# What has the Biden administration done that's so awful? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060 "2022-02-07T17:52:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/21 "2022-02-08T21:47:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@bump](#): > > > > Not that a black woman can’t be a SCOTUS justice, but might there possibly be a better qualified jurist of some other minority? Like say… a hispanic man, or a gay white woman, or an immigrant, or something like that? It does seem somewhat… limiting and strongly virtue-signaling to decide ahead of time that you’re going to appoint a black woman, and then see who’s available. > > That concerned me a little too. As long as he picks someone who is well-qualified, I’m okay. You can’t say every pick for the Court is the best possible candidate; I doubt that’s ever true. There’s always some consideration beyond their suitability for the bench; what are their political beliefs, what controversies have they been involved in, etc. > > If he puts forth someone terrible, that’s not only showing that he’s virtue-signaling, but it’s also a sign that he thinks no Black woman is better. It would probably be seen as an insult and backfire. > > I won’t worry until we see who gets picked. And he can always push back against criticism by saying that the best candidates he had in mind were Black women, and it’s hard to prove otherwise. As a counterpoint, in US history there has always been an unspoken agreement that nobody would be appointed to the SCOTUS unless they were a white male. Lots of SC justices didn’t even have law degrees in history. Its only recently that the court started coming closer to resembling the people affected by its judgements. I feel what Biden is doing is addressing that unspoken assumption and saying that he wants the court to reflect the US as it currently looks. I guess my point is that, Biden is doing what presidents in history have done, just in the opposite direction. Instead of the unspoken assumption that he has to pick a white (christian) man, he wants to pick a black woman since they’ve not only been ignored by the powerful for so long but because they are a huge part of the democratic coalition. Theres always questions of demographics and ideology when a SC justice is picked, its just that many times its unspoken while Biden says it out loud. Granted there are other minority groups to pick, but I like how Biden basically said he rejects the tacit agreement we’ve had for the last 240 years about who we appoint to positions of power. Also the people Biden are looking at are pretty good. On his list there are multiple federal appellate court judges, one is on the California supreme court, several are leaders of civil rights legal organizations, etc. There are ample people qualified to sit on the SCOTUS, so narrowing down the list based on demographics won’t reduce the quality of the pick. Other people don’t have to agree with me, but thats how I see it and I think its a move in the right direction to try to promote a society where people in positions of power have more in common with the people they rule over. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/22 "2022-02-08T22:03:44Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Presidents need to learn to cater to their own party alone and stop caring about the other side - whether D or R. Didn’t the last President do that, and it was absolutely awful? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/23 "2022-02-08T22:04:13Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > For instance, he still refuses to enact forgiveness of student debt,… 1. The president has no authority to do so. He can suspend payments, collection activity etc during the emergency. 2. About 80% of Americans are opposed to total blanket student loan forgiveness, and I am one of them. 3. About 60% are in favor of some sort of forgiveness, depending, and I am one of them. To me, it is easy. Make student loans discharge able in Chapter 7, as they were before, and forgive all those bogus loans, like for trump university, etc. If someone can afford to pay off the loans, they should. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/24 "2022-02-08T22:26:31Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I guess my point is that, Biden is doing what presidents in history have done, just in the opposite direction. Instead of the unspoken assumption that he has to pick a white (christian) man, he wants to pick a black woman since they’ve not only been ignored by the powerful for so long but because they are a huge part of the democratic coalition. Theres always questions of demographics and ideology when a SC justice is picked, its just that many times its unspoken while Biden says it out loud. Granted there are other minority groups to pick, but I like how Biden basically said he rejects the tacit agreement we’ve had for the last 240 years about who we appoint to positions of power. I think that race and gender should not be the basis of who you appoint (as a general principle). It was wrong when it was always white men, and it’s wrong now. But, and this is a big but (butt?), under these circumstances I don’t have an issue with it. I do support a call for diversity. A different perspective might be a good thing for the Court. As long as… > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Also the people Biden are looking at are pretty good. On his list there are multiple federal appellate court judges, one is on the California supreme court, several are leaders of civil rights legal organizations, etc. There are ample people qualified to sit on the SCOTUS, so narrowing down the list based on demographics won’t reduce the quality of the pick. And with that, I’m good. 🙂 > [@DrDeth](#): > > - About 80% of Americans are opposed to total blanket student loan forgiveness, and I am one of them. > - About 60% are in favor of some sort of forgiveness, depending, and I am one of them. To me, it is easy. Make student loans discharge able in Chapter 7, as they were before, and forgive all those bogus loans, like for trump university, etc. If someone can afford to pay off the loans, they should. Holy crap. I am in complete agreement with you about something. 😲 ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/25 "2022-02-08T22:48:49Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > criticism from the left: Two other big criticisms from the left: -Trump reversed some of Obama’s thawing policies with Cuba, and Biden hasn’t re-reveresed them back to the Obama-era policies. -After pulling out of Afghanistan, the Biden administration sanctions on the Taliban have crippled their ability to respond to a massive famine over there. > [@DrDeth](#): > > The president has no authority to do so. He can suspend payments, collection activity etc during the emergency. Cite? And even if this is true, why not publicize what WH lawyers have advised on it. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/26 "2022-02-08T22:59:36Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > … so narrowing down the list based on demographics won’t reduce the quality of the pick. But it’s almost certain to damage the perception of it - and to some extent the effectiveness of the person appointed. Appointing a well-qualified black woman could be a fine thing. Restricting the choices in advance guarantees that she’ll be criticized on the basis that without this arbitrary restriction she’d not have been chosen. Whereas without this, it would be “Look who won out, based on her merits.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/27 "2022-02-08T23:00:03Z")
> **[No, Biden Can’t Forgive Student Loans By Executive Order](https://www.forbes.com/sites/prestoncooper2/2021/08/30/no-biden-cant-forgive-student-loans-by-executive-order/?sh=166b3cba3b2b)** > > The president can only cancel student loans under specific programs authorized by Congress. It is in the Constitution. The President is in favor of _Legislation_ that would forgive $10K of debt. But not by fiat. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/28 "2022-02-08T23:06:26Z")
Biden’s DoJ is defending Trump’s horrible Title 42 immigration policies in court. They are making arguments for the legality of Trump’s policies around child separation, blocking asylum seekers, and turning back immigrants for health reasons. The Biden admin has already expelled a million immigrants under Title 42 this year. You’d think that Democrats would be fighting this tooth-and-nail given all the hoopla about Trump putting kids in cages, but it’s not making any news at all. It’s not an option for me ever to vote Republican in the future. I’ll vote for Democrats until I die, but stuff like this makes me feel really gross about it. > **[Biden is defending key Trump immigration policies in court](https://www.vox.com/22893065/biden-family-separations-title-42-border-court)** > > The Justice Department is fighting to maintain Trump’s border restrictions and against compensation for separated families. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/29 "2022-02-08T23:26:34Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Biden’s DoJ is defending Trump’s horrible Title 42 immigration policies in court And strangely, I am still reliably told that Biden has instituted open borders, and welcomed all illegal immigrants in, ruining the country. This is part of the problem. Those on the left are pissed at what he’s doing, and those on the right are pissed at what they imagine he’s doing. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/30 "2022-02-09T00:16:37Z")
There is [debate](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/what-biden-cant-do-on-student-debt-and-what-he-wont-do) among legal experts as to whether he can do everything he promised by executive authority. From what I can find, he didn’t specify on the campaign trail whether he intended to support legislation or executive action to cancel student debt. It can be a bit dangerous to parse words but I think _“I’m prepared to write off the ten thousand dollars’ debt, but not fifty. Because I don’t think I have the authority to do it by a sign of the pen”_ implies that his intent for the $10,000 of cancellation would be by executive power. All of this is why his administration should publicize what they think is legally possible under current law. Obviously this matters to a lot of the public and regardless of which side they’re on they deserve to know which branch of government is continuing the status quo. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/31 "2022-02-09T00:22:26Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And strangely, I am still reliably told that Biden has instituted open borders, and welcomed all illegal immigrants in, ruining the country. > > This is part of the problem. Those on the left are pissed at what he’s doing, and those on the right are pissed at what they imagine he’s doing. It’s absolutely maddening. We kicked out a million immigrants, and the right is insisting that no, we actually let _two million_ immigrants _into_ the country. That number is so big that it would transparently double the size of most midsized cities. You couldn’t possibly miss it. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/32 "2022-02-09T00:35:47Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > That number is so big that it would transparently double the size of most midsized cities. You couldn’t possibly miss it. Biden is hiding them in the tunnels under the WalMarts. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/33 "2022-02-09T00:39:39Z")
Along with confiscated ballots for Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/34 "2022-02-09T00:53:16Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Biden is hiding them in the tunnels under the WalMarts. Those were the tunnels built during [Operation Jade Helm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jade_Helm_15_conspiracy_theories). ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/35 "2022-02-09T02:16:34Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It’s absolutely maddening. We kicked out a million immigrants, and the right is insisting that no, we actually let _two million_ immigrants _into_ the country. That number is so big that it would transparently double the size of most midsized cities. You couldn’t possibly miss it. Yeah, there’s a lot of that innumeracy going around. Here in Ottawa this week, we’ve had people saying that there are a “million-plus” protestors downtown. I heard a guy I know say that in person just the other day. Except that the population of the entire Ottawa area is only about 1-1.5 million, depending on how you count it. So these people think the city just about doubled in size - their **own** city, _in which they live_. They just never stop to ask, “Hey, is that number at all reasonable?” ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/36 "2022-02-09T15:00:58Z")
Opened the Southern border to allow human trafficking, fentanyl, and other killing drugs. Begging OPEC to produce more oil when the US was almost oil independent and were exporting. High inflation (40 Year) and totally out of touch what’s outside of the beltway. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/37 "2022-02-09T15:05:56Z")
I’m not saying he shouldn’t appoint a minority or a woman. That’s perfectly fine by me. What he did that I think is a mistake is announcing it ahead of time. I mean, I’m sure there are perfectly good black woman candidates out there. But what if there’s a gay Hispanic male lawyer who’s even more qualified? Or a straight native Hawaiian man? Or a non-binary Asian person? Yet the President has decided that the pool of candidates has been narrowed down to black women because the President wants to make some kind of point about race and gender. I feel like while there are lots of Presidential points to be made about race and gender, the appointment of a Supreme Court justice isn’t necessarily the best place to do it, and is probably a politically costly one to boot. > [@eenerms](#): > > Opened the Southern border to allow human trafficking, fentanyl, and other killing drugs. Begging OPEC to produce more oil when the US was almost oil independent and were exporting. High inflation (40 Year) and totally out of touch what’s outside of the beltway. Boy… talk about misunderstanding how the world works. First, show how Biden “opened the Southern border” exactly vs. what Trump, Obama or Bush had in place? Second, there’s no winning on oil; we can be oil-independent and US oil companies can make a lot of money… and prices at the pump will be HIGH, or we can deal with OPEC and have lower at the pump prices and less US oil company profits. That’s how it works- Biden’s dealings with OPEC were in response to very high oil prices in order to relieve the price at the pump for most people. Third, high inflation is totally a consequence of the pandemic and the associated economic disruptions. That’s not something Biden did, or can really do a whole lot to mitigate when it comes right down to it. ---
**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 9, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/38 "2022-02-09T15:17:37Z")
Disclaimer: I didn’t read the whole thread. I think the biggest thing that the Biden administration is failing to do (and the Obama administration was equally guilty) is tooting his own horn, listing his accomplishments, bragging about more jobs, falling COVID numbers, and many of the small, obscure, but important things that he is managing to do while (incredibly!) holding on to his sanity and optimism. And I’d like to see Biden be more of a public _presence_. I want to see his face and his comments Out There in front of everyone. I want people to have a real grasp of how he is Matter to trump’s Anti-Matter. He’s letting himself be swallowed up by the “nattering nabobs of negativism”\* who dominate the media. The Dems have never been good at singing their own praises. * * * * * * \* [Said by that crook Spiro Agnew, but written by William Safire](https://politicaldictionary.com/words/nattering-nabobs-of-negativism/) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/39 "2022-02-09T15:21:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > And I’d like to see Biden be more of a public _presence_ . I want to see his face and his comments Out There in front of everyone. I want people to have a real grasp of how he is Matter to trump’s Anti-Matter. Oh, gods no. I am reveling in the fact that I don’t start every day with existential dread like I did during the last administration. There are whole weeks where I don’t think about what Biden is doing. This is a good thing. Do the Democrats need to get on the ball with messaging? Surely. But Biden shouldn’t be the one doing it. ---
**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 9, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060/40 "2022-02-09T15:29:15Z")
Not every **day** – 🤦🏽‍♀️ C’mon, please don’t take my statement to an extreme. I agree with you-- I like that I know he’s working, but I want it to be clear that HE is the one who is working. That he is accomplishing what he said he would do, to the extent that it’s possible with NO Republican support. Hell, Joe Manchin’s face is before the public more than Biden’s and that’s bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-has-the-biden-administration-done-thats-so-awful/959060.md?page=3)