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I know what the concern was. I’m aware that Dems and Repubs were in the race to see who could be tougher on crime. Blinded by that political race, both sides kept upping the ante on who could be tougher until you get an exhorbitant amount of lengthy prisons sentences and death penalty eligible crimes. It was stupid then and it didn’t take hindsight to figure it out. Especially in the late 80’s and early 90’s when Biden was most strongly championing draconian policies re: crime and the evidence was already coming in that these types of policies didn’t work. Biden, the Dems, and the Repubs doubled down on stupid and America paid the price. You don’t get to just say “I’m sorry” and that somehow absolves you of your near-sighted governance. Biden has done nothing to intimate that his mode of operation, or his ability to see the long-term consequences of particular policies have gotten better. That’s the problem. It’s not merely his participation in these things. It’s the fact the he, like every other mainstream politician, hasn’t actually changes his method of governance.

Which isn’t what I was doing. I was using a reductio to make the point that popularity doesn’t excuse bad policy. It was a terrible policy with long-term consequences that were foreseeable. We don’t justify other terrible policies “cuz it was populare and everyone wanted it”. Leaders are supposed to lead in responsible ways that think through and foresee consequences of law and policy.

As long as you don’t hold to systemic racism, you can get around the racial consequences. However, if you do, conscious bias isn’t the requirement for racism.

It’s not merely the policies. It’s the mode of operation which still hasn’t changed. And he’s only admitted fault in particular instances when actually pressed on it, not the policies as a whole. He’s still proud of them and his current mode is to deflect from what he actually did to a point or two here or there where he didn’t agree with this or that. He’s been a reactionary authoritarian who can’t see beyond his own nose for 50 years who c. That hasn’t changed.

Maybe. I wouldn’t know. I was never tempted to vote for Trump. I didn’t vote for Trump. I won’t vote for Trump.

Sure. If that’s what is actually the expectation. It’s not and nowhere has that been expressed. Rather, the argument is that Biden has a consistent track record from the 80’s all the way through the 2000s of being a reactionary authoritarian whose ill-considered policies render consequences that reverberate through the decades. From the War on Drugs to the Iraq War and the Patriot Act, Biden has been a central actor in writing laws, championing causes, and implementing policies that are straight terrible.

Edited for refinement and to remove unnecessary red herring.

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