#hugarian problems

[awreckfics]

“People in France just go to the sea for weekend trips. It’s not strange... they have a sea, damn it, don’t feel strange about it!”

— me at myself when I write a fic set in France and can’t comprehend the fact that some countries have access to a sea and don’t just go to a big lake for holidays

[opedguy]

Biden Poised to Run for President

LOS ANGELES (OnlineColumnist.com), Feb. 17, 2019.--Speaking in Munich, Bavaria, 75 years after the D-Day invasion that spelled the beginning of the end of Germany’s Nazi regime, former Vice President Joe Biden presented himself as a new American statesman, ready to throw his hat in the ring in 2020. Biden’s watched some 16 other Democrats jump in the race, some young, some old, but none older than Biden who would turn 78 in 2020.  Calling today’s American foreign policy under 72-year-old Donald Trump “an embarrassment,” Biden all but declared his candidacy in Munich.  More that two years ago, Biden decided not to run, citing family matters related to the death of his son, Beau Biden, from brain cancer. “The America I see values basic human decency, no snatching children from their parents or turning our back on refuges at our border.  Americans know that’s not right,” Biden told Munich delegates, weighing into domestic politics.

            Biden’s the most experienced, senior member of the Democrat Party considering running for president.  Speaking disparaging about Trump’s foreign policy, Biden exposes himself to his own criticism once he announces for president.  Slamming Trump on foreign soil carries certain risks, especially making political hay over a bad situation on the Mexican border. Most U.S. news watchers don’t think the Trump administration deliberately rips children from their parents, knowing existing immigration laws that prevent children from incarceration for breaking U.S. laws.  Biden knows that under his reign as VP with former President Barack Obama, the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement Service [ICE] also detained illegal aliens, deporting thousands more for illegal U.S. entry.  It’s easy for Biden to slam Trump, without facing criticism from his own policies under Obama.

            Biden’s fiery rhetoric at Munich clearly anticipates his run for president, in a matter of weeks, not months.  “The American people know, overwhelmingly, that it is not. That it is not who we are,” yet the Obama administration had its share of detentions, childhood separations and deportations, painting a very different picture than Biden in Munich. No American believes that the U.S. should have an open border policy, eliminating thousands of miles of border fence.  Under Biden’s watch, Congress authorized over 600 miles of border fence to the tune of $25 billion. When Trump asked for a fraction of funding to complete the U.S.-Mexico border barrier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called Trump’s “wall” immoral.  When Obama occupied the White House, Democrats in Congress, including Biden and Pelosi, backed Obama’s fence-building policy.

            Speaking badly about your own country on foreign soil violates the principle that “politics stops at the water’s edge.” Biden’s brashness has got him into trouble in his political career, viewed as a gaffe-prone politician.  “While I cannot speak today as an elected government officials who’s is able to set policy, I can speak as a citizen.  I can offer insight into my country.  I know we’ve heard a lot about leadership, but in my experience, leadership only exist if somebody—and others—are with you. Leadership in the absence of people what with you is not leadership,” Biden said, in a veiled swipe at Trump. Trump’s pushed U.S. allies overseas to pay a bigger share of their own defense costs, rather that rely only on the U.S.  Biden has the European Union, NATO and the United Nations behind him, wanting to return to the Obama administration’s globalist foreign policy.

           Trump’s had his share of European critics especially for backing the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord  June 1, 2017, then canceling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPA] AKA “the Iranian Nuke Deal.”  Biden, part of the Obama administration, backs both deals, railing against Trump to pulling the U.S. out.  Trump finds himself popular with a small group of EU leaders, like Polish President Andzej Duda, Hugarian President Viktor Orban and Czech Republic President Milos Zeman, all of whom oppose the EU’s open border policy.  Most of Brussel’s officials oppose Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, something Biden exploited in Munich.  “You’re never allowed to disagree with your brothers and sisters in public,” Biden told a Munich audience, saying Trump doesn’t allow for dissent.  Biden told Munich attendees that he believes the U.S. is looking for a change in 2020.

           More than a foreign policy speech, Biden signaled he’s getting closer to throwing his hat into the ring for 2020.  At age 76, Biden hopes he can energize the Democrat youth base, something that hasn’t happened since Obama won the presidency in 2008 and 2012.  While Trump has equal problems with the youth vote, Democrats need the youth vote to win in 2020.  To get the youth vote, Binden would have to compete with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Tx.), all of whom promise Medicare-for-all and free college tuition.  Without a commitment to Democrat’s socialist base, Biden could get out-flanked by a younger generation of Democrat candidates, who, like Bernie, promise the world.  Biden’s Munich speech all but announced his candidacy for 2020 yet shows that he’s willing to bash an incumbent U.S. president to get out his message.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.