Hope is Not a Foreign Policy » Joe Biden

Nuclear Policy in the Bush Administration: Setting the Record Straight

Tom Skypek — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:42:34 +0000

Vice President Joe Biden recently wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal outlining the Obama administration’s nuclear policy. In typical Obama administration fashion, he blamed the preceding administration for “the slow but steady decline in support for our nuclear stockpile and infrastructure, and for our highly trained nuclear work force.” His claim of neglect is simply inaccurate. President George W. Bush made several attempts to revitalize the nuclear weapons complex and exercise the highly trained work force. Unfortunately, these efforts were halted by Congress on multiple occasions. Here are just a few examples:

In 2005, Congress discontinued funding for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator.
In the FY08 Defense Appropriations Bill, Congress slashed funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program to $15 million.
Congress denied DoD any FY2008 funding for “testing, fabrication or deployment” of a conventional Trident ballistic missile program.

The Obama administration will provide “$7 billion for maintaining our nuclear-weapons stockpile and complex, and for related efforts. This commitment is $600 million more than Congress approved last year. And over the next five years we intend to boost funding for these important activities by more than $5 billion. Even in a time of tough budget decisions, these are investments we must make for our security. We are committed to working with Congress to ensure these budget increases are approved.” It’s funny. When President George W. Bush tried this, he was stonewalled by Democrats in Congress and members of his own party. The nuclear weapons complex does require additional funds. I support the administration’s decision to allocate these funds; the Congress needs to approve the request in its entirety. My colleagues and I have advocated for additional funds, and, more specifically, modernization. It’s ironic that the president who is talking about ridding the world of nuclear weapons is increasing funding for them. Of course, this is simply the reality of governing. Politicians make lofty promises during campaigns–promises that are simply inconsistent with the realities of governing–and, in this case, inconsistent with our national security requirements.

“Ladies and Gentlemen”

Tom Skypek — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:16:19 +0000

Tough Questions for Joe Biden

Tom Skypek — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:17:12 +0000

It’s refreshing to see the media asking the Obama-Biden ticket some tough questions. But as you can see, tough questions do not go unpunished by the Obama-Biden ticket.

His Speech: Riddled with Fabrication and Inaccuracies

Tom Skypek — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:59:35 +0000

Last night’s speech was filled with platitudes and distortions. It offered little in the way of substance, which is not unusual for the Obama campaign. Here’s a few points:

Sen. McCain did serve bravely in the United States Navy, but he also has a distinguished record as a United States Senator. He has consistently fought waste and corruption, sometimes to the chagrin of his own party. Sen. Obama failed to represent this accurately last night. Sen. Obama said that John McCain has voted 90% of the time with President George W. Bush. This is highly inaccurate. Presidents of the United States do not vote in Congress, despite what the Obama campaign tells you. The Vice President can cast a vote in the Senate, in the event of a tie, but this is not what the Obama campaign was alluding to.
He said businesses and corporations should be creating new jobs. What Sen. Obama fails to realize is that his punitive tax plans will stymie growth. A punitive tax system hinders job creation; it does not facilitate it.
Sen. Obama made some comment about John McCain being in Congress for almost three decades. He failed to mention that his running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, has been in the Senate longer than McCain.
Sen. Obama made a bunch of over-the-top promises he can’t keep. My friend summed it up this way: “Everything for everyone.” More importantly, these promises can’t be found anywhere in the U.S. Constitution.

I could go on, but what I found most troubling was Sen. Obama’s continued proclamation that there is “something wrong with America.” America continues to be a land of unparalleled opportunity. In 2004, Barack Obama said himself that his story is possible in just one country–America.

Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy “Experience”

Tom Skypek — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:07:30 +0000

Experience isn’t always a good thing, especially if your “experience” consists mostly of a string of poor decisions and misjudgments. As Amir Taheri notes in today’s New York Post, Sen. Joe Biden’s foreign policy experience is not something he should be bragging about. In fact, Sen. Biden has been wrong on almost every major national security issue that he’s weighed in on during his nearly four decades in the United States Senate. Taheri explains:

* In 1979, he shared Carter’s starry-eyed belief that the fall of the shah in Iran and the advent of the ayatollahs represented progress for human rights. Throughout the hostage crisis, as US diplomats were daily paraded blindfolded in front of television cameras and threatened with execution, he opposed strong action against the terrorist mullahs and preached dialogue.

* Throughout the 1980s. Biden opposed President Ronald Reagan’s proactive policy against the Soviet Union. Biden was all for détente – which, in practice, meant Western subsidies that would have enabled the moribund USSR to cling to life and continue doing mischief.

* In 1990, Biden found it difficult to support President George Bush’s decision to use force to kick Saddam Hussein’s army of occupation out of Kuwait.

* A decade-plus later, the senator did vote for the liberation of Iraq from Saddamite tyranny. But as soon as terrorists started challenging the new democratic system in Iraq, he switched sides and became a critic of the whole war effort. He claimed that the Iraq war was lost and suggested that the US partition the newly liberated country into three or more mini-states.

There is no more stinging indictment in defense circles than to be compared to President Jimmy Carter. According to Taheri, “By choosing Biden, Obama, the candidate of hope, has transformed his promise of change, into a back-to-the-future pirouette – back to Jimmy Carter.” It’s a good point. Can we really afford Sens. Obama and Biden in the White House and Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid on the Hill?

Could Barack Pick Anyone Worse?

Will Riemer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:06:34 +0000

OK, he could have picked Dennis Kucinich, but all jokes aside…

Joe Biden, consummate Washington insider, has been deemed worthy by The One to join his campaign for change. Could The Messiah have picked anyone worse for the job?

Obama & Biden

Biden is a walking time bomb, dropping gems like this as recently as 2006:

I’ve had a great relationship [with Indian Americans],” Biden said. “In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.

Then there’s Neil Kinnock. Most political junkies know this story, but the quick rundown is that Joe Biden plagiarized several speeches from British MP Neil Kinnock just when he was gaining serious traction during his 1988 run for the White House. Classy move. This lead to a media hunt down which also turned up several more passages of suspected plagiarism. The accusations were hot enough to force Biden out of the race in 88. These stories will now resurface, putting bumps in the road for the rollout strategy of the Obama/Biden ticket.

Then we come to Obama’s overarching message of change. How the hell does Joe Biden represent change? Biden has been in Washington since 1972 – making him part of the DC establishment for close to four decades.

Personality issues aside, let’s take a look at Biden on the political issues:

Voted against gay marriage
Rated F by the National Rifle Association
Voted to reauthorize the PATRIOT Act
Voted for No Child Left Behind
Voted for the Iraq War (now says it was a mistake)
Voted NO on flag burning amendment twice (1995 & 2006)
Voted NO on requiring photo ID to vote in federal elections

These positions are all over the map – he manages to offend just about every group that already supports Obama or that Obama is looking to gain support from. And then there’s the recent statements, as seen in the post below this one, where Biden thinks Obama is not ready to be President and that the country would be better off with John McCain.

Barack, what were you thinking?!

Change You Can Believe In: Sen. Joe Biden?

Tom Skypek — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:20:46 +0000

Sen. Joe Biden has been tapped as Sen. Barack Obama’s running mate. Biden has been in Washington since 1972 when he was first elected to the United States Senate. He is a smart guy but a rather loquacious fellow, which has gotten him in trouble several times. Clearly, the Obama campaign felt the need to offset Sen. Obama’s gross lack of experience on national security and believed that Sen. Biden would do just that. Sen. Biden is currently the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

However, this pick is a sign of desperation for the Obama campaign, which has begun to see the writing on the wall. The reality is that Obama’s small lead in public opinion polls has completely evaporated. First, Biden is a life-long senator and has no executive experience. Second, it will be difficult to advance the “change message,” which Obama has built his entire campaign on. Biden has been in the Senate longer than John McCain. Third, Biden is a loose cannon, who will most likely make several verbals gaffes during the next two months. Fourth, Biden will likely enflame supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton, who simply felt that Clinton–who received an impressive 18 million votes during the primary–should have been on the ticket. Fifth, Biden supported going to war in Iraq–obviously a substantive policy difference. Plus, Biden doesn’t even think Obama’s ready to be president and he loves John McCain (see the ad below)!