What does all this add up to? Anyone who doubts that Biden methodically mined racist political shafts for decades should read the well-documented New York magazine piece "Will Black Voters Still Love Biden When They Remember Who He Was?" It's devastating.
The New York article, by journalist Eric Levitz, begins with the tip of a very cold white iceberg: "Biden once called state-mandated school integration 'the most racist concept you can come up with,' and Barack Obama 'the first sort of mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean.' He was a staunch opponent of 'forced busing' in the 1970s, and leading crusader for mass incarceration throughout the '80s and '90s. Uncle Joe has described African-American felons as 'predators' too sociopathic to rehabilitate -- and white supremacist senators as his friends."
Such clear overviews of Biden's racial behavior in politics have been rare. And news media have not illuminated what all this has to do with "electability." Turnout from the Democratic Party's base will be crucial to whether Trump can be defeated in November 2020. Biden's record of dog-whistling is made to order for depressing enthusiasm and turnout from that base, especially among African Americans.
Apt to be a big political liability among voters who normally vote Democratic in large numbers, Joe Biden's historic dog-whistling for racism is an incontrovertible reality. Denial of that reality could help him win the party's nomination -- and then help Donald Trump get re-elected.
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