# The Biden Administration - the first 1,500 days \[NOT an Afghanistan discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057 "2020-11-08T15:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/321 "2021-02-24T15:22:13Z")
I don’t disagree, but the corporate wing of the Democrats presided over the decimation of unions, the expansion of right-to-work, the decapitation of financial New Deal-era regulation, and promoted the inevitability of global commerce and automation that crushed labor and drive economic inequality. The corporate wing did all of this while holding hands with those who touted the inevitability of massive demographic change and the growth of a global economic and political system that would forever leave American working class competing with much lower paid labor pools in India, China, Vietnam, and elsewhere across the globe. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/322 "2021-02-24T15:45:14Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I don’t think it represents an overall failure in moderation _on the part of Democrats_ . Their opponents successfully portrayed the leftmost wing of the party as its norm, and many people buy it. I don’t mean the Democratic party was too moderate; I mean they literally ignored rural demographics and areas with dying industries like coal, the Detroit auto industry, and even minorities because they had all the votes they needed among educated urban voters which also segued with their shift toward supporting corporate and investment finance interests. For certain their candidates have been smeared repeatedly by the GOP, but their bigger problem is neglecting the polities who have traditionally supported them under the implicit assumption that they were no longer relevant to the political discourse. The Republican smearing could never has been as effective if it was if people didn’t have a reason to want to believe it to be true regardless of how patently fraudulent it was. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/323 "2021-02-25T00:54:44Z")
Why _wouldn’t_ McConnell and other Republicans vote to confirm Garland for AG? Their whole argument when they opposed his Supreme Court nomination was that it had nothing to do with him personally, but rather that they were standing for the sacred principle that the Senate does not vote to fill Supreme Court vacancies in a Presidential election year. Well, except for that one time. . . ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/324 "2021-02-25T01:41:57Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Well, except for that one time. . . McConnell has a lot of stories from band camp. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/325 "2021-02-25T05:14:56Z")
I know that some in this thread are tired of hearing about Joe Manchin, but I think his recently announced [support for Deb Haaland](https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/24/deb-haaland-joe-manchin-endorsement-interior/) as Secretary of the Interior shows the benefits of giving him some leeway. Republicans are pushing hard to turn her nomination into a proxy fight over the future of fossil fuels, and Manchin is showing some real courage to come out and pretty vocally back her nomination. It seems to illustrate that he has a good touch for picking his battles, and for finding a way to get behind the Biden Administration when it counts. Speaking of which, Biden’s folks sure are making a big show of fighting for Neera Tanden. I guess it’s to show that they’re not going to just give up on their nominees at the first sign of adversity, but the writing is on the wall. At some point you’ve got accept the reality and move on to someone who has a chance. Give her a staff job in the White House that doesn’t require Senate confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/326 "2021-02-25T05:55:51Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > his recently announced [support for Deb Haaland](https://www.rollcall.com/2021/02/24/deb-haaland-joe-manchin-endorsement-interior/) as Secretary of the Interior Glad to see that. That’s an appointment that matters a good deal, for multiple reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/327 "2021-02-25T06:40:35Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Manchin is showing some real courage Yeah, the guy who voted for Jeff Sessions, Ryan Zinke, and Mike Pompeo is “showing real courage”. Let’s stop with the lionizing Manchin for doing the bare minimum in supporting an administration which isn’t hell bent on dismantling the federal government and undermining the basic tenets of democracy. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/328 "2021-02-25T12:35:56Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Let’s stop with the lionizing Manchin for doing the bare minimum … These are indeed sad days when doing the bare minimum practically wins you a medal. This is just one example. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/329 "2021-02-25T15:59:34Z")
Understandable sneering at Manchin’s record aside, openly supporting Haaland when Republicans are trying to make her nomination a confidence vote on fossil fuels and Manchin represents a state where coal mining is a major economic sector and an even bigger part of the culture _is_ more than a little courageous. All Manchin would _have_ to do to support the Biden administration is quietly vote for Haaland. He wasn’t obliged to feed his opposition at the next election a nice soundbite against him. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/330 "2021-02-25T21:28:25Z")
[https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/US-shifts-state-grant-focus-to-extremism-15979841.php](https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/US-shifts-state-grant-focus-to-extremism-15979841.php) It must be killing Trump and the GOP to see their Russian enablers having to deal with a little pushback, once again. Not to mention gov’t “security forces” possibly presenting themselves in a less ominous light, like they did in Portland with their drive-by incarcerating, among other thuggish shenanigans. > [@](#): > > State and local government agencies will still have leeway. DHS will require that 7.5% of the grants be devoted to detecting and protecting against domestic extremism and an equal portion for cybersecurity, including to conduct risk assessments and training. DHS will also now prohibit using the grants to buy military equipment, including grenade launchers, bayonets and “weaponized” aircraft, Mayorkas said. The use of such weaponry, which became increasingly prevalent after the Sept. 11 attacks, has been criticized as unnecessary and leading to the militarization of local law enforcement. Sounds great, but is Myorkas slightly walking things back in the very next paragraph…? > [@](#): > > Mayorkas said DHS will continue to support the purchase of equipment that has “demonstrable impact on enhancing the safety of law enforcement and members of the public,” without specifying what that might entail. Meh - shoulda specified on those details, actually, because I sure wouldn’t rule out the DHS ultimately doing fuck-all about it. Good to keep an eye on this. > **[The words that are in and out with the Biden administration: ‘Tone matters...](https://www.baltimoresun.com/2021/02/24/the-words-that-are-in-and-out-with-the-biden-administration-tone-matters-and-civility-matters/)** > > Days after President Joe Biden took office, the Bureau of Land Management put a scenic landscape of a winding river at the top of its website, which during the previous administration had featured … Excellent - wiping out anything to do with the previous admin. is a good thing, especially its authortarian-enabling discourse. Someone mention Steven Miller? (Who has some _bon mots_, here) > [@](#): > > “The president has been clear to all of us: Words matter, tone matters and civility matters,” said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary. “And bringing the country together, getting back our seat at the global table means turning the page from the actions but also the divisive and far too often xenophobic language of the last administration.” > [@](#): > > Some shift in the language used by government agencies is not uncommon when a new administration arrives in Washington. In addition to their symbolic power, the revisions can help usher in new policies. Allowing the phrase “climate change” gives a green light to government scientists, while banning the use of “illegal alien” can alter the real-life engagements between immigrants and border agents. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/331 "2021-02-25T21:38:23Z")
Biden Executive Order tracker BusinessInsider has a new article out today that includes an interactive graphic showing ALL of Biden’s Executive Orders, Proclamations, and Memoranda, grouped into several categories with color-coded dots. Hover over any colored dot to see the date and title of the document, or click on it to read the full text of any document. The article promises that this will be kept up-to-date. The dots at the top are the oldest, starting on January 20, and the dots at the bottom are the most recent. > **[Track all of Biden's executive orders and actions as president](https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-executive-orders-actions-search-all-2021-1)** > > President Joe Biden has signed dozens of executive orders in his first months in office, highlighting his agenda and reversing Trump-era policies. > [@](#): > > This graphic categorizes all of Biden’s executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations. If you click on an action, it will take you to the full text and details from the White House. We’ll keep it updated. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/332 "2021-02-26T01:03:37Z")
Heh…bet this ain’t on the tracker… That princess, Mike DeJoy, (should this be in the clusterfuck thread?) is, well, ASKING FOR IT. > **['Get used to me': Defiant Postmaster General Louis DeJoy pushes back at...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/24/postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-testifies-mail-delays-tempers-flare/4572895001/)** > > Tempers flared as Democrats pressed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on delays in holiday mail and slow deliveries of prescription medicines. The article says that after Biden’s appointments last night, the Board of Govenors now leans left, so does that mean that this bum of a [Kevin O’Leary impersonator](https://www.google.com/search?q=kevin+o%27leary&rlz=1C1CHBD_enCA835CA835&sxsrf=ALeKk02zEUO_dskmbe5bsi5nfT7yUdtgfQ:1614300773274&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi155qBq4bvAhXSMX0KHUPiAV8Q_AUoAnoECBEQBA&biw=977&bih=621) should be getting the heave ho, then? Maybe we might _not_ have to get used to him? > [@](#): > > Oversight Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., noted that an investigation from the Inspector General found DeJoy “did not adequately assess the impacts of his changes on service, and he did not adequately consult with Congress and others before he did so…Many people – across the country and on this panel – have grave concerns. And recent events have aggravated them,” Maloney said. > [@](#): > > “What are you not willing to change just to make a buck?,” Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., pointedly asked DeJoy about his proposed changes for the service. Dang I wish the speaker of that last quote was president. (sad face)\* /atmb/\* why have both types of sad faces disappeared from the emoji chart? /atmb/ ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/333 "2021-02-26T01:47:37Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Let’s stop with the lionizing Manchin for doing the bare minimum in supporting an administration which isn’t hell bent on dismantling the federal government and undermining the basic tenets of democracy. Oh, come on. Who’s “lionizing” Manchin? Should we _not_ give him credit when he takes actions supporting Biden that are likely to be politically fraught for him? I don’t “lionize” him, but I give him due credit for skillfully threading a needle between supporting the Administration where it’s important and breaking with Biden here and there to maintain his profile as an independent-minded Democrat – which is the only way he has a prayer of being reelected in West Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/334 "2021-02-26T02:23:14Z")
Great - how about I get basic names right, like the first name of the suject of my previous post. Oh, and **Senegoid** - meant to mention good find on that tracker - definitely useful. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/335 "2021-02-26T02:30:55Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > (should this be in the clusterfuck thread?) This is the replacement clusterfuck thread: > [@Post CF and on-going Trump outrages](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-cf-and-on-going-trump-outrages/933746): > > Now that the c-fuck is well and truly over, we still need a place to hurl invective at the loser former president, since, like a case of herpes, he is never going away. I propose this thread to take over where the the earlier clusterfuck threads left off. Here’s a kickoff - the CPAC starts today. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/336 "2021-02-26T02:35:57Z")
Ah cool, thx. (and for maybe the third time this week - how did I miss that?) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/337 "2021-02-26T03:20:51Z")
It only came into being a couple of hours ago. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/338 "2021-02-26T21:05:56Z")
What’s up with these Dems want to take the codes away from the President? Do they know something or are making a play on the future? Pretty sure it’s unconstitutional. [https://www.westernjournal.com/dozens-house-democrats-request-biden-hand-nuclear-codes/](https://www.westernjournal.com/dozens-house-democrats-request-biden-hand-nuclear-codes/) ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/339 "2021-02-26T21:10:20Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Pretty sure it’s unconstitutional. The Founding Fathers wrote nuclear missile procedures into the Constitution? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057/340 "2021-02-26T21:13:09Z")
You pick up on that? Smart. I’m talking about taking powers away fro Pres. Biden by other Democrats. Why? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-biden-administration-the-first-1-500-days-not-an-afghanistan-discussion/925057.md?page=18)