes.
Posted by: tofer david | Aug 23, 2008 12:03:47 PM
I'm sorry, Tofer. I know you were really counting on Obama picking his alleged crack-and-blowjobs-in-a-limousine buddy, Larry Sinclair, for the veep spot. You must be heartbroken.
But at least now you and your fellow crazies can focus on raising the dough to bail Larry outta da pokey.
Posted by: 24play | Aug 23, 2008 12:09:55 PM
"why don't you guys click on through to HOGB's website"
Thanks for the plug, BUZZ. You're right: you are such dope. By the way: he who laughs last, laughs best.
Posted by: HOGB a/k/a ThatsRich a/k/a ANOTHERDEMOCRATICIDIOT | Aug 23, 2008 12:14:31 PM
I think Biden is a good choice; I like his off the cuff aggressiveness.
If he had chosen Hillary it would have been a “Hillary / Bill” for VP.
Unfortunately I don’t think the country is ready to vote for a non-white President.
McCain will most likely win and we will see the country go further down a bad road. In any event I will vote for Obama.
Posted by: Bob West | Aug 23, 2008 12:17:49 PM
And he who trolls last? (Or at least most frequently?)
Posted by: 24play | Aug 23, 2008 12:26:04 PM
Great job Andy on putting the great post together so fast.
Hillary '12 Hillary '12 Hillary '12
Posted by: daveynyc | Aug 23, 2008 12:26:44 PM
leave it to a repuglican to quote things out of context. you forgot the "it's pretty comical" part of my statement.
wow, this guy must be an insider. he's pulling straight from their playbook.
didya have to attend troll classes, troll?
anytroll,
Obama/Biden '08 is dope [slang, adjective, synonym for "awesome"].
trolls are dopes [slang, noun, synonym for "losers"].
Posted by: buzz | Aug 23, 2008 12:27:41 PM