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President Biden warns of 'oligarchy' as he bids farewell to five decades in politics
(www.usatoday.com)
You mean the oligarchy he helped set up?
this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2025
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Old man forgets that he was complicit in everything he says was wrong for the past four decades.
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Biden, fuck you too. Fuck the DNC.
Dear god he is so unbelievably feckless. And the most astounding part is that he seems to genuinely think he did a good job all around.
He did not do a good job. The bare minimum for doing a good job is not letting fascists take over.
Letting them take over? Does authoring the Patriot Act and the crime bill leading to our present system of mass incarceration, not to mention his relationship with MBNA, qualify Biden as some kind of egalitarian in your world? The fascists have been here for a while, my son.
This is a prime example of how the Overton window has shifted so far right, the average person has a political amnesia, and how strong the US corporate dictatorships propaganda is.
Joe Biden — the lifelong neoliberal who sowed the seeds for fascism, financed by corporate Americas plutocracy — had his history rewritten and reframed as though he's a progressive. While he may have adopted progressive policies in the last decade, he shifted with the political wind of the average voter, and didn't hold those beliefs until they became politically advantageous.
"Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, the freedoms and the fair shot for everyone to get ahead," Biden said.
Today? No Biden, it’s been there for five decades and longer.
It’s threatened the lives of every non white male that’s been a victim of institutional racism, sexism, and discrimination and outright taken many of those lives.
True, but today they no longer try to hide what they do. They are doing everything in the open and significant part of the population is cheering them.
It is mind blowing.
Yeah, I'd say it's closer to since at least the 1800s. Maybe longer.
John Brown called it out at his trial pre-Civil War.
For those who are unaware, he was a white abolitionist who facilitated a slave rebellion in Harper's Ferry, WV. He was caught and ultimately executed for his "crimes", but at his trial he basically said if he had done the same thing for the rich and powerful, he'd have been lauded as a hero, but since he did it for the poor and enslaved, he was branded a criminal.
Relevant Excerpt: "I have another objection, and that is, that it is unjust that I should suffer such a penalty. Had I interfered in the manner, and which I admit has been fairly proved, – for I admire the truthfulness and candor of the greater portion of the witnesses who have testified in this case, – had I so interfered in behalf of the Rich, the Powerful, the Intelligent, the so–called Great, or in behalf of any of their friends, either father, mother, brother, sister, wife, or children, or any of that class, and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right. Every man in this Court would have deemed it an act worthy a reward, rather than a punishment."
Full Text: https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/t-05508-051.pdf
I highly recommend people read his full speech if they haven't. Pretty powerful stuff from a man who wanted the right thing done but wasn't going to wait around for others to do it for him.
But yeah, America has been owned by the rich and powerful since forever.
The original Luigi.
I agree. But also, why didn't you do anything about it when you had the chance?
Because he doesn’t believe it and he’s just as guilty. If the Democrats truly believed what they were saying about Trump they’d be organising their own January 6th. They didn’t so they expect things to not change that much or to come back soon. Alternatively, they are grossly incompetent and not worth supporting.
If they truly believed all this Biden should have used an "official act" to deal with the problem once and for all. The supreme court gave him a blank check and he refused to cash it.
Remember when he was promising to increase taxes on anyone making $400,000 or more? At the first opportunity (the first debate) the media started attacking only him (BTW completely ignoring trump) until he suspended his campaign.
Harris took over, but notice that that promise disappeared.
Harris wanted to raise taxes on those making 400,000 just like biden, it didn't disappear at all. She also talked about introducing an unrealized gains tax on those with gains worth more than 100 million. You can't say she didn't want to increase taxes on the rich unless you ignore her policy proposals.
While I don't know about this particular promise, Harris's campaign progressively dropped or watered down economic policy promises as the election got closer. I can't find the source, but there was an article here after the election with data on this.
I do remember that. But I also remember he was president for 3 years prior to that promise, and a whole year afterwards, and he made no move to action that.
Biden wasn't a bad president, but he wasn't a great one either.
The problem with republicans is that they're actively evil.
The problem with democrats is that they're too disorganised and fractured to actually follow through on their plans.
Trump could make a political promise that all americans will be forced to eat his turds unless they pay a 1 million dollar yearly fine.
That bill would pass, because they're united on everything, and their only goal is others suffering.
Biden could make a promise that all americans will pay an extra $1 yearly tax to fund a way to solve homelessness in major cities.
Bidens plan wouldn't pass, because democrats would bicker how the fine details would work, meanwhile, we still have to eat trumps daily turds.
too disorganised and fractured
Disorganized is doing a lot of work there. It really comes down to the fact that they just don't get quite enough votes to get much done. You can call the Senate seat from West Virginia "fractured", which is technically true, but that seat was a miracle in the first place.
People keep wanting to blame "the Democrats" when the same exact thing happens to Republicans. But it doesn't matter, because voters expect something from the Dems when they have 49-51 seats. When Republicans are in the same position, they just have to stop the Dems. They couldn't even repeal the ACA. Did that matter? Did they get called "fractured" for not delivering on that campaign promise? What about The Wall? Isn't that supposed to be ten feet higher by now?
Democrats have to deliver the moon. Republicans just have to prevent Democrats from getting to the moon. Somehow that makes them "more effective" in the eyes of the voters.
Perfect is the enemy of good
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Yeah well, 64 years ago Eisenhower warned about the dangers of the military-industrial complex and we've all seen how that warning got completely ignored.
Dawg we had Washington warn about the 2 party system, we never listen
Biden has been in federal politics for over 80% of the time since Eisenhower said that.
Ironic that Biden brought that up when he called out the tech industrial complex. Americans do not learn.
Did they ask chatgpt to write that or they literally think people are stupid?
probably both.
Says the guy that pardoned his own son 🙄
I mean his son was the target of politically motivated prosecution. Biden should've pardoned other people in similar situations, but pardoning his son wasn't wrong. In other words, the fact that other people deserved these pardons doesn't invalidate its use for Hunter.
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Just giving the people what they voted for. A complete lack of accountability among the leaders of the country and anyone who associates with them.
Stfu you would pardon your own son/daughter too.
Maybe but I wouldn’t complain about oligarchs while acting like an oligarch
You wouldn't pardon your own son?
You wouldn't download a pardon.
That's nepotism, totally different thing
/s
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