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Report: Kaine, Biden, Bayh at Top of Obama's Veep List

By Jeralyn

The Washington Post and Chicago Tribune's Swamp are saying the same thing: Obama's veep vetting is focusing most heavily on Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, Joe Biden, and Sen. Evan Bayh.

Problem: If Joe Biden is the nominee, count me out. I couldn't even clap for the ticket.

Other reasons: His saying we may need to rethink the military draft. His inability to cure rampant injustices in his own state, where one of every four prisoners who died in prison since 2000 died of AIDS-related diseases and the states' prisons suffer from an atrocious lack of medical care.

I'm just warming up. I so hope Obama doesn't pick Biden. He is the antithesis of change and the embodiment of your father's Oldsmobile. [More...] Update: I forgot to add his most recent transgression: introducing his latest crime bill, S. 2237, in October, 2007, just in time for him to campaign as your toughest law and order Democrat. He proposes spending billions on 1,000 new FBI agents, 500 new DEA agents, and 50,000 more police officers, increasing prison sentences and locking up more disadvantaged youths by branding them gang members. (While it has some prevention funding and equalizes crack and powder penalties at the current powder ratio, he ties the reduction to increased salaries for drug prosecutors and agents and the bill expressly provides it is not retroactive and won't apply to the 19,000 already serving draconian crack sentences.(See Section 5110).

There are better crack-powder bills and on the whole, Biden's bill should be strongly opposed. Even the title is objectionable and tells you where he's at: The Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007.

Then there's his voting record:

• Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001)
• Voted YES on prohibiting same-sex marriage. (Sep 1996)
• Rated 60% by the ACLU, indicating a mixed civil rights voting record. (Dec 2002)
• Rated 36% by NARAL, indicating a mixed voting record on abortion. (Dec 2003)

On a lighter but equally telling note, there's this doozy (bill here):

Breaking this law--even if it's to share music by your own garage band--could land you in prison for up to five years. And that's not counting the civil penalties of up to $25,000 per offense.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 29, 2008 (boomark / email).