When was the last time busing was a major talking point in a presidential election?

[Otto Lidenbrock]

1976?

[EffieBlack]

1. It's not a major talking point now

Notwithstanding the efforts of some to make it one ...

[bluewater]

2. And to think Biden brought this all up

Talking about being civil and working with segregationists.

[George II]

4. When did Biden bring "this all up", specifically?

[pnwmom]

6. When he talked about days past, when he could even work "across the aisle"

with segregationist Senators like Eastland and Talmadge. They were actually Democrats, so that was a poor example of across the aisle. And he got his anti-busing bill passed with their help, so he opened this can of worms.

His staff had been trying to get him to stop telling this story, to no avail. Hopefully he'll stop telling it now . . .

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/06/24/bidens-segregation-comments-resurrect-his-anti-busing-history.html

Biden's Segregation Comments Resurrect His Anti-Busing History

[George II]

10. But his recent comments NEVER mentioned busing until it was brought up by others.

And now that even Harris has walked back her position, which now aligns with Biden's, many people still won't let it go.

[bluewater]

12. The definitions of Quibbling and Hair-Splitting come to mind:

hair•split•ting (ˈhɛərˌsplɪt ɪŋ

n.
1. the making of unnecessarily fine distinctions.
adj.
2. characterized by such distinctions; quibbling: hairsplitting arguments.


quibbling
[ˈkwibliNG]

NOUN
the action of raising objections about a trivial matter.
"she was tired of all the quibbling"
ADJECTIVE
arguing or raising objections about a trivial matter.
"he came back with a quibbling rebuttal"

[George II]

24. How about the definition of "bring this all up", which seems to be avoided.

[pnwmom]

13. You mean, he didn't say, "When I worked with the segregationist racists

on my anti-busing bill"?

He wasn't thinking very clearly if he thought he could talk about working with them without having to deal with questions about what he worked with them on.

And their positions still don't align. Harris isn't against the kind of busing program her district had (and Berkeley still has a busing program to promote socio-economic and racial integration -- just not the same one they had before.)

But Biden wasn't just opposed to Federally ordered desegregation for districts that had purposely assigned students to segregated schools; he was also against busing for de facto segregation , which is what they had in Berkeley (caused by segregation in housing, because of deed covenants and redlining). Harris says she benefited from Berkeley's busing.

https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2019/06/24/bidens-segregation-comments-resurrect-his-anti-busing-history.html

Biden’s position then, which he has reiterated since, was that he didn’t support transporting students between racially isolated schools as a remedy for de facto segregation, the descriptor for racial isolation that wasn’t caused by explicitly discriminatory laws.

[George II]

16. That article mentions "busing" 19 times, not a SINGLE one uttered by Biden. I rest my case.

[pnwmom]

18. So? He incorrectly thought he could highlight his work with segregationists without reminding people

of the anti-busing bill he worked with them on.

[George II]

19. The bottom line is, as hard as some are trying to "prove" it, Biden never brought up busing in 2019.

[pnwmom]

20. Then it's reasonable to question his judgment.

How could a smart person -- who had been warned by his staff -- still think it was a good idea to bring up his past of working with segregationist Senators, when he knows he was working with them on anti-busing legislation?

Link to tweet

[George II]

21. It wasn't Biden. And the date is June 30, 1977 (42 years ago), not June 2019.

[pnwmom]

22. Who wasn't Biden? Biden brought up the topic of working with Eastland/Talmadge decades ago.

That was his mistake. He opened the door wide.

[bluewater]

23. diminishing returns

diminishing returns

DEFINITION
used to refer to a point at which the level of profits or benefits gained is less than the amount of money or energy invested.

[George II]

26. You asked who released the letter. My answer was that it wasn't Biden.

So Biden "opened the door wide" for the 2019 debate by writing a letter 42 years ago.

[pnwmom]

28. No, he opened the door wide in 2019 by bringing up the topic of working with the segregationists

to "get things done."

[George II]

30. So if he said he had lunch at a Suchi Bar he would have opened the door....

....to the Japanese internment issue?

Come on.

[bluewater]

32. weak sauce, weak Sushi sauce actually...

[George II]

34. Not the sauce (with a "C") in which I dip my Sushi.

[bluewater]

7. Quibbling and Hair Splitting?

But, Ok, lets see if Biden said anything that brought the busing argument back onto the front page of this campaign.

I said:
"And to think Biden brought this all up talking about being civil and working with segregationists."

Let me google: Biden being civil to segregationists and see what comes up...

Democrats Blast Biden For Recalling 'Civil' Relationship With Segregationists
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/19/734103488/democrats-blast-biden-for-recalling-civil-relationship-with-segregationists

Joe Biden could be "civil" with segregationists "because he shared their views"

Joe Biden didn't just compromise with segregationists. He fought for their cause in schools, experts say.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/joe-biden-didn-t-just-compromise-segregationists-he-fought-their-n1021626

Joe Biden Under Fire for Touting His 'Civil' Relationships with Segregationists
https://nowthisnews.com/videos/politics/joe-biden-touted-his-civil-relationships-with-segregationists

Oh, my.

Honestly I could continue posting more of these but I might get carpal tunnel, there are so many.

To pretend that Biden's comments about working with and being civil to segregationists didn't enflame this busing issue is just silly.

Google readily proves otherwise. There's really no point in wasting time arguing about it.

Thanks for the discussion.

[George II]

9. Nice links, but you haven't been able to tell when Biden brought this up. Didn't think so.

It's only people who want to bash Biden that circuitously meander from what he said to get to "school busing". Not surprising.

[bluewater]

11. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt

[ucrdem]

14. Biden didn't bring it up, but he comes out of this smelling like a rose.

And he hasn't had to walk back a damn thing.

[George II]

17. So how may times in those comments by Biden did he bring up busing? Answer: NONE

"Google readily proves otherwise" is false.

Not "denial", but reality.

[Cha]

15. Someone's projecting about

the River in Egypt.. and it's not you.

[pnwmom]

29. There was a direct path from his talking about working with the segregationists

to discussions about the anti-busing legislation he worked with them to "get done."

[George II]

31. Now we're at the point of playing the party game "Telephone".

[nsd]

25. And to think *Harris brought this all up

FTFY

[George II]

3. Probably around that time, give or take a year.

[murielm99]

5. Jesse Jackson ran in 1984 and 1988.

He spoke about it.

I haven't heard anything since, until Harris spoke up.

[democratisphere]

8. We need to get off the BS and start figuring out how to absolutely beat drumpf.

I was just told by an election official that former young Democratic voters are switching their political party affiliation to rethuglicons. This is the last f'ing thing we need.

[LakeArenal]

27. What I heard and I know words are subjective...

Biden has worked in the past with the most repugnant people in Congress to accomplish goals.

What I infer from that remark is:
Here we are again with even more repugnant evil and we can’t stay deadlocked. We need to work with these
Motherffers and get democracy working again as designed.

[customerserviceguy]

33. The media

got tired of talking about climate change, immigration, and tax breaks for the rich.