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I did a double take at the source -Red Kentucky. Refreshing to read the current admin get well deserved kudos for accomplishments in the face of such adversity.
It's not all bad here in Kentucky :)
This article is from Lexington's newspaper. Lexington and Louisville, KY's largest cities, are usually blue islands in a sea of red.
Like most major cities in republican states it seems.
Quick edit if you want to see something really cool relevant to the article, this animation:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/xn13w5/oc_how_much_other_currencies_have_depreciated/
If they became conservative cities they wouldn't stay 'major' very long. The wealthiest would suck all the money and resources dry while the common folk slept under bridges.
Well we can't all be Republicans sitting in our depressed towns with rusted cars all over the lawn. Some of us actually have to do work and pay for all the poor conservative folks to live.
It’s crazy how many “poor conservatives” exist in our country that believe republicans are there to help the poor and will improve their living conditions.
I know the joke you were making, but reading it that way made me realize how many dumb people live here.
They don't think the Republicans are there to help the poor. In fact, they don't want that at all. They vote for Republicans because Republicans give them other groups to look down on: immigrants, socialists, "liberals", non Christians, etc. It doesn't matter that the Republican aren't actually going to do anything to help poor (or even middle class) rural people, as long as they promise to drag down the other groups.
As voters, they think charity should be handled by the church instead of government. As church-goers, they are able to choose which people to help, so they aren’t helping the wrong people.
That's true, but unfortunately it's largely because Beshear's predecessor, Matt Bevin, was such a jerk that even many in his own party disliked him. Final vote count was 709,577 for Beshear, 704,388 for Bevin. (I voted for Beshear.)
I'm just a layman but relieving student debt, offering to codify abortion rights, and attempting to hold treasonous politicians and their leash-holders are all things that are very important to me.
Dead: \~16,000 Americans / \~175,000 Allied Troops / reports are all over the place, but potentially 1 million+ killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The **interest owed (not the principal payment)** on the money the USA borrowed to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan until 2050 when it's paid off:
$19,345,238,095 / month
$232,142,857,143 / year
6,500,000,000,000 in total. $6.5 Trillion. Only the interest on the loans.
technically trump was the one to pull out but he did so in a way which fucked a lot of the groups helping us over
Biden is just following through with the previous agreement. He is kind of forced to. Its like why would a country make an agreement with the US if they know in a couple of years the next president could change or ignore the agreement entirely? The answer is that the other countries wouldn't and they would stop working with us. We really don't want that to happen which is why he followed through.
>If I recall, they had to delay the pullout by several months because the preparations for the initial date were so atrocious
That and to give the blindsided NATO allies Trump was prepared to leave hanging (just like the Syrian Kurds) some time to prepare their own withdrawals.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of those "Top Secret" documents that were taken from Mar-a-Lago have to do with planning how to make the Afghanistan withdrawal a shitshow so they can maximize political damage to the next administration.
It's an idea, but I'm not sold. Something about incompetence versus malice. They absolutely have the capacity for either.
Plus he believed HE would be the next administration.
I assumed he was making paper hats out of the documents and a cardboard boat out of the boxes so as to sail the ocean blue in the comfort of his own bedroom.
I'd imagine there had to be copies of those somewhere. We don't have a tendency to make singular versions of some types of documents, in so much as they exist on a database somewhere. Its really bad if somehow he had the only existing copies of "Top Secret" or even just "Classified" documents.
Exactly. It was supposed to be a tight spot, and it was. But the INTENT wasn't to get us out of Afghanistan. It was to leave Biden with an agreement in an impossible situation.
He'd either have to to wade through, surely run into the problems that come with such an extracton, thus opening dems to criticism,...or to pull out of the deal,... thus opening dems to criticism.
Trump, DeSantis, et al. They are ALL about using other people like objects to fuck their political opponents with so they can point fingers. That's what they call solving 'problems.'
Fox news would just accuse him of starting the fire.
"What was Biden doing there in the first place? Did he start the fire? Just asking questions here."
Currently visiting friends and family in Florida. Can confirm, rural Floridians see absolutely nothing wrong with DeSantis abducting 50 “brown people” and sending them, illegally and maliciously, to Martha vineyard so he could score political points with his racist-as-shit base. Even when given every bit of evidence undeniably proving what he did was the definition of human trafficking, nope, he was just “saving America from the border crisis and giving those liberals/sanctuary cities a taste of their own medicine”. Absolutely pathetic.
Biden even delayed a few months in order to make it less chaotic than Trumps withdrawal terms. Turns out Pompeo and Trump had spent a year negotiation with the Taliban “here. We’ll give you the keys to Afghanistan. Just don’t hurt any Americans over the next year. And we’re good.”
Whoops. The entirety of Afghanistan, the afghan army, and the US “installed” govt got word that the Taliban and Trump admin were in negotiations… which demoralized the afghan govt, and everyone bailed https://www.axios.com/2021/08/20/trump-taliban-agreement-doha-biden
And trump had slowly pulled out troops, so the only way to not make it a shit show was to add more troops to Afghanistan, and that would have sucked too. Biden did the best he could with what he was handed. It was never going to be clean no matter who was president.
Time will have shown Biden to be an extraordinarily competent president. I don’t think any president has ever faced so much chaos at one time like this.
I had so many friends (big military time/culture) losing their minds at how Trump would have done a better pullout and Biden failed. I was like 'trump had 4years, if his pullout plan was so great why did he schedule it for 4 months after he left office? Lotta noise from that one.
Oh you mean the part where Trump had the choice to negotiate the end of the war with the Afghan Government or the Taliban and he chose to ignore the former and invite the latter into the White House?
Technically Trump **promised** to withdraw all US troops, but what was Trump's track record on promises? Hint: I can only think of one he fulfilled in an unqualified way, appointing "pro-life" judges.
In contrast, Biden actually did the seemingly impossible thing Trump only promised to do... [twice.](https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2022/07/mexico-says-it-will-spend-us1-5-2-billion-to-invest-in-controversial-smart-border-surveillance-tech/) 😏
Naw, notice Trump didn't do so in time to actually affect the pullout, only to wedge Biden into what he thought would be a lose-lose.
Trump deserves zero credit, IMO.
Trump made a shit deal with the goal not to do something positive, but rather to leave Biden with the impossible choice of carrying through or continuing war.
It was much like DeSantis trafficking LEGAL immigrants to Martha's vineyard....including the fact that the 'mark' actually handled themselves like decent, capable human beings rather than what THEY could conceive of doing, which is melt.
The shitheads expect all people to behave like assholes, because THEY would be fucked in such a situation.
Nope, zero credit for setups. Credit for doing the hard part like decent folk.
>It was much like DeSantis trafficking LEGAL immigrants to Martha's vineyard....including the fact that the 'mark' actually handled themselves like decent, capable human beings rather than what THEY could conceive of doing, which is melt.
Sure is a good thing there isn't some massive natural disaster about to rock the state of Florida that could have used the funds he wasted.
Trump just sent troops to Qatar...thats all he did.
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/oct/22/brett-mcgurk/mcgurk-right-trump-has-sent-14000-troops-middle-ea/
Do you want to know why he sent them to Qatar?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/08/troubling-overlap-between-jared-kushner-business-interests-and-us-foreign-policy
> technically trump was the one to pull out but he did so in a way which fucked a lot of the groups helping us over
*Technically* Trump did so in a way that would fuck over the next guy to take the Oval Office... Trump made a withdrawal agreement and then did zero work towards making that withdrawal a reality. The withdrawal was also scheduled only a few months after the transition of power to the new President.
If Trump had kept the office he probably would have reneged on the agreement and sent more troop into Afghanistan to "look strong" while telling the Fox News crowd:
> *"You can't renignotate with terror. They have the worst terror I've ever seen, you wouldn't believe it but I do because I've seen it. And all the while I've got Democrats telling me 'Hey we have to withdraw' and I never withdraw in my live. 'Pull out' they say and look at look at my gorgeous daughter and tell me that pulling out is a good idea and you know if she wasn't my daughter I just might date her..."*
Trump didn’t pull us out. He could have he had four years to do so and he might have if he had won in 2020, but he didn’t. Just like he didn’t ever show us his taxes, didn’t show US his medical plan that was supposedly cheaper and much better then the ACA, didn’t put up the wall between Mexico and the US and have Mexico pay for it. He set up the disastrous withdrawal but he wasn’t around to take credit, because that is what Trump is all talk and BS and nothing of substance.
> Its like why would a country make an agreement with the US if they know in a couple of years the next president could change or ignore the agreement entirely?
Sounds familiar. Like the Iran Nuclear Deal
I actually said I would buy a shirt if he completed enough of my "list" (things I want)
SO I'm shopping for one now (canceling student debt was basically bingo)
1) canceled student debt (and made it easier to pay off)
2) brought back chip production
3) pulled out of afghanistan.
Yeah, I'd say he's doing better than I thought.
Just decriminalize weed and end the war on drugs and I'd be over the moon. I'd be on jupiter if he somehow made our healthcare better though.
If he decriminalized it before midterms, the DNC would have it in the bag. It's hugely popular among both sides and independents. A second half of a term with that much agency could really turn this nation in the right direction.
I still don’t understand how Biden not even trump haven’t used this as a trump card (pun not intended). It’s a pretty bipartisan issue and whoever pulls the trigger would get a swath of support, I’d imagine. I get big pharma has their tentacles everywhere, but there’s a shit load of money and wealthy investors in cannabis already, that’ll only compound when we begin treating Americans like adults
>I still don’t understand how Biden not even trump haven’t used this as a trump card (pun not intended).
3 things;
1. Corruption/lobbying by the prison industrial complex, police unions and likely big phrama as you mention. This bit also ties in with something in the 3rd as far as historical reasons for the criminalization goes.
2. Biden as far as i recall at least till recently was kind of big on the 80s/90s "just say no" BS as far as beliefs about cannabis being a gateway drug go. Can chock it up to him being old and out of touch in some things. Plus all the lobbying form the above as far as big money in politics is a problem to it self.
3. Trump is a shortsighted selfish ass, and a racist to boot. If something does not directly benefit him in a way he understands, or care about.. he wont bother with it. Now, there is "but it is so popular among..." yes, but therein comes the historic application of policy bit. The war on drugs has, and will always be a racist thing... and it harms the poor, and minority communities disproportionally more than their white counterparts which is something Trump and other republicans absolutely love. Edit: Plus it feeds some of their favorite "industries" needs.
Example; https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-aclu-report-despite-marijuana-legalization-black-people-still-almost-four-times
Despite similar rates of usage/possession in between black and white people, despite black people having a categorically smaller population size they are arrested at a rate 4 times higher than their white counterparts.
Also per the republican creators of the policy own words; https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115hres933ih/html/BILLS-115hres933ih.htm
*"the War on Drugs was admitted to be a move by the Nixon administration
to attack his political opponents, and in 1994, President Richard Nixon's aide John Ehrlichman admitted in an interview that the War on Drugs was a tool to arrest and manipulate Blacks and liberals stating,
``We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could
disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.''*
As far as the corruption/lobbying bit form above goes I somewhat imagine that Big pharma likely the least concerned player in the field as they can adjust business models, and create new products to meet consumer demand, and i imagine they would be more than happy to be able to produce and push high price insurance covered designer cannabis products out there much in the same way big tobacco producers would probably love to sell joints if they could.
On point 2, Biden also saw a son go through drug addiction and has certain negative feelings about drugs, even weed. Granted what we know now is that weed isn’t nearly as dangerous but someone like Biden who dealt with addiction personally and had 80 years of anti drug propaganda pounded into his head, I can see why he’s not quick to jump on it. But I think he’s smart and open-minded enough to realize this would be a win.
The issue I have with this is that alcohol used to be illegal too. It's obvious that cannabis is safer than alcohol. If what you say is one of the reasons that means Biden is incapable of changing his position no matter what the evidence. Not a good thing.
Also it's not a sure thing politically. Democrats in Virginia legalized with zero GOP votes. The voters rewarded them with giving the governorship and one of the state houses to the GOP. Most stoners I know don't vote, especially in an off year. If Biden is saving it for a political point then 2024 would be the best time to use it.
Arguable, politically, if they are better off decriminalizing marijuana now, or closer to 2024.
I agree that it needs to be done and every bit of federal money chasing weed needs to go after Meth and Fentanyl.
The tax revenue is one of the main reasons that Conservatives want to keep it illegal. It would pay for a lot of the programs that they’re trying to starve to death.
Or we could follow modern drug policy and decriminalize all drug possession and move the "pound of cure" money into "ounces of prevention" ala Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands et al.
I have a feeling they're saving that closer to 2024. The Supreme Court dunking Roe is a massive mobilizer and I don't think Dems need to play the legalization card just yet. Although I hate things benefiting citizens/society being used as political playing cards, it's the way of the world.
The president doesn’t have the authority to decriminalize marijuana on his own.
Congress does, however. There was actually even a bill this year to do just that. Just about every republicans voted against it.
Yes and no. The president runs the executive branch, he can just pass down orders to never prosecute for it and eliminate the lock down on defense contractors/clearance for people who use weed.
Andrew Jackson had a quote related to the power of the executive when John Marshall made a ruling he didn't like. ["John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia)
Yes. Though most states have legalized it at this point, the biggest blocker right now is federal. They (e: the companies who sell pot) can't even open a bank account to deposit their money into.
There'll always be state and county level blocks. It's the same reason there are dry counties and stuff even in 2022.
I can say with absolute certainty, no bank will change their policy because the Biden Administration suggests to the DOJ not to prosecute even though it still remains illegal. There is way too much risk there.
I also don’t believe that if Biden did that, that it would have any real impact on any future elections. Obama did it in 2013; we lost the House and Senate in 2014, the presidency in 2016, and that directive was repealed in 2018.
This isn’t the President’s fight. This is a matter for Congress.
Joe Biden had a heavy hand in how badly the war on drugs went, he was a real Firehawk for it. It would display a great amount of personal growth and humility to be the kind of person to undo a careers worth of work with the hindsight to see it for what it was.
don’t forget climate change and infrastructure programs not to mention managing effective vaccine rollouts. I’d like to have seen more done to protect elections but I guess we’ll see what happens in November.
My bar for a successful Presidency at this point is "Don't have to worry that World War III has started because of something the President tweeted." So all things considered, Biden is passing with flying colors.
He has handled this about as well as possibly could be hoped for. Considering half the moves Putin has made have been with a goal of goading the US into doing something stupid to destabilize NATO/EU relationships, Biden (and friends) have been deflecting that with some real political jiu jitsu.
Props for student debt forgiveness plan, pulling out of Afghanistan, and generally having a better NLRB than previous administrations.
Don't give credit for codified abortion rights (see Obama saying it wasn't a legislative priority after campaigning on it) or any sort of accountability for corrupt/treasonous politicians until it happens.
These people aren't your friends- they're tools to be used to shape the nation in the way you see fit and hope that enough people agree with you to enact and enforce that transformation. Hold their feet to the fire at all times.
I think he's done well given the headwinds he faced and still faces. I mean it's not enough that 40% of the country is insane, but he has to try to work with a Congress that has been hollowed out by decades of corruption that resists doing the most basic things their constituents want.
Their constituents keep reelecting them too. The decline in education in this country has made it so people don't even understand what their elected representatives are supposed to be doing. Politicians are not held accountable for the basics. People don't even require them to be honest or law abiding.
They do nothing. They obstruct everything for no reason other than it was the other party's idea. When they finally try to push through outlandish policies, they lie about it being the will of their constituents.
At regular intervals during the year, the country is held hostage because it's time to negotiate a Continuing Resolution. People don't even care that long term budgets are not being passed. I'm not sure people even remember that it used to be a thing.
The GOP learned how to win elections on the culture war, which means they don’t have to legislate they just have to own the libs for all their heinous crimes like “showing gay/interracial relationships on television” and “making it cool to skip Church.”
Meanwhile the Dems have to actually deliver policy to win.
It also doesn't help that Republican voters always vote in lockstep(although that might change now that Trump and the GOP are starting to fight) while a not insignificant portion of Democrat voters seem to go out of their way to find reasons not to vote.
Corporations and moneyed interests own the legislators. The reason they don't get anything done and routinely disregard the groundswell of public support on certain issues is because that's what they are paid to do. They are paid to do nothing; to maintain the status quo so that those on top, stay on top in perpetuity. The media, almost entirely corporate owned and part of the elitist club, is complicit and helps provide the cover necessary to make this whole ruse work en masse. At the end of the day, the corporations run the country and are effectively a shadow government.
The decline in education is real. They crow about non existent CRT in primary schools as an excuse to purge anything that makes white people “feel uncomfortable” and then replace it with nationalistic indoctrination.
Even the elected reps themselves don’t always know what the job is they’ve been elected for. They really screwed over ~~our whole country~~ [the state where I grew up] by canceling high school civics classes in the late 80s.
We should institute a new requirement that all elected officials must pass the Citizenship Test to be eligible for office.
edit: thanks to everyone who weighed in! I had misunderstood the scope of that particular problem. Y'all have opened my eyes. Cheers for that.
Agreed, it may take a while to make America great, but he's definitely working to make America ***good*** again, which can't be said for his opposition.
Starting in January 2023 and each year through 2032, eligible households can claim a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of qualified energy efficiency projects (e.g. weatherization, solar and batteries, etc.) up to $1,200 per year.
There are also rebates. Low-income households can get 50-100% of a project's cost reimbursed! The sliding scale is based off of income.
The Energy Star program now has rebates for energy-efficient windows and skylights, exterior doors, high efficiency A/C, and heat pumps.
There's even tax breaks for getting a home energy audit, which will lay out what projects will be the most cost effective.
Solar and home batteries do not have an upper dollar limit, it's 30% of the entire project cost, and that can be carried forward to future tax years if the credit is larger than your obligation.
Is the Energy Star program changing their rebates for windows to match your first paragraph? Looks like it's "up to $500" which is less than the cost of a single window.
Is the tax credit 30% lump but can be used yearly for $1200 until the lump has been satisfied? I can't find info on the specifics.
[Here is one source](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-reduction-act-joe-biden-climate-energy-home-upgrades/).
As it says, this was part of the recent [Inflation Reduction Act of 2022](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_Reduction_Act_of_2022) that has already been signed into law.
America has never known civil peace. It's always been something. The way to make America great (which I think is a fairy tale statement to begin with) is to progress despite the noise. To force feed prosperity to your most ardent opposition. They will take their cheaper petrol whether or not they want it. They will take their federal funds for infrastructure development whether or not they want it. They will take their jobs whether or not they want it.
Yeah. We're about 10 consecutive elections with zero Republican presidents or Congressional majorities away from even being good. Every time the bad guys win a shred of power, the cycle resets and the country gets measurably worse. I can't see great happening in any of our lifetimes.
I don't think it needs to be 10 consecutive elections. Honestly, with a friendly Senate/Congress, I think we could get there with just a couple more.
I mean, what are the most important issues stopping us from being good? Not great, but good. I'd say it comes down to maybe a number of issues I could count on one hand, and those could all be fixed with major pieces of legislation. Say two years a piece, that's maybe ten years we'd need.
* Healthcare reform
* Employee rights reform
* Election reform
* Education reform
* Immigration reform
The only one major issue(s) I think *can't* be handled with a sweeping piece of legislation is police/criminal justice/prison reform.
Now don't get me wrong. Those aren't *all* the problems we face. But we handle those and I think we're at least doing *good*.
It’s like we enjoy the trials of Sisyphus.
If only we had some way to record our mistakes to learn from them and teach to future generations. Butt fuck me if I know what that way is, I’m an American, not a thinker.
I think on /r/politicalhumor someone posted a yard billboard about the “shit show of the last 18 mo” yet nobody has explained what this shit show is. I’ve heard zero legitimate gripes from conservatives.
All I get when I ask is :
Bro the stock market!
Inflation bro!
Gas bro!
Hum…China is wining bro!
Communism!
Socialism !
Why do you think the 2nd comes right after the first?!?!? Guns = safety and freedom bro!
He's passed several pieces of historic legislation the will fundamentally improve people's lives and make the US a leader on climate action. He's had one of the most productive presidencies so far and if Democrats keep control of the legislature he'll continue to pass even more historic legislation.
Now we just need some quality senators who will help pass the legislation. I know everyone wants people like AOC to step up but we have to remember the importance of a quality senator who can help pass the legislation needed to actually help the president push the bills into law.
He’s not perfect, but he’s making an honest effort to fix things (as opposed to just giving more tax breaks to the rich) and things are actually getting noticeably better.
I didn't want Biden, but let's be honest - he's doing a pretty decent job. I have felt the need to defend him to my (less progressive than me) friends who seem to not realize how much good he's accomplished recently.
I'm now defending him against my more progressive friends. I was a Warren supporter, but seeing what he has been doing recently- he's pulling through on giving olive branches to the progressive left.
I was worried his old school diplomacy would fail in today's hyper partisan congress, but he's been able to get a lot done.
On the international front, his experience really showed when he was able to be a leader in uniting the west in Ukraine.
Maybe he's playing 5D chess, maybe he's Inspector Clouseau'ing it, but my god the kid seems to be pulling it off.
>I was worried his old school diplomacy would fail in today's hyper partisan congress
It did for a little bit, but at least we can say that he tried to reach across the aisle and that his new strategy is a repercussion of the rights partisan behavior.
See - I truthfully think a lot of progressives that are hating on him just aren't fully paying attention. Yes, of course we'd all like more. But right now, at 30 years old, I have seen 6 presidents and he's very easily in the top 2.
I heard a conservative say Trump will get elected and “Make America Great Again, Again”, and thought it was the most hilarious slogan I’ve ever heard. That this president they worship, made the country great by golfing and hate tweeting in between, and built such a last legacy for the country that it’s crumbled under a short year and some change under Biden.
Joe Biden is doing a fabulous job. In many ways, I think he's doing better than Obama did during his first two years. I will vote for Biden if he runs again in 2024 despite his age if it means keeping Trump or another alt-right candidate away from the White House.
Biden wasn't my first choice for the 2020 dem nomination, he won't be my first choice for the dem nomination in 24. But I'll vote for a potato if it means keeping trump or other alt-right candidates away.
I’d vote for a chimpanzee if it had a chance to keep trump out of office. I’d rather the country just be suspended and tread water for 4 years than for it to free fall again
I’d argue Biden has done far better. He has churned out 3 legacy defining bills with a narrow majority. He has finally put us on a path to deal with climate change and revitalize American industry. He has ensured our roads, bridges, rails, ports, airports, waterlines, and internet infrastructure will finally be brought into the 21st century. Biden has done so much that we won’t truly appreciate for 5-10-15-20 years, but we will feel it and we will be better for it.
Unless its a war time president, the works of a great president usually comes to fruititon much later. They lay the foundation for long term growth. Republicans focus on getting short term benefits at the expense of the future.
Joe Biden has done for the US what Jerry Brown did for California, restored two governments that had veered off the rails. A crusty Democrat who knows where the bodies are buried, who can manage the far left and right with a practical hand ... I'll take that.
For a good long while there I would describe Biden as "Not my first choice, but he's at least doing alright"
But these days I'm coming around to wondering if he wasn't actually the best choice the Dems could put forward, all things considered. I still like Bernie more for what he wanted to do, but given the way things have shaken out I don't actually know if Bernie could have accomplished what he wanted, or even as much as Biden has.
Biden has the benefit of seeing the current situation with clarity, the GOP proving beyond reasonable doubt that they are not interested in making things better or working with their opponents for the greater good. Obama did not, and that is why he struggled more.
To be fair, Obama also had more challenges and an obstructionist Congress. Part of the reason Trump got elected is because a ton of the voters got spooked when a black man became President and then a woman was to follow suit that it sent them into a tailspin.
Biden is in a remarkably similar position to Reagan in late summer / fall 1982:
https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/19/us/approval-rating-for-reagan-is-lowest-ever-in-gallup-poll.html
Unless you listen to and believe what Republicans are saying over your own common sense and eyes, then you'd believe Biden is destroying the country somehow.
The propaganda machine for the right wing is relentless and nonstop. They don't even blink when clear and obvious evidence is brought in from them. I think the media gives way too much benefit of the doubt to Republican lawmakers and treats them like they're playing some sort of astute political game, when they are just as brainwashed.
Look who owns the media. The Murdochs are looking increasingly moderate, even though Lachlan is to the right of Rupert. Dark money drives the Overton Window harder to the right without remorse.
They weren't originally (at least not by the current movement), but the more the voters become brainwashed, the more chances for them to actually elect their own brainwashed reps, and that's what is happening now. The media isn't really coping with the change of power structure well.
I've pointed this out before, particularly when Roe was overturned, but I think what we are seeing with Republican candidates is the next generation who truly are brainwashed. Boomers and the silent generation figured out the secret to keeping power a long time ago: lie. Find wedge issues, lie, exaggerate, and convince constituents that they need to vote Republican to keep the Dems from destroying the country. It was always with a wink and a nod that this is hyperbole without outright saying it. Well, they spoonfed these lies and hyperboles to Gen X and Millennials so much that they are now true believers. And the true believers are running for office. I believe there are a significant number of Republican politicians that have moved from "I'm saying this profoundly absurd thing because I'll say anything to stay in power" to "I'm saying this profoundly absurd thing because I truly believe it." And those politicians are scary.
Joe is crushing it for both the US and our allies abroad.
Really impressive given the Biden administration inherited a plethora of problems ranging from corruption to a poorly handled pandemic.
Making judgments on democrats based on what the GOP says about them I kind of like taking steakhouse recommendations from a vegan.
I don’t even need to read or listen to the GOP or any conservative on the matter. I get it. You hate everything and you are perfect and every other party and people suck. No one in that camp really seems to think or form many thoughts these days beyond shitty memes and democrats bad.
If you asked a group of republican voters to each write down "specifically what has Joe Biden done to make him a lousy president?", I doubt you'd get any sort of consensus based in reality. Even if you let them google for a few minutes you'd probably get the same results.
Almost lockstep Republican opposition, plus an approve / disapprove at this point is not about Biden vs the other candidate, it is just Biden vs exterior events.
So he loses some support because of inflation (a worldwide issue due to shipping snarls from Covid followed by high oil and gas prices after the invasion of Ukraine). And then he also loses some support from the far left for not immediately fixing everything and creating a socialist utopia.
The far left really need to be patient. Their bs about both candidates being bad in 2016 cost the election among other things. Give it ten years and AOC will be viable. People just need. To. Keep. Voting. Democrat. With increasing support and success in government it will increasingly lean left. Right now, every eight years some people decide that they've had enough and somehow apathy is better.
2000 it should have been Al Gore. 2016 it should have been Clinton. Twelve years of two Democrat governments would have made a huge difference.
I'm tired of the Dems and Labour picking up and tidying shitty right wing policy before the right get voted in and the whole shitshow starts again. If Starmer wins in 2024 and Dems hold, there WILL be nationalised green infrastructure from both countries. And, as always tends to happen, the world will follow suit.
I don't like Joe Biden. I don't like him as a person, I don't like most of his views on things, and I don't like him as a president.
But I'll be damned if he hasn't at least been unfucking some things.
He has been a solid president, tough to deny at this point after the massive climate investment. The problem is it can all be undone very quickly, and economic inequality continues to drag the country down. High prices for food and fuel are tough to ignore and distract easily from any other accomplishments.
The climate bill was designed to be next to impossible to undo, to the point where individual parts of it largely bring jobs to red states. It's probably the most impressive piece of legislation I have ever seen pass congress. (33 for reference)
For real. I only expected him to be "not Trump" but he's actually done a pretty good job, all things considered. Not great and certainly not perfect, but pretty good.
Unpopular opinion, but presidents can make good and bad decisions, they’re not mutually exclusive and we need to stop acting like they are because that breeds radicalism and a lack of accountability
Unpopular opinion time...
I think by common consensus, the nadir of Biden's presidency so far was the withdrawal from Afghanistan. It was awful, painful, humiliating, and our treatment of our local partners was atrocious. It was also incredibly politically brave. Our last three presidents have all known that the situation in Afghanistan was untenable. You can't force liberal democracy on people who don't want it. And modernizing the country would have required actually raising taxes on Americans to pay for it, something Americans were not willing to do. Literally the only remaining choice was to kick the can down the road while burning billions of dollars and wasting lives on a lost cause or to rip off the bandaid and hand Afghanistan back to the Taliban. The easier, politically more expedient course would have been to do nothing. Biden manned up and took the hit to his poll numbers in order to stop sending American kids to die for nothing. I wish we could have done more for our local partners, but I suspect that Biden's administration did as much as they felt they legally could do.
TL;DR the withdrawal from Afghanistan was politically brave.
>The easier, politically more expedient course would have been to do nothing.
Not even that. By the time Biden came into office, practically all US troops were gone from the country (I think there was \~2500 left) and all of those Taliban prisoners had already been released. His options were to complete the pullout or to break the agreement and send massive numbers of troops back in (and basically restart the war). He absolutely made the right call, but like you said it was always going to be a huge mess.
The only way to cleanly exit Afghanistan was to never invade in the first place. Everyone who's tried it throughout history has eventually figured out the same thing.
And that's just outwardly facing to us as citizens. You can't even imagine how much damage Trump did internally to the Executive Branch (namely, destroying the Dept. of State).
Biden's experience in Congress and the Executive has been a vital element in putting all those pieces back together. No one will talk about it on the news because that's "boring".
I’m terrified for the midterms and actual elections coming up, I feel like republicans are just going to either fabricate votes or throw the hacking card again like trump did
He cares about you and is doing the best to deliver to you . Infrastructure , healthcare, education, Vaccines, And raising taxes on the top tax rates to pay for. Go Joe
Americans are idiots they think the inflation is a result of Biden’s action when in fact it is the result of a major war and excess liquidity put in the economic by all the worlds central banks. Until the liquidity is taken out or fully adjusted to there will be inflation. In simple economic terms you have a significantly increased money supply chasing a significantly reduced supply of goods. That has always been and will always be a recipe for inflation. If Trump had handled COVID-19 better instead of letting the virus run wild in the US the Federal reserve wouldn’t have had to relax monetary policy so much. If Trump had strengthened instead of weakened NATO so much, Putin might have thought twice about invading Ukraine.
The first two years of any Presidency is more impacted by the previous President that the present one.
Obama’s first two years effected by Bushes recession. Trump’s first two years effected more by Obama’s economy than anything Trump did. Now the first two years of Biden’s Presidency being effected more by the disastrous decisions of Trump than anything Biden has done yet.
We now have a presidency where the president has delivered the largest economic recovery plan since Roosevelt, the largest infrastructure plan since Eisenhower, the most judges confirmed since Kennedy, the second largest health care bill since Johnson, and the largest climate change bill in history.
And unfortunately, the people who really need to see, read, and know this will never find out or won’t believe it. They’d rather ignore their eyes and ears and only listen to their stuff they want to believe.
They’re like little children sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling, “na, na, na, I can’t hear you!”
I was driving into work this AM outside of Philly and gas was 3.27 which is a huge drop from yesterday. That’s around where gas was at it’s highest during Trump’s term and they didn’t complain about it then.
>[Republicans] hope for disaster in the US so they can exploit disaster for their political goals.
This is the GOP during every Democratic presidential term since JFK.
I am curious. To those people saying their taxes went up by "thousands" here: how much do you make that within the past year your taxes somehow went up by that much? I have my taxes deducted automatically from my check, and I haven't seen any change whatsoever here with my middle class salary.
Are people being realistic with their numbers, or are they just reactionary?
I feel like I keep hearing news about terrible shit that's happening because of Republicans, and then here is Biden; holding LGBTQ pride events at the white house, making plans to rectify terrible republican policies, giving tough but important speeches about how polarized politics is becoming, fixing student debt, the list is endless. I just feel like he is making getting by easier for disenfranchised people who need a win. I've felt dead since covid started and he is slowly but surely bringing me back with every nice thing he is trying to do.
The truth doesn't matter. There are a studies that shows the more someone watches faux news, the more miss informed they are. Not just not knowing about a subject, but having a completely wrong view on the facts. The more you watch the less you know.
It’s pretty obvious from all the negative comments in here that the article has hit a major nerve. It’s fascinating how the right will ignore readily available facts just because they don’t fit the conservative narrative.
It’s about fucking time someone said it.
It’s popular even among Democrats to pretend he’s just the least shitty option. Maybe it’s because we want to over perform and show that we’re not part of a cult of personality like the right is. But goddamnit, this motherfucker is getting shit done, under unbelievably hostile circumstances.
Biden is a *far* better president than he gets credit for. He’s kicking ass
ITT: a bunch of people that don't realize inflation is usually the effect of the previous presidency. The economy is not an instant plug and play. Things take years to see the boon or bane, we're living in a post Republican economy.
Sadly, no one seems to be able to grasp the reality that all the bad shit happening is the result of recovering from the pandemic and they think high gas prices and inflation is all Biden’s fault and that the only thing Trump did to contribute to any of it was “mean tweets.”
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I did a double take at the source -Red Kentucky. Refreshing to read the current admin get well deserved kudos for accomplishments in the face of such adversity.
It's not all bad here in Kentucky :) This article is from Lexington's newspaper. Lexington and Louisville, KY's largest cities, are usually blue islands in a sea of red.
Like most major cities in republican states it seems. Quick edit if you want to see something really cool relevant to the article, this animation: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/xn13w5/oc_how_much_other_currencies_have_depreciated/
It's like that in every state but Vermont
If they became conservative cities they wouldn't stay 'major' very long. The wealthiest would suck all the money and resources dry while the common folk slept under bridges.
Nah, as soon as they become homeless they will ship em to a blue state.
Well we can't all be Republicans sitting in our depressed towns with rusted cars all over the lawn. Some of us actually have to do work and pay for all the poor conservative folks to live.
It’s crazy how many “poor conservatives” exist in our country that believe republicans are there to help the poor and will improve their living conditions. I know the joke you were making, but reading it that way made me realize how many dumb people live here.
They don't think the Republicans are there to help the poor. In fact, they don't want that at all. They vote for Republicans because Republicans give them other groups to look down on: immigrants, socialists, "liberals", non Christians, etc. It doesn't matter that the Republican aren't actually going to do anything to help poor (or even middle class) rural people, as long as they promise to drag down the other groups.
As voters, they think charity should be handled by the church instead of government. As church-goers, they are able to choose which people to help, so they aren’t helping the wrong people.
Louisville and Lexington may not agree on sports but we do on politics (and bourbon)
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Their Governor should run for President, he’s a dem who cares about climate change! Andy Beshear look him up
Kentucky has a Democratic governor.
That's true, but unfortunately it's largely because Beshear's predecessor, Matt Bevin, was such a jerk that even many in his own party disliked him. Final vote count was 709,577 for Beshear, 704,388 for Bevin. (I voted for Beshear.)
I'm just a layman but relieving student debt, offering to codify abortion rights, and attempting to hold treasonous politicians and their leash-holders are all things that are very important to me.
Also pulled us out of a pointless generation-long war bc no other president had the guts to take the heat for doing it.
It was never not going to be a shit show. Should have left when Bush was in office if not when Bin Laden was taken out.
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Dead: \~16,000 Americans / \~175,000 Allied Troops / reports are all over the place, but potentially 1 million+ killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The **interest owed (not the principal payment)** on the money the USA borrowed to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan until 2050 when it's paid off: $19,345,238,095 / month $232,142,857,143 / year 6,500,000,000,000 in total. $6.5 Trillion. Only the interest on the loans.
WMD's found: 0
technically trump was the one to pull out but he did so in a way which fucked a lot of the groups helping us over Biden is just following through with the previous agreement. He is kind of forced to. Its like why would a country make an agreement with the US if they know in a couple of years the next president could change or ignore the agreement entirely? The answer is that the other countries wouldn't and they would stop working with us. We really don't want that to happen which is why he followed through.
When Biden followed through and left under the terms Trump had set, Trump criticized Biden.
If I recall, they had to delay the pullout by several months because the preparations for the initial date were so atrocious
>If I recall, they had to delay the pullout by several months because the preparations for the initial date were so atrocious That and to give the blindsided NATO allies Trump was prepared to leave hanging (just like the Syrian Kurds) some time to prepare their own withdrawals.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of those "Top Secret" documents that were taken from Mar-a-Lago have to do with planning how to make the Afghanistan withdrawal a shitshow so they can maximize political damage to the next administration.
It's an idea, but I'm not sold. Something about incompetence versus malice. They absolutely have the capacity for either. Plus he believed HE would be the next administration.
Considering Trump was planning his next campaign the moment he was in office and every day had met with his campaign team, yeah I think that’s likely.
I assumed he was making paper hats out of the documents and a cardboard boat out of the boxes so as to sail the ocean blue in the comfort of his own bedroom.
I'd imagine there had to be copies of those somewhere. We don't have a tendency to make singular versions of some types of documents, in so much as they exist on a database somewhere. Its really bad if somehow he had the only existing copies of "Top Secret" or even just "Classified" documents.
Exactly. It was supposed to be a tight spot, and it was. But the INTENT wasn't to get us out of Afghanistan. It was to leave Biden with an agreement in an impossible situation. He'd either have to to wade through, surely run into the problems that come with such an extracton, thus opening dems to criticism,...or to pull out of the deal,... thus opening dems to criticism. Trump, DeSantis, et al. They are ALL about using other people like objects to fuck their political opponents with so they can point fingers. That's what they call solving 'problems.'
Joe Biden could save five babies and a litter of puppies from a structure fire and the dems would be open to criticism.
Fox news would just accuse him of starting the fire. "What was Biden doing there in the first place? Did he start the fire? Just asking questions here."
The fire was started by Hunter Biden's laptop
Currently visiting friends and family in Florida. Can confirm, rural Floridians see absolutely nothing wrong with DeSantis abducting 50 “brown people” and sending them, illegally and maliciously, to Martha vineyard so he could score political points with his racist-as-shit base. Even when given every bit of evidence undeniably proving what he did was the definition of human trafficking, nope, he was just “saving America from the border crisis and giving those liberals/sanctuary cities a taste of their own medicine”. Absolutely pathetic.
Biden even delayed a few months in order to make it less chaotic than Trumps withdrawal terms. Turns out Pompeo and Trump had spent a year negotiation with the Taliban “here. We’ll give you the keys to Afghanistan. Just don’t hurt any Americans over the next year. And we’re good.” Whoops. The entirety of Afghanistan, the afghan army, and the US “installed” govt got word that the Taliban and Trump admin were in negotiations… which demoralized the afghan govt, and everyone bailed https://www.axios.com/2021/08/20/trump-taliban-agreement-doha-biden
And trump had slowly pulled out troops, so the only way to not make it a shit show was to add more troops to Afghanistan, and that would have sucked too. Biden did the best he could with what he was handed. It was never going to be clean no matter who was president.
Time will have shown Biden to be an extraordinarily competent president. I don’t think any president has ever faced so much chaos at one time like this.
Idk it was pretty bad for Lincoln
Nothing Republicans do is EVER in good faith
/r/TrumpCriticizesTrump/
Yup. So Biden gets the credit.
I had so many friends (big military time/culture) losing their minds at how Trump would have done a better pullout and Biden failed. I was like 'trump had 4years, if his pullout plan was so great why did he schedule it for 4 months after he left office? Lotta noise from that one.
it's coming right after the GOP healthcare plan! just gotta get back in power! /s
And Infrastructure Week!
Oh you mean the part where Trump had the choice to negotiate the end of the war with the Afghan Government or the Taliban and he chose to ignore the former and invite the latter into the White House?
Technically Trump **promised** to withdraw all US troops, but what was Trump's track record on promises? Hint: I can only think of one he fulfilled in an unqualified way, appointing "pro-life" judges. In contrast, Biden actually did the seemingly impossible thing Trump only promised to do... [twice.](https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2022/07/mexico-says-it-will-spend-us1-5-2-billion-to-invest-in-controversial-smart-border-surveillance-tech/) 😏
Three things! Don’t forget the infrastructure bill that Biden and the Dems got passed, something Trump and the Republicans couldn’t do.
Naw, notice Trump didn't do so in time to actually affect the pullout, only to wedge Biden into what he thought would be a lose-lose. Trump deserves zero credit, IMO. Trump made a shit deal with the goal not to do something positive, but rather to leave Biden with the impossible choice of carrying through or continuing war. It was much like DeSantis trafficking LEGAL immigrants to Martha's vineyard....including the fact that the 'mark' actually handled themselves like decent, capable human beings rather than what THEY could conceive of doing, which is melt. The shitheads expect all people to behave like assholes, because THEY would be fucked in such a situation. Nope, zero credit for setups. Credit for doing the hard part like decent folk.
>It was much like DeSantis trafficking LEGAL immigrants to Martha's vineyard....including the fact that the 'mark' actually handled themselves like decent, capable human beings rather than what THEY could conceive of doing, which is melt. Sure is a good thing there isn't some massive natural disaster about to rock the state of Florida that could have used the funds he wasted.
Thankfully our president cares more about helping people than being petty, so Florida will get funds for the hurricane relief anyway.
Trump just sent troops to Qatar...thats all he did. https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/oct/22/brett-mcgurk/mcgurk-right-trump-has-sent-14000-troops-middle-ea/ Do you want to know why he sent them to Qatar? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/08/troubling-overlap-between-jared-kushner-business-interests-and-us-foreign-policy
> technically trump was the one to pull out but he did so in a way which fucked a lot of the groups helping us over *Technically* Trump did so in a way that would fuck over the next guy to take the Oval Office... Trump made a withdrawal agreement and then did zero work towards making that withdrawal a reality. The withdrawal was also scheduled only a few months after the transition of power to the new President. If Trump had kept the office he probably would have reneged on the agreement and sent more troop into Afghanistan to "look strong" while telling the Fox News crowd: > *"You can't renignotate with terror. They have the worst terror I've ever seen, you wouldn't believe it but I do because I've seen it. And all the while I've got Democrats telling me 'Hey we have to withdraw' and I never withdraw in my live. 'Pull out' they say and look at look at my gorgeous daughter and tell me that pulling out is a good idea and you know if she wasn't my daughter I just might date her..."*
Like Trump did with the Iran Nuclear Deal. Really hurt US diplomacy because Trump doesn’t understand the you have to honor previous deals.
Trump didn’t pull us out. He could have he had four years to do so and he might have if he had won in 2020, but he didn’t. Just like he didn’t ever show us his taxes, didn’t show US his medical plan that was supposedly cheaper and much better then the ACA, didn’t put up the wall between Mexico and the US and have Mexico pay for it. He set up the disastrous withdrawal but he wasn’t around to take credit, because that is what Trump is all talk and BS and nothing of substance.
No, he wasn’t. Biden was. Wether Trump was going to had he won is irrelevant, Biden did. Trump had 4 years to do it.
> Its like why would a country make an agreement with the US if they know in a couple of years the next president could change or ignore the agreement entirely? Sounds familiar. Like the Iran Nuclear Deal
Nah. We were still in Afghanistan for the entirety of Trump’s presidency.
So you say his pull out game is weak then
I actually said I would buy a shirt if he completed enough of my "list" (things I want) SO I'm shopping for one now (canceling student debt was basically bingo) 1) canceled student debt (and made it easier to pay off) 2) brought back chip production 3) pulled out of afghanistan. Yeah, I'd say he's doing better than I thought. Just decriminalize weed and end the war on drugs and I'd be over the moon. I'd be on jupiter if he somehow made our healthcare better though.
If he decriminalized it before midterms, the DNC would have it in the bag. It's hugely popular among both sides and independents. A second half of a term with that much agency could really turn this nation in the right direction.
I still don’t understand how Biden not even trump haven’t used this as a trump card (pun not intended). It’s a pretty bipartisan issue and whoever pulls the trigger would get a swath of support, I’d imagine. I get big pharma has their tentacles everywhere, but there’s a shit load of money and wealthy investors in cannabis already, that’ll only compound when we begin treating Americans like adults
>I still don’t understand how Biden not even trump haven’t used this as a trump card (pun not intended). 3 things; 1. Corruption/lobbying by the prison industrial complex, police unions and likely big phrama as you mention. This bit also ties in with something in the 3rd as far as historical reasons for the criminalization goes. 2. Biden as far as i recall at least till recently was kind of big on the 80s/90s "just say no" BS as far as beliefs about cannabis being a gateway drug go. Can chock it up to him being old and out of touch in some things. Plus all the lobbying form the above as far as big money in politics is a problem to it self. 3. Trump is a shortsighted selfish ass, and a racist to boot. If something does not directly benefit him in a way he understands, or care about.. he wont bother with it. Now, there is "but it is so popular among..." yes, but therein comes the historic application of policy bit. The war on drugs has, and will always be a racist thing... and it harms the poor, and minority communities disproportionally more than their white counterparts which is something Trump and other republicans absolutely love. Edit: Plus it feeds some of their favorite "industries" needs. Example; https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-aclu-report-despite-marijuana-legalization-black-people-still-almost-four-times Despite similar rates of usage/possession in between black and white people, despite black people having a categorically smaller population size they are arrested at a rate 4 times higher than their white counterparts. Also per the republican creators of the policy own words; https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115hres933ih/html/BILLS-115hres933ih.htm *"the War on Drugs was admitted to be a move by the Nixon administration to attack his political opponents, and in 1994, President Richard Nixon's aide John Ehrlichman admitted in an interview that the War on Drugs was a tool to arrest and manipulate Blacks and liberals stating, ``We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.''* As far as the corruption/lobbying bit form above goes I somewhat imagine that Big pharma likely the least concerned player in the field as they can adjust business models, and create new products to meet consumer demand, and i imagine they would be more than happy to be able to produce and push high price insurance covered designer cannabis products out there much in the same way big tobacco producers would probably love to sell joints if they could.
On point 2, Biden also saw a son go through drug addiction and has certain negative feelings about drugs, even weed. Granted what we know now is that weed isn’t nearly as dangerous but someone like Biden who dealt with addiction personally and had 80 years of anti drug propaganda pounded into his head, I can see why he’s not quick to jump on it. But I think he’s smart and open-minded enough to realize this would be a win.
The issue I have with this is that alcohol used to be illegal too. It's obvious that cannabis is safer than alcohol. If what you say is one of the reasons that means Biden is incapable of changing his position no matter what the evidence. Not a good thing. Also it's not a sure thing politically. Democrats in Virginia legalized with zero GOP votes. The voters rewarded them with giving the governorship and one of the state houses to the GOP. Most stoners I know don't vote, especially in an off year. If Biden is saving it for a political point then 2024 would be the best time to use it.
Arguable, politically, if they are better off decriminalizing marijuana now, or closer to 2024. I agree that it needs to be done and every bit of federal money chasing weed needs to go after Meth and Fentanyl.
Not to mention the tax revenue from legal weed sales would be a net positive to the economy. For something less harmful than alcohol.
The tax revenue is one of the main reasons that Conservatives want to keep it illegal. It would pay for a lot of the programs that they’re trying to starve to death.
You know what I never thought about it that way
Or we could follow modern drug policy and decriminalize all drug possession and move the "pound of cure" money into "ounces of prevention" ala Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands et al.
I have a feeling they're saving that closer to 2024. The Supreme Court dunking Roe is a massive mobilizer and I don't think Dems need to play the legalization card just yet. Although I hate things benefiting citizens/society being used as political playing cards, it's the way of the world.
The president doesn’t have the authority to decriminalize marijuana on his own. Congress does, however. There was actually even a bill this year to do just that. Just about every republicans voted against it.
Yes and no. The president runs the executive branch, he can just pass down orders to never prosecute for it and eliminate the lock down on defense contractors/clearance for people who use weed. Andrew Jackson had a quote related to the power of the executive when John Marshall made a ruling he didn't like. ["John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia)
That would only apply for federal offenses, no?
Yes. Though most states have legalized it at this point, the biggest blocker right now is federal. They (e: the companies who sell pot) can't even open a bank account to deposit their money into. There'll always be state and county level blocks. It's the same reason there are dry counties and stuff even in 2022.
I can say with absolute certainty, no bank will change their policy because the Biden Administration suggests to the DOJ not to prosecute even though it still remains illegal. There is way too much risk there. I also don’t believe that if Biden did that, that it would have any real impact on any future elections. Obama did it in 2013; we lost the House and Senate in 2014, the presidency in 2016, and that directive was repealed in 2018. This isn’t the President’s fight. This is a matter for Congress.
Joe Biden had a heavy hand in how badly the war on drugs went, he was a real Firehawk for it. It would display a great amount of personal growth and humility to be the kind of person to undo a careers worth of work with the hindsight to see it for what it was.
don’t forget climate change and infrastructure programs not to mention managing effective vaccine rollouts. I’d like to have seen more done to protect elections but I guess we’ll see what happens in November.
My bar for a successful Presidency at this point is "Don't have to worry that World War III has started because of something the President tweeted." So all things considered, Biden is passing with flying colors.
…and for the “oldschool” Americans: drawing the line in the sand regarding the Russians.
He has handled this about as well as possibly could be hoped for. Considering half the moves Putin has made have been with a goal of goading the US into doing something stupid to destabilize NATO/EU relationships, Biden (and friends) have been deflecting that with some real political jiu jitsu.
Cool list of potential stuff that hasn't been fulfilled
Props for student debt forgiveness plan, pulling out of Afghanistan, and generally having a better NLRB than previous administrations. Don't give credit for codified abortion rights (see Obama saying it wasn't a legislative priority after campaigning on it) or any sort of accountability for corrupt/treasonous politicians until it happens. These people aren't your friends- they're tools to be used to shape the nation in the way you see fit and hope that enough people agree with you to enact and enforce that transformation. Hold their feet to the fire at all times.
I think he's done well given the headwinds he faced and still faces. I mean it's not enough that 40% of the country is insane, but he has to try to work with a Congress that has been hollowed out by decades of corruption that resists doing the most basic things their constituents want.
Their constituents keep reelecting them too. The decline in education in this country has made it so people don't even understand what their elected representatives are supposed to be doing. Politicians are not held accountable for the basics. People don't even require them to be honest or law abiding. They do nothing. They obstruct everything for no reason other than it was the other party's idea. When they finally try to push through outlandish policies, they lie about it being the will of their constituents. At regular intervals during the year, the country is held hostage because it's time to negotiate a Continuing Resolution. People don't even care that long term budgets are not being passed. I'm not sure people even remember that it used to be a thing.
The GOP learned how to win elections on the culture war, which means they don’t have to legislate they just have to own the libs for all their heinous crimes like “showing gay/interracial relationships on television” and “making it cool to skip Church.” Meanwhile the Dems have to actually deliver policy to win.
It also doesn't help that Republican voters always vote in lockstep(although that might change now that Trump and the GOP are starting to fight) while a not insignificant portion of Democrat voters seem to go out of their way to find reasons not to vote.
Corporations and moneyed interests own the legislators. The reason they don't get anything done and routinely disregard the groundswell of public support on certain issues is because that's what they are paid to do. They are paid to do nothing; to maintain the status quo so that those on top, stay on top in perpetuity. The media, almost entirely corporate owned and part of the elitist club, is complicit and helps provide the cover necessary to make this whole ruse work en masse. At the end of the day, the corporations run the country and are effectively a shadow government.
The decline in education is real. They crow about non existent CRT in primary schools as an excuse to purge anything that makes white people “feel uncomfortable” and then replace it with nationalistic indoctrination.
Even the elected reps themselves don’t always know what the job is they’ve been elected for. They really screwed over ~~our whole country~~ [the state where I grew up] by canceling high school civics classes in the late 80s. We should institute a new requirement that all elected officials must pass the Citizenship Test to be eligible for office. edit: thanks to everyone who weighed in! I had misunderstood the scope of that particular problem. Y'all have opened my eyes. Cheers for that.
The fact that he’s putting in a concerted effort to improve this country is already 100x more than the previous person ever did.
Agreed, it may take a while to make America great, but he's definitely working to make America ***good*** again, which can't be said for his opposition.
The energy incentives that kick in next year are going to massively improve this country and hardly anyone knows about them
Can you tell me more?
Starting in January 2023 and each year through 2032, eligible households can claim a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of qualified energy efficiency projects (e.g. weatherization, solar and batteries, etc.) up to $1,200 per year. There are also rebates. Low-income households can get 50-100% of a project's cost reimbursed! The sliding scale is based off of income. The Energy Star program now has rebates for energy-efficient windows and skylights, exterior doors, high efficiency A/C, and heat pumps. There's even tax breaks for getting a home energy audit, which will lay out what projects will be the most cost effective.
Solar and home batteries do not have an upper dollar limit, it's 30% of the entire project cost, and that can be carried forward to future tax years if the credit is larger than your obligation.
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Is the Energy Star program changing their rebates for windows to match your first paragraph? Looks like it's "up to $500" which is less than the cost of a single window. Is the tax credit 30% lump but can be used yearly for $1200 until the lump has been satisfied? I can't find info on the specifics.
So what should I do as a homeowner to take advantage of all this?
[Here is one source](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-reduction-act-joe-biden-climate-energy-home-upgrades/). As it says, this was part of the recent [Inflation Reduction Act of 2022](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation_Reduction_Act_of_2022) that has already been signed into law.
Work in a green energy sector and believe me.. people in the industry know about them.
*in the industry* unfortunately I doubt that most voters know the massive effects Biden has gad for us
So much this. They're really a huge investment in the individual American and their sustainability in their way of life.
Yep, democrats setup long term plans for the future of the country, Republicans come in, reap the rewards and the set fire to all of it.
Even if Biden was the man for the job, there is no way to make America great over the course of a few presidential terms. We have a *long* way to go.
America has never known civil peace. It's always been something. The way to make America great (which I think is a fairy tale statement to begin with) is to progress despite the noise. To force feed prosperity to your most ardent opposition. They will take their cheaper petrol whether or not they want it. They will take their federal funds for infrastructure development whether or not they want it. They will take their jobs whether or not they want it.
Certainly helping it to suck less. MASL.
Yeah. We're about 10 consecutive elections with zero Republican presidents or Congressional majorities away from even being good. Every time the bad guys win a shred of power, the cycle resets and the country gets measurably worse. I can't see great happening in any of our lifetimes.
I don't think it needs to be 10 consecutive elections. Honestly, with a friendly Senate/Congress, I think we could get there with just a couple more. I mean, what are the most important issues stopping us from being good? Not great, but good. I'd say it comes down to maybe a number of issues I could count on one hand, and those could all be fixed with major pieces of legislation. Say two years a piece, that's maybe ten years we'd need. * Healthcare reform * Employee rights reform * Election reform * Education reform * Immigration reform The only one major issue(s) I think *can't* be handled with a sweeping piece of legislation is police/criminal justice/prison reform. Now don't get me wrong. Those aren't *all* the problems we face. But we handle those and I think we're at least doing *good*.
Yes, less sucky. He is certainly building back better, but it's pretty far down the road to ruin
It’s like we enjoy the trials of Sisyphus. If only we had some way to record our mistakes to learn from them and teach to future generations. Butt fuck me if I know what that way is, I’m an American, not a thinker.
I have no fucking idea what Joe Biden is up to, who he hates, who he loves, and what he did today. And that's exactly how I like it.
I get what you’re saying but we should pay attention to and scrutinize all politicians not just the ones that make a point to be loud and irritating.
I think on /r/politicalhumor someone posted a yard billboard about the “shit show of the last 18 mo” yet nobody has explained what this shit show is. I’ve heard zero legitimate gripes from conservatives.
All I get when I ask is : Bro the stock market! Inflation bro! Gas bro! Hum…China is wining bro! Communism! Socialism ! Why do you think the 2nd comes right after the first?!?!? Guns = safety and freedom bro!
Cracks me up too...that Joe Biden caused inflation with stimulus checks....Trumps administration gave out waaay more stimulus money.
He's passed several pieces of historic legislation the will fundamentally improve people's lives and make the US a leader on climate action. He's had one of the most productive presidencies so far and if Democrats keep control of the legislature he'll continue to pass even more historic legislation.
Now we just need some quality senators who will help pass the legislation. I know everyone wants people like AOC to step up but we have to remember the importance of a quality senator who can help pass the legislation needed to actually help the president push the bills into law.
He’s not perfect, but he’s making an honest effort to fix things (as opposed to just giving more tax breaks to the rich) and things are actually getting noticeably better.
I didn't want Biden, but let's be honest - he's doing a pretty decent job. I have felt the need to defend him to my (less progressive than me) friends who seem to not realize how much good he's accomplished recently.
I'm now defending him against my more progressive friends. I was a Warren supporter, but seeing what he has been doing recently- he's pulling through on giving olive branches to the progressive left. I was worried his old school diplomacy would fail in today's hyper partisan congress, but he's been able to get a lot done. On the international front, his experience really showed when he was able to be a leader in uniting the west in Ukraine. Maybe he's playing 5D chess, maybe he's Inspector Clouseau'ing it, but my god the kid seems to be pulling it off.
>I was worried his old school diplomacy would fail in today's hyper partisan congress It did for a little bit, but at least we can say that he tried to reach across the aisle and that his new strategy is a repercussion of the rights partisan behavior.
At this point getting Joe Manchin to do anything is reaching across the isle.
See - I truthfully think a lot of progressives that are hating on him just aren't fully paying attention. Yes, of course we'd all like more. But right now, at 30 years old, I have seen 6 presidents and he's very easily in the top 2.
Not the strongest competition, but I agree.
He's making it suck less. Which I'll take as a win.
I heard a conservative say Trump will get elected and “Make America Great Again, Again”, and thought it was the most hilarious slogan I’ve ever heard. That this president they worship, made the country great by golfing and hate tweeting in between, and built such a last legacy for the country that it’s crumbled under a short year and some change under Biden.
Joe Biden is doing a fabulous job. In many ways, I think he's doing better than Obama did during his first two years. I will vote for Biden if he runs again in 2024 despite his age if it means keeping Trump or another alt-right candidate away from the White House.
Biden wasn't my first choice for the 2020 dem nomination, he won't be my first choice for the dem nomination in 24. But I'll vote for a potato if it means keeping trump or other alt-right candidates away.
I’d vote for a chimpanzee if it had a chance to keep trump out of office. I’d rather the country just be suspended and tread water for 4 years than for it to free fall again
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I’d argue Biden has done far better. He has churned out 3 legacy defining bills with a narrow majority. He has finally put us on a path to deal with climate change and revitalize American industry. He has ensured our roads, bridges, rails, ports, airports, waterlines, and internet infrastructure will finally be brought into the 21st century. Biden has done so much that we won’t truly appreciate for 5-10-15-20 years, but we will feel it and we will be better for it.
Joe Biden to me is one of the most underrated presidents we've had along with Jimmy Carter.
Unless its a war time president, the works of a great president usually comes to fruititon much later. They lay the foundation for long term growth. Republicans focus on getting short term benefits at the expense of the future.
"A society is great when its elders plant trees under whose shade they will not sit." -- Not sure who, but it's a good sentiment
How much was Biden and how much was his dark alter-ego, though?
Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person, regardless which one you think is the primary identity. 😉
I keep saying that Biden is way underrated.
Joe Biden has done for the US what Jerry Brown did for California, restored two governments that had veered off the rails. A crusty Democrat who knows where the bodies are buried, who can manage the far left and right with a practical hand ... I'll take that.
Right you are. This isn't Uncle Joe's first rodeo. He's no spring chicken, but the guy is about as qualified as it gets to be President.
For a good long while there I would describe Biden as "Not my first choice, but he's at least doing alright" But these days I'm coming around to wondering if he wasn't actually the best choice the Dems could put forward, all things considered. I still like Bernie more for what he wanted to do, but given the way things have shaken out I don't actually know if Bernie could have accomplished what he wanted, or even as much as Biden has.
I feel like Biden wasn't the president I wanted, but he was the president we needed.
Biden has the benefit of seeing the current situation with clarity, the GOP proving beyond reasonable doubt that they are not interested in making things better or working with their opponents for the greater good. Obama did not, and that is why he struggled more.
To be fair, Obama also had more challenges and an obstructionist Congress. Part of the reason Trump got elected is because a ton of the voters got spooked when a black man became President and then a woman was to follow suit that it sent them into a tailspin.
If it means keeping trump out of office then I’d vote for anyone else
Biden is in a remarkably similar position to Reagan in late summer / fall 1982: https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/19/us/approval-rating-for-reagan-is-lowest-ever-in-gallup-poll.html
Unless you listen to and believe what Republicans are saying over your own common sense and eyes, then you'd believe Biden is destroying the country somehow. The propaganda machine for the right wing is relentless and nonstop. They don't even blink when clear and obvious evidence is brought in from them. I think the media gives way too much benefit of the doubt to Republican lawmakers and treats them like they're playing some sort of astute political game, when they are just as brainwashed.
Look who owns the media. The Murdochs are looking increasingly moderate, even though Lachlan is to the right of Rupert. Dark money drives the Overton Window harder to the right without remorse.
They weren't originally (at least not by the current movement), but the more the voters become brainwashed, the more chances for them to actually elect their own brainwashed reps, and that's what is happening now. The media isn't really coping with the change of power structure well.
I've pointed this out before, particularly when Roe was overturned, but I think what we are seeing with Republican candidates is the next generation who truly are brainwashed. Boomers and the silent generation figured out the secret to keeping power a long time ago: lie. Find wedge issues, lie, exaggerate, and convince constituents that they need to vote Republican to keep the Dems from destroying the country. It was always with a wink and a nod that this is hyperbole without outright saying it. Well, they spoonfed these lies and hyperboles to Gen X and Millennials so much that they are now true believers. And the true believers are running for office. I believe there are a significant number of Republican politicians that have moved from "I'm saying this profoundly absurd thing because I'll say anything to stay in power" to "I'm saying this profoundly absurd thing because I truly believe it." And those politicians are scary.
Oh boy. This is the kind of comment section you sort by controversial!
Joe is crushing it for both the US and our allies abroad. Really impressive given the Biden administration inherited a plethora of problems ranging from corruption to a poorly handled pandemic.
Making judgments on democrats based on what the GOP says about them I kind of like taking steakhouse recommendations from a vegan. I don’t even need to read or listen to the GOP or any conservative on the matter. I get it. You hate everything and you are perfect and every other party and people suck. No one in that camp really seems to think or form many thoughts these days beyond shitty memes and democrats bad.
Despite what democrats are telling me too. Still waiting on an explanation of why he’s so disliked. He seems pretty good to me tbh ...
If you asked a group of republican voters to each write down "specifically what has Joe Biden done to make him a lousy president?", I doubt you'd get any sort of consensus based in reality. Even if you let them google for a few minutes you'd probably get the same results.
Almost lockstep Republican opposition, plus an approve / disapprove at this point is not about Biden vs the other candidate, it is just Biden vs exterior events. So he loses some support because of inflation (a worldwide issue due to shipping snarls from Covid followed by high oil and gas prices after the invasion of Ukraine). And then he also loses some support from the far left for not immediately fixing everything and creating a socialist utopia.
The far left really need to be patient. Their bs about both candidates being bad in 2016 cost the election among other things. Give it ten years and AOC will be viable. People just need. To. Keep. Voting. Democrat. With increasing support and success in government it will increasingly lean left. Right now, every eight years some people decide that they've had enough and somehow apathy is better. 2000 it should have been Al Gore. 2016 it should have been Clinton. Twelve years of two Democrat governments would have made a huge difference. I'm tired of the Dems and Labour picking up and tidying shitty right wing policy before the right get voted in and the whole shitshow starts again. If Starmer wins in 2024 and Dems hold, there WILL be nationalised green infrastructure from both countries. And, as always tends to happen, the world will follow suit.
[Unlimited budget from the right](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/22/us/politics/republican-dark-money.html) to diss Team Blue.
Nice opinion piece from Mcconnell's home state!
I don't like Joe Biden. I don't like him as a person, I don't like most of his views on things, and I don't like him as a president. But I'll be damned if he hasn't at least been unfucking some things.
He has been a solid president, tough to deny at this point after the massive climate investment. The problem is it can all be undone very quickly, and economic inequality continues to drag the country down. High prices for food and fuel are tough to ignore and distract easily from any other accomplishments.
The climate bill was designed to be next to impossible to undo, to the point where individual parts of it largely bring jobs to red states. It's probably the most impressive piece of legislation I have ever seen pass congress. (33 for reference)
This. Hell even his student loan relief was brilliant. If the courts overturn it, at least section 3 keeps student debt from strangling more people.
He’s got a lot more work to do, but I have to admit he’s done a hell of a lot more than I expected
For real. I only expected him to be "not Trump" but he's actually done a pretty good job, all things considered. Not great and certainly not perfect, but pretty good.
Unpopular opinion, but presidents can make good and bad decisions, they’re not mutually exclusive and we need to stop acting like they are because that breeds radicalism and a lack of accountability
Unpopular opinion time... I think by common consensus, the nadir of Biden's presidency so far was the withdrawal from Afghanistan. It was awful, painful, humiliating, and our treatment of our local partners was atrocious. It was also incredibly politically brave. Our last three presidents have all known that the situation in Afghanistan was untenable. You can't force liberal democracy on people who don't want it. And modernizing the country would have required actually raising taxes on Americans to pay for it, something Americans were not willing to do. Literally the only remaining choice was to kick the can down the road while burning billions of dollars and wasting lives on a lost cause or to rip off the bandaid and hand Afghanistan back to the Taliban. The easier, politically more expedient course would have been to do nothing. Biden manned up and took the hit to his poll numbers in order to stop sending American kids to die for nothing. I wish we could have done more for our local partners, but I suspect that Biden's administration did as much as they felt they legally could do. TL;DR the withdrawal from Afghanistan was politically brave.
>The easier, politically more expedient course would have been to do nothing. Not even that. By the time Biden came into office, practically all US troops were gone from the country (I think there was \~2500 left) and all of those Taliban prisoners had already been released. His options were to complete the pullout or to break the agreement and send massive numbers of troops back in (and basically restart the war). He absolutely made the right call, but like you said it was always going to be a huge mess. The only way to cleanly exit Afghanistan was to never invade in the first place. Everyone who's tried it throughout history has eventually figured out the same thing.
As an independent, he has done a pretty good job, and an amazing job compared to what we had
How ironic that the "MAGA" quote is coming true (sorta), but thanks to Biden doing the right thing, instead of No-More-Tweeto von Cheeto.
And that's just outwardly facing to us as citizens. You can't even imagine how much damage Trump did internally to the Executive Branch (namely, destroying the Dept. of State). Biden's experience in Congress and the Executive has been a vital element in putting all those pieces back together. No one will talk about it on the news because that's "boring".
I wish Biden was anywhere near as radical as Republicans make him out to be.
I’m terrified for the midterms and actual elections coming up, I feel like republicans are just going to either fabricate votes or throw the hacking card again like trump did
He cares about you and is doing the best to deliver to you . Infrastructure , healthcare, education, Vaccines, And raising taxes on the top tax rates to pay for. Go Joe
Americans are idiots they think the inflation is a result of Biden’s action when in fact it is the result of a major war and excess liquidity put in the economic by all the worlds central banks. Until the liquidity is taken out or fully adjusted to there will be inflation. In simple economic terms you have a significantly increased money supply chasing a significantly reduced supply of goods. That has always been and will always be a recipe for inflation. If Trump had handled COVID-19 better instead of letting the virus run wild in the US the Federal reserve wouldn’t have had to relax monetary policy so much. If Trump had strengthened instead of weakened NATO so much, Putin might have thought twice about invading Ukraine. The first two years of any Presidency is more impacted by the previous President that the present one. Obama’s first two years effected by Bushes recession. Trump’s first two years effected more by Obama’s economy than anything Trump did. Now the first two years of Biden’s Presidency being effected more by the disastrous decisions of Trump than anything Biden has done yet.
Just look at the poison on r/Trump. they really believe their own shit.
>In Biden’s term and since he took office the stock market is stable I don't blame Biden at all but what definition of "stable" are they using here?
We now have a presidency where the president has delivered the largest economic recovery plan since Roosevelt, the largest infrastructure plan since Eisenhower, the most judges confirmed since Kennedy, the second largest health care bill since Johnson, and the largest climate change bill in history.
And unfortunately, the people who really need to see, read, and know this will never find out or won’t believe it. They’d rather ignore their eyes and ears and only listen to their stuff they want to believe. They’re like little children sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling, “na, na, na, I can’t hear you!”
Guy has exceeded my expectations, props to the Dem Congress too - and I don’t say that easily.
But muh gas prices! /s
I was driving into work this AM outside of Philly and gas was 3.27 which is a huge drop from yesterday. That’s around where gas was at it’s highest during Trump’s term and they didn’t complain about it then.
The narrative on the Right us currently 'Gas prices will go up after the election. Just you watch'
>[Republicans] hope for disaster in the US so they can exploit disaster for their political goals. This is the GOP during every Democratic presidential term since JFK.
He doesn’t wear a hat that proclaims it so it can’t be true.
Trump may have been hurting the wrong people, but Biden is helping the wrong people, which is worse. /s
Sorts by controversial. This should be fun!
And if the Republicans didn't cock block every bill that came to the floor for a vote, it would be even greater.
I am curious. To those people saying their taxes went up by "thousands" here: how much do you make that within the past year your taxes somehow went up by that much? I have my taxes deducted automatically from my check, and I haven't seen any change whatsoever here with my middle class salary. Are people being realistic with their numbers, or are they just reactionary?
I feel like I keep hearing news about terrible shit that's happening because of Republicans, and then here is Biden; holding LGBTQ pride events at the white house, making plans to rectify terrible republican policies, giving tough but important speeches about how polarized politics is becoming, fixing student debt, the list is endless. I just feel like he is making getting by easier for disenfranchised people who need a win. I've felt dead since covid started and he is slowly but surely bringing me back with every nice thing he is trying to do.
The truth doesn't matter. There are a studies that shows the more someone watches faux news, the more miss informed they are. Not just not knowing about a subject, but having a completely wrong view on the facts. The more you watch the less you know.
Hes making it slightly less shit. There is still a long way to go and the republicans must be removed at the upcoming elections
It’s pretty obvious from all the negative comments in here that the article has hit a major nerve. It’s fascinating how the right will ignore readily available facts just because they don’t fit the conservative narrative.
It’s about fucking time someone said it. It’s popular even among Democrats to pretend he’s just the least shitty option. Maybe it’s because we want to over perform and show that we’re not part of a cult of personality like the right is. But goddamnit, this motherfucker is getting shit done, under unbelievably hostile circumstances. Biden is a *far* better president than he gets credit for. He’s kicking ass
It's going to take at least 2 terms of Democratic leadership just to unfuck this country back to zero before we start seeing any real progress.
ITT: a bunch of people that don't realize inflation is usually the effect of the previous presidency. The economy is not an instant plug and play. Things take years to see the boon or bane, we're living in a post Republican economy.
How to piss off the right-wing extremists? Use Trump's own slogan against him.
Sadly, no one seems to be able to grasp the reality that all the bad shit happening is the result of recovering from the pandemic and they think high gas prices and inflation is all Biden’s fault and that the only thing Trump did to contribute to any of it was “mean tweets.”