Dear Kamala Harris, here's why Joe Biden worked with segregationists in the Senate

[wyldwolf]

This could easily be titled "Why Today's 'Progressives' lack a fundamental understanding of history and how politics work."

After hearing Sen. Kamala Harris attack former Vice President Joe Biden's civil rights record, I felt a little bit like the Vietnam veteran who feels the need to defend his role in the unpopular war by saying “You weren’t there; you don’t know what it was like.” I had a ringside seat at the United States Senate in the late 1970s while writing my book, “Friend and Foe in the U.S. Senate.” I can assure Sen. Harris that had she been serving at that time, she would have been as ingratiating and collegial with Southern segregationists from her own party as she accuses Biden of being back then.

--- snip ---

As a liberal Democrat, you had to find a way around them them by deference, flattery or, at times, acceding to their retrograde attitudes on race and their appalling views of African Americans. Their influence extended beyond the Senate. In 1976, Democratic presidential candidate and former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, now revered as a civil rights pioneer, was forced to explain a comment he made while campaigning in South Bend, Indiana about maintaining the “ethnic purity” of American neighborhoods against the challenge of busing school children to advance racial diversity in the schools.

By humoring these dinosaurs, it was possible to achieve objectives not otherwise attainable in the face of their opposition. Rebecca Lubot's recently-completed doctoral dissertation on the origins of the 25th Amendment on presidential succession recounts the adroit maneuvering by liberal Indiana Sen. Birch Bayh to become chairman of a subcommittee that had the power to initiate constitutional changes. It was only his relentless cultivation of the segregationist Eastland that allowed this historic amendment to be ratified.

Even the redoubtable Lyndon B. Johnson assiduously courted the Dixie troglodytes during his years as Democratic leader of the Senate. According to an account by Sen. Eugene McCarthy, Vice President Johnson once cornered a group of liberal colleagues in the Capitol and with brutal candor told them that the weakened segregationists could be forced to accept a meaningful civil rights bill: “Dick Russell has throat cancer, Russell Long is a drunk,” and they were no longer able to block civil rights legislation.

The battle had yet to be won when Joe Biden entered the Senate at age 30. He had to find a way around these autocrats — by sweet-talking them or even accommodating some of their last-ditch obstacles — simply to get the opportunity to achieve the most limited civil rights gains. These accommodations, Sen. Harris, were not evidence of collaboration with the enemies of civil rights or an abandonment of principle. They were, with no small amount of resignation, laying the groundwork for the landmark civil rights advances of the future.

Ross K. Baker is a distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers University and a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter: @Rosbake1

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/dear-kamala-harris-heres-why-joe-biden-worked-with-segregationists-in-the-senate/ar-AADHaDh?ocid=spartanntp&fbclid=IwAR170PKwj9aHT_c9fNobmeVvRtES5VcY0TYlxhn3-0eawbFDIiUsnIpOz_M

[oasis]

1. Pres. Obama chose Joe. He knows Joe's character better than most.

When the smoke clears, and Joe becomes our nominee, Obama will set the record straight.

[DownriverDem]

15. Harris doesn't care

She just wants to bring Biden down. I am losing respect for her. So who is Willie Brown?

[oasis]

29. Joe Biden won't go there(W.B.) I'm not too sure others won't.

But, "what's sauce for the goose" ect.

[Dream Girl]

51. Willie Brown is her former mentor

I have a friend who also dated him. (really!)

[leftieNanner]

57. Willie Brown was one of the most powerful men in California politics

For a very long time. He was Assembly Speaker, Mayor of SF, wicked smart, and ruthless. He is stylish and funny. Was likely an excellent mentor for Senator Harris. And he enjoyed smart beautiful women. My Dad hated him, but my Dad also ended up as a Limbaugh fan before he died.

[llmart]

2. Some history has to be experienced to understand it completely.

The older of us who have been interested and involved in politics since the 60's remember what it was like. You cannot always look at the past through the lens of how we live and think today. It's the age old philosophical question of "does the end justify the means"? LBJ knew how to play the game perfectly.

As much as I would love to see a Warren/Harris ticket, I have my doubts that the majority of white men in this country would vote for them. I do, however, think that they would vote for a Biden/Harris or Biden/Warren ticket. That's just reality. To me, it's absolutely critical that we win, and win hands down over this evil thing in our White House.

Personally, I'm still undecided for the primaries, but will not hesitate to vote for anyone who is our nominee.

[DownriverDem]

16. You are right

No way would a Warren/Harris ticket be elected. Until Harris' attacks, I was hoping for a Biden/Harris ticket. Now I'm not so sure.

[PatSeg]

20. This is so true

And as I got older, I began to appreciate what my parents' generation went through in the 1930s and World War II. Though I still disagreed with them on many issues, I began to understand how they came to those beliefs and attitudes. After almost two turbulent decades, a secure and prosperous mainstream life must have been very appealing. Many of my generation, however, found it superficial and dull, not appreciating what had come before.

So I can see how younger adults don't always understand what came before them or how many freedoms that they take for granted did not come easily.

[llmart]

23. That's my experience also.

My daughter is in her mid-40's now and the family genealogist. So often she'll say to me things like "why on earth did your mother blah, blah, blah" or "what made you ever think getting married at 19 was a good thing?" She's not saying these things in disgust, just trying to understand the reasons. I always tell her that the history of the times is just as important as the actual genealogical facts.

[PatSeg]

33. Oh genealogy is a wonderful way to understand

our parents and grandparents. I started on our family tree about twenty years ago and I am amazed at what I've uncovered and relatives I've found. One cousin has old letters from my grandmother's sister written in the early 1900s and it is fascinating reading about their day to day lives, so many little details that I would never find in books.

When I was young almost everyone got married at about 19 (I was the exception in my family). It was just what people did. Women weren't expected to start a career. They would work for a year or two and then get married and start a family.

It is interesting to see how one generation views another.

[usaf-vet]

22. Biden/Warren ticket works for me. Biden / Harris ticket lost it's appeal with her attack.

I felt at that moment that without being there and understanding the tradeoffs that were necessary to move a liberal agenda forward her attack was not helpful to the Democratic parties interest in defeating the enemy..... Trump.

[ProfessorPlum]

3. Of course you work with people , even if you loathe their policies and beliefs

compromise is the heart of legislating and working in a democracy.

BUT

You don't have to go out of your way to praise people like that and you don't have to show nostalgia for your chumminess with these monsters, which is what Biden is doing in 2019, for fuck's sake.

I'm so delighted that rich old white men could be "collegial" and work with each other 40 years ago, whether they were segregationists or merely slightly racist, and that the forces of good were able to create civil rights legislation.

What Harris (who i'm not a big fan of) was pointing out is that while smiling at your enemies is a necessary evil in government, you shouldn't forget that they are your enemies, and the enemies of millions of Americans who deserve fair treatment.

[DownriverDem]

17. Just wait

Harris has baggage too.

[ProfessorPlum]

25. I think I know quite a bit of it

which is why I'm not super charged up about her.

[emmaverybo]

27. He praised civility, not Eastland. The point of his story was civility between people with opposing

views. His nostalgia was for a time of civility in the senate. Both he and Ted Kennedy worked with Eastland. Kennedy went on to become friends with him.

[ProfessorPlum]

31. I get your point. Civility is great when you have a rule of law and a functioning press

and working with people of questionable morals/judgement can be a good thing when it is towards a good end.

but the messaging is pretty terrible. I hope Biden gets smarter about it.

[onetexan]

47. PRAISE? did u even read Joe's comments re: segregationists

Or are u taking them out of context as well?

[watoos]

4. Joe blew it in the debate,

Joe used the same argument that the segregationists used, "states rights."

[Politicub]

12. He was knocked off guard. I could tell when he started rambling.

And when someone rambles, they can say stupid things. The states right argument was about the worst way for him to defend his record.

I think he was so flustered he didn’t know what he was really saying, which is even worse. He just started saying political phrases and words and that’s where he ended up. There are going to be more moments where he will be taken by surprise. Maybe he should pause to collect his thoughts before he starts talking.

[DownriverDem]

18. Going negative

I hope those doing the negative attacks don't win, because it will be hard to support them.

[Politicub]

24. I know, right? The primaries forum is a wall of negativity against Harris.

I wish people weren't so negative and could try to see things from the point of view of a minority instead of telling people why her experiences don't matter.

[Mme. Defarge]

30. I think he was angry and hurt

by the deliberate mischaracterization of his record. I think he abruptly stopped talking to avoid showing his anger since his record on promoting and defending civil rights speaks for itself.

[StarfishSaver]

34. You express sympathy for his "anger and hurt"

But Harris has been castigated here for saying SHE was hurt and ostensibly saying it angrily.

Hmmm.

[Mme. Defarge]

36. At least he didn't say,

“I don’t think you’re a calculating, opportunistic backstabber, but...”

[Cha]

42. Yes, she said she "didn't think Biden

was racist" and "Voters don't want a food fight.." right before she threw the metaphorical "plate full of Spaghetti" in his face.

[onetexan]

61. LOL love the "plate full of spaghetti" metaphor Cha

i've learned something new today Excellent metaphor

[Cha]

63. Full Disclosure..

I read it on DU that night and ran with it.. but I did put it I n quotes!

I love it, too, obviously!

[emmaverybo]

28. That he used the same argument doesn't mean he opposed busing out of the same

racial animus as segregationists. An honest and transparent case that Biden was a segregationist can not be made. Harris and other critics are trying to make it through implication. You are too.

[onetexan]

48. BS, he was shocked by her manufactured attack but was composed

In his rebuttal & answered it well. All of this manufactured anger is coming back to bite her in the rear if u havent noticed.

[StarfishSaver]

54. I think he was surprised that anyone questioned him about it

He hasn't had to explain himself in more than 10 yeara. When he was VP, most of the pushback he got was about Obama and his record, not his own. As evidenced by his reaction, not only to Harris - who, contrary to many of his unhappy supporters, was very gentle and respectful toward him when she asked a very simple and easy to handle question - but to other criticisms since he got into the race, he seems very uncomfortable being challenged. If that's the case, he's going to need to get over that if he wants to make it to the nomination.

[onetexan]

58. She was being nice to him? Did u watch the darn debate?

She attacked him and it was completely manufactured. She raised her voice and lost her composure.

[StarfishSaver]

59. Yes, I know. She became an angry black woman

even though she never raised her voice and never lost her composure.

Black women who speak their mind often are seen as angry - Angry Black Woman Syndrome is a thing.

Often times black women don’t feel comfortable enough to speak up or “toot their own horn” out of fear of being labeled as being afflicted with ABWS, also known as “Angry Black Woman Syndrome.” Many black women who have worked in a professional setting have had to deal with being labeled “hostile” when they have disagreed with something in a meeting, or have been labeled “intimidating” when being assertive in their communication."
https://blavity.com/how-to-combat-the-myth-of-angry-black-woman-syndrome-abws-in-the-workplace

[onetexan]

60. OK, i didn't go there. U did.

[mopinko]

5. this would be exculpatory but for one thing-

black kids are still shunted into second rate schools.

i think there is a valid critique to be made that that strategy was a failure in the long run.

[DownriverDem]

19. Get ready

Negative attacks are coming Harris' way. This will only split the party. Sad.

[maddiemom]

6. YES! Nailed it.

My Mom was active in local (western PA) Democratic politics at that time. I was busy as a young teacher, wife, and part time graduate student. I wasn't a mother at that time, partly because you weren't supposed to show up in the classroom when you were obviously pregnant . Usually you couldn't get maternity leave until you were tenured (three years) and they would actually ASK married or engaged teachers ( the WOMEN, of course) about their plans for starting a family in interviews. Long before I retired, pregnant (and usually unmarried) STUDENTS were not at all unusual in class. I think of that example often when considering the way things were in government and politics concerning segregationists during those years.

[Mjolnir1956]

7. Biden

Joe is the one who raised the issue of working with segregationists...He didn't have to but he did...Then his explanation to Harris was complete BS...He raised his voice to a woman candidate for president while defending states rights that same candidate who is African American....At best his response was tone deaf and at worst it was condescending. Then he goes a fund raiser and makes more tone deaf comments about gay waiters....I've watched Biden or years and he's a walking gaff machine....And no his Noun, Verb Obama's my friend spiel won't get him the nomination.

[maddiemom]

8. Das Vedanya!

[DownriverDem]

21. Oh please

I hope you are ready for all the baggage that is now going to be brought up against Harris. Her prepared attacks against Biden were pretty clear. We all saw it.

[Roy Rolling]

9. Context

Lacking context is the Achilles heel of every aggressive “expert”.

Those who loudly support supplanting 2019 morays (?) to measure actions of a half-century ago are using a dangerous method of propaganda. I don’t necessarily support Joe Biden, but Harris registers a negative in my mind for this weak argument.

Lack of context insults the intelligence of others in an attempt to re-write history for younger readers. It is what the Republican Party is attempting—and failing spectacularly—to attract younger voters.

[MySideOfTown]

10. Biden said it himself.

"My time is up".

Who am I to disagree?

[LanternWaste]

32. Please proceed.

Without a vapid bumper sticker to rely on, we often have so little to contribute. Thankfully, the American people are simplistic and desire bumper stickers in place of substance and context.

Please proceed, regardless of who you think you are or are not.

[BlueWI]

11. The straw man army marches on.

Has anyone suggested that segregationist senators were not to be worked with in 1950, 1960, 1970? Indeed, LBJ tried to get segregationist support for civil rights legislation, as the article says, and fortunately, Republican senators stepped up with significant support for the mid-60s landmark bills, no thanks to Eastland, Talmadge, et al. Of course this was the political context of the times - Senator Harris knows this, despite the patronizing tone of the author in addressing her.

The real question is why Biden, with his folksy anecdote about how James Eastland addressed him, felt that this was such a savvy example of working across difference that he brought it up in a 2020 Democratic nomination campaign.

Surely it's not unreasonable to expect clearer, more recent, and less fraught examples from the potential Democratic nominee for president. Even his campaign staff will advise him to do so. It's not 1972 anymore, and solutions are needed to the continuing issues of inequality and school segregation. These issues, unfortunately, tend to stay on the back burner, and the candidates of color who grew up in urban areas are much better positioned to address these issues as they stand today. Many POC lived through the consequences of these decisions to compromise or confront, and while it's painful to acknowledge this, the results of compromise did not fully address the issue of inequality.

Biden needs to tweak his communication to succeed in gaining the presidency, and I hope he does since I want to see a Democratic win in the GE.

[AlexSFCA]

13. Biden needs to get better at defending his record

It’a not what he had done but how his answers are the issue.

[tymorial]

14. It's not that he worked with them.

It was that he spoke fondly of them. He went out of his way to point out that they didnt treat him badly. It didnt matter they were bigots, they treated him well so he respected them. That is the problem.

No one gets pissed off at Pelosi or Schumer when they vote with Republicans over some bill. They arent getting up the next day saying how much they respect and appreciate Mitch McConnell or Kevin McCarthy.

[demosincebirth]

26. That's what had to be done at that time. You have to had lived in

That era to understand.

[StarfishSaver]

35. Lots of people who were around during that "era" would beg to differ

[demosincebirth]

37. I seriously doubt it

[StarfishSaver]

38. I'm not surprised that you would.

[demosincebirth]

49. Today they would differ but not at that time. Laws had to be passed

[StarfishSaver]

50. You know everyone who was around during that time and what they were thinking?

Wow.

[demosincebirth]

64. Yea, I knew everyone. Ain't that something?

[USALiberal]

39. Bullshit! Nt

[demosincebirth]

43. Back at ya!

[Cha]

45. Best reply!

[Dream Girl]

52. I don't think you know what you're talking about.

[Goodheart]

40. That's all well and good, all true, all understandable, BUT

Biden fumbled his defense of the matter.

[LibFarmer]

41. K&R nt

[wellst0nev0ter]

44. Joe Biden didn't just compromise with segregationists

He fought for their cause in schools, experts say

Greenberg, longtime director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, took Biden to task for sponsoring a bill that would limit the power of courts to order school desegregation with busing. It was a move that followed the wishes of many of Biden’s white constituents in Delaware.

The bill “heaves a brick through the window of school integration,” said Greenberg, one of the lawyers who had won the Brown v. Board of Education case that ended legal school segregation 21 years earlier. And according to Greenberg, Biden was the man with his hand on the brick.

(snip)

But political experts and education policy researchers say Biden, a supporter of civil rights in other arenas, did not simply compromise with segregationists — he also led the charge on an issue that kept black students away from the classrooms of white students. His legislative work against school integration advanced a more palatable version of the “separate but equal” doctrine and undermined the nation’s short-lived effort at educational equality, legislative and education history experts say.

“Biden, who I think has been good overall on civil rights, was a leader on anti-busing,” Rucker Johnson, author of the book “Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works,” said. “A leader on giving America the language to oppose it despite it being the most effective means of school integration at that time.”

That, of course, is not how Biden sees it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/joe-biden-didn-t-just-compromise-segregationists-he-fought-their-n1021626

Joe Biden is not a racist. But when push came to shove when it came to having white and black children attend the same schools during the age of white flight, he sided with the white flighters.

[comradebillyboy]

46. Biden's big mistake wasn't working with those people back when

he was a new Senator, it was waxing nostalgic about it in 2019. His own staff warned him not to do it.

[Dream Girl]

53. Totally agree. He was trying to make a point and it got twisted in the most heinous way...

I hope he learned his lesson. No one wants to hear about comity back in the day, not in our present political envioronment with Mitch McConnell and all the rest of them. We are no longer living in those times when Senators worked together and compromised. Maybe that will return, but we have been badly burned by this sentiment. Just look at what happened to Obama and his "reaching across the fence" and where that go him. He needs to listen to his staff.

[Demit]

55. Biden and Eastland worked together on anti-busing legislation. Where was the compromise in that?

[gldstwmn]

56. Poor Joe...

[Galraedia]

62. Harris tried to take a different enviornment from 50 years ago and apply it to today.

Who put those two senators that supported segregation in office? It wasn't Biden. It was the American people in their state that put them there. Biden isn't to blame for that, the voters that thought segregation was okay are. The environment wasn't like it was today.