I am sorry to hear that Hunter Biden failed a drug test and was discharged from the Navy. I hope this doesn’t indicate that Hunter has a substance abuse problem.
However, I just want to make one point about Hunter’s father. Joe Biden has a horrible record on drugs, as Radley Balko pointed out way back in 2008 when Biden was tapped as Obama’s running mate:
Biden has sponsored more damaging drug war legislation than any Democrat in Congress. Hate the way federal prosecutors use RICO laws to take aim at drug offenders? Thank Biden. How about the abomination that is federal asset forfeiture laws? Thank Biden. Think federal prosecutors have too much power in drug cases? Thank Biden. Think the title of a “Drug Czar” is sanctimonious and silly? Thank Biden, who helped create the position (and still considers it an accomplishment worth boasting about). Tired of the ridiculous steroids hearings in Congress? Thank Biden, who led the effort to make steroids a Schedule 3 drug, and has been among the blowhardiest of the blowhards when it comes to sports and performance enhancing drugs. Biden voted in favor of using international development aid for drug control (think plan Columbia, plan Afghanistan, and other meddling anti-drug efforts that have only fostered loathing of America, backlash, and unintended consequences). Oh, and he was also the chief sponsor of 2004’s horrendous RAVE Act.
I like Joe Biden, but this is despite his record on drugs. Perhaps it is easier to see the errors of his ways when misfortune is visited on his own family.
Regardless, I hope that Hunter can move forward and that the Biden family doesn’t have to suffer unduly from the consequences of policies that Joe proudly put in place.
Biden’s aggressiveness about drug policy within the conventional wisdom of the time might have been motivated by his fear for his children and the environment they were growing up in.
And as a rising Senate Foreign Affairs Committee star, he could use overseas drug war for grandstanding and showing that Joe was “tough” in a time when the Cold War was winding down or in a time when Republicans owned a disastrous war.
However Biden, like almost all members of Congress, had little curiosity about the CIA role in increasing drug trade.
I share your sentiments about Biden and the Biden family.
Sounds like you’re defending Biden’s ignorance and grandstanding because he needed a shiny light on him to advance his political aspirations. No different from what Republicans do and you criticize.
It’s not useless to try to understand why politicians arrive at their policy prescriptions. Biden is a law and order Democrat and he likely felt that was the winning path early on when that was seen as a weakness for Democrats. It’s not the way to go anymore but you still see Democrats (Mary Landrieu) that are scared of something as reasonable as medical marijuana.
In fealty to the 1% and/or NatSecState and/or pandering to ignorance and/or bigotry for votes covers 95% of it.
The remainder is either too inconsequential or –gasp– is goo-goo demonstrations that need no rationalizations.
My view is more of a chickens-come-home-to-roost comment.
Biden is a piece of work. A charge of plagiarism killed his first Presidential run. Being a Senator from Delaware, no doubt and intentionally chosen small state for a ambitious politician from Pennsylvania means being joined at the hip with corporate America. As people mention, the role of Senator from MBNA has created debt slavery for millions.
He was blind to the consequences of his action because America was blind to it as well and in order to please his mental image of his constituents he doubled down hard on what turns out to be a very phony issue for a government and very serious personal issues. His doubling down gets in the way of lots of Americans dealing with a medical issue and created the climate in which school-to-jail pipelines and perpetual fear could be exploited. And the carnage in Mexico and Central America as well.
Unfortunately, I think this event will cause Joe Biden to double down on drugs yet again and possibly interrupt the slow progress towards sanity.
If Ryan Grim, of HuffPo fame, is correct then Hunter Biden basically had to be doing a Tony Montana at the end of Scarface to test positive.
Too funny. He’s a little bit on the old side to suddenly become a cokehead.
Good thing back in the day that I had just enough sense and nowhere near enough money to indulge in cocaine. It’s a seductive and insidious drug.
He was wrong on those issues, and continues to be wrong on those issues. no need to sugar coat it. He’s right on a bunch of other issues. But long term, his time is nearly over IMHO, and in 2016 he won’t be a factor.
politicians seeing the error of their ways is rare.
I don’t like Joe Biden and you’ve clearly explained why.
I understand he’s sitting at Cheney’s desk, directing foreign policy for the President. His signature is all over it on the Middle East, Iraq and the Ukraine. Aggressive policy with all the necessary gaffes, one heck of a guy.
All that you state about Biden is in line with the cowardice of the times being tough, etc.
Really the thing that blows me away was embrace of the Bankruptcy law changes that made education and health expenses non-dischargeable. Let alone made chapter 7’s very hard to get. They used to say he was Delaware senator from MBNA for a reason.
Also, if you ever research e-toys bankruptcy filing it is a bit of an eye opener when it comes to delaware old boy networks and Joe’s part in it.
Biden had no worry that his kids would get ensnared in the education loan funding trap. Given a choice between losing bankster campaign donations or sticking it to the mostly young and poor, we know which way Joe went. But Democrats overlook/rationalize that as much as they do all the crap that Bill Clinton advocated for and signed into law.
Maybe the coke was part of Hunter’s compensation package with the Ukrainian Kolomoyskyi kleptocrat. IMHO, that association should be deeply concerning to USians. The cocaine — pfft.
Still on that Putin kick?
Have to steal this from brooklybadboy
Recall that Ron Klain was Biden’s chief of staff and instrumental in the Solyndra POS deal.
FWIW — weighed in a few days ago as to what/who is needed to lead the federal public response to Ebola. Therefore, my comment on Ron Klain isn’t “Monday morning quarterbacking.”
Of course it’s not about substance, there would have been better choices. It’s just appearances and next month’s elections. Benghazi has gone away, ebola, ISIS and Putin are here to stay … media wise I mean.
○ Poll shows Obama approval low, GOP enthusiasm higher than Democrats’
○ Ron Klain Admits 2000 Election Still Hurts: ‘I’ll Never Be Over It’
Well, I think you’ll concede that it’s a marginal improvement over all the people who were anti-Gore because of his wife’s fixation on rap lyrics.
Marginal.
I fully support the steroid hearings and sort of support the RICO concept but not anything else.
If MLB doesn’t mind players pumped up on steroids and fans (paying customers) are cool with it, I don’t care. Where I would draw the line is any use by child athletes in school or professional games. Adults are free to do to themselves any darn fool thing they want as long as it doesn’t hurt or endanger others.
This fan is not. Fucking. Cool. With. It.
And if most fans are like you and refused to be MLB customers unless the MLB banned steroids and enforced the ban, the MLB would fix its product. It is, after all, a business.
Couldn’t agree more with you!
ssl
Am I the only one who sees a parallel with G.H.W. Bush and G.W. Bush?
Nice article …
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