Will the disastrous War on Drugs come back to haunt Joe Biden in the General Election?

[mtnsnake]

if he is our nominee?

Biden was one of the main architects of the War on Drugs which resulted in the lives of so many families being changed forever, especially with black people who were incarcerated at a much much higher rate than whites.

We rely on the black vote more than ever now. Is Biden's past history with the drug war going to affect his relationship with blacks across the country, many who are still feeling the horrendous effects of the outrageous drug war bills that Biden championed when he was in Congress? Is this something we should be very concerned about if Joe is our nominee?

[George II]

1. No.

[OKNancy]

2. The 1980s and 90s were a different time

Since then he has done a lot of good work to pull back some of the more punitive laws... and he has said he regrets some of his past record.. " I haven't always been perfect" ...

[mtnsnake]

4. True, but if that's the case, then why does Joe still hold so many of the same views about pot today

as he did back then?

[melman]

3. Yes it will

[Cha]

20. No. It. Won't.

[NYMinute]

5. No

[highplainsdem]

6. No. No more than it hurt Hillary Clinton with black voters when she won the popular vote in 2016.

No more than it would hurt Bernie Sanders, who also voted for the 1994 crime bill.

Besides, polling already shows that Biden is getting a larger percentage of the black vote than any of the other Democratic candidates.

[KayF]

13. Black voters in swing states hurt her in 2016

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-11-09/clinton-made-her-case-to-black-voters-why-didnt-they-hear-her

"If you look at age variation, younger blacks were way more likely to cast third-party or 'other' votes than their peers," Gillespie says. "They wanted her to address criminal justice and Black Lives Matter issues. They were [also] the ones thinking, 'You know, I don't want my vote taken for granted by the Democratic Party' kind of thing. You have to show them -- 'Your vote matters.'"

Clinton takes the blame for that, Gillespie says: Unlike Trump, the former first lady failed to articulate a clear, urgent message that resonated with black voters age 18 to 37, while older African Americans were more likely to see the bigger picture -- that a Trump win likely would mean more-conservative government and fewer civil-rights reforms.

"I think that's going to be a huge argument. I would suspect that the older civil rights generation would chide the younger ones" about viewing all establishment politicians as the same, Gillespie says. "Good luck with your criminal-justice [protests] with Rudy Giuliani as attorney general. You want to know what your contrast [between Clinton and Trump] is? This is your contrast."

It seems to me that Biden may face the same thing.

[highplainsdem]

14. Well, since Biden is polling waaaay ahead of Sanders and the other Democrats with black voters,

we'd better hope Biden is the nominee. President Obama can't run again, and Michelle has made it clear she won't run.


Morning Consult poll, which shows Biden polling nearly 30 points ahead of Sanders and 40 points ahead of any other Democrat with black women, and nearly 20 points ahead of Sanders and 30 points ahead of any other Democrat with black men:


https://morningconsult.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Political-Intelligence-4.29.19.pdf

[KayF]

19. i'm glad to see that n/t

[duforsure]

7. It will hurt him

Because he hasn't evolved with the American public with that issue. The majority's opinion of it has changed dramatically , and many who see he hasn't will reject him for it.

[Wellstone ruled]

8. It is some what concerning

how Biden's conflicted past is coming back to haunt.

[LakeArenal]

9. No.

[MineralMan]

10. Would you like it to? It sure looks like it.

I mean, you brought it up, after all.

Like many other things, that was something from a different time. We're looking at it differently these days, and so is Joe Biden.

But, you can go back in time as far as you wish. Most people will vote based on today, not 30 years ago, or even 20.

But, the answer to your question is NO. It's not going to affect things very much at all, as much as you might want it to.

We can sense your concern, though.

[mtnsnake]

15. You're wrong about that, so please keep your words & implications out of my mouth, thank you

If you don't think Biden's role in the drug war will hurt him in any way, then why not just say so, rather than trying to make it look like I want his past to hurt him just because of a concern I happen to have.

I happen to like Biden, but I don't think he's perfect, far from it, and I think it's well worth considering his past just as much as we consider everyone else's past as well.

[PDittie]

11. It certainly should

[loyalsister]

16. Mass incarceration was foreseeable when it was voted on

The ugliness of the responsive quality (to the Willie Horton ad) of the crime bill as an escalation of institutional racism is relevant and defending it is offensive to many people.

[EffieBlack]

24. Why?

And should it hurt Biden any more than it hurts Sanders?

[WeekiWater]

12. You think the Republicans will hammer him on it in the general?

I don't.

Additionally, POC are far too often given the short end of the stick. One thing I've leaned is that they are the most likely group to respect and appreciate change. They are also one of the most likely to rally around someone if they feel they are being unfairly attacked.

[MH1]

17. Probably not, because the voters he needs to get in the GE tend to be more "law and order" types.

The folks you see with "Support the Blue" signs on their lawns.

I am troubled by Biden's past support for the Drug War and seeming backwardness on drug policy even now. However to your specific question about the general election - I seriously doubt that he will be hurt in any big way by it.

Unless, of course, we allow the GOP to get away with smearing Biden in the inner cities. As backwards as he may be, he is still better by far for those folks than who is opponent will be, in the general election. No one in their right mind who looks at Biden compared with Trump would say that Trump is better for urban blacks. If Biden is our nominee, we all need to do what is best for the country and promote what is right about him, what is better about him than the other guy, and work on him to improve in areas where he needs to improve- without undermining his ability to win.

[rollin74]

18. Yes. He pushed for harsh drug war policies

that led to mass incarceration and millions of lives ruined

the “war on drugs” was one of the biggest mistakes this nation has ever made

Biden was deeply involved in it

I know there will be people who will stay home rather than hold their nose and vote for him

[EffieBlack]

23. Black people aren't stupid

We are very sophisticated and nuanced in our electoral selections. We can be critical of someone's actions without throwing them under the bus. If black voters think that Biden would be the best choice to be the nominee and president, we're not going to shoot ourselves in the foot because of something he did 25 years ago - regardless how many people lecture us about why we should.

[EffieBlack]

21. Black folks in the 1980s and 90s were begging the government to do something

Drugs were destroying our communities.

We have long memories, so people need to be careful about giving this more oxygen than it deserves. It could backfire on anyone trying to exploit it - especially if they went along with it at the time ...

[tonedevil]

22. That seems like a terribly sad case of...

be careful what you wish for. I speak as an outside observer, but I don't see how the draconian war on drugs improved the situation in the least.