Feeling completely gutted and hopeless. Not sure what I'm supposed to do. Fearful for my friends and family.
this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2024
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Counterpoint: No he wasn't.
He signed off on a handful of bills that reinflated a depressed economy one more time, while the quality of life in the US continued to decay. Then he threw vast fortunes away on Silicon Valley boondoggles and foreign military interventions, while climate change ravaged the interior of the country. Finally, he cemented a swath of Trump Era policy on immigration, Latin American foreign policy, abortion, and voting rights through a combination of continued reinforcement and inaction.
And to top it all off, he insisted on running in a virtually uncontested primary, then fumbled the nomination to his woefully unprepared VP a few months before the election.
One final point. If you look at states that have increased their reliance on revenue from fossil fuel extraction and you look at states that trended more conservative during the last eight years, you'll find a troubling trend. O&G money has been powering the GOP since Reagan. But every subsequent Democrat in office has worked to make the industry more lucrative for businesses that conspire towards their ouster. Its been a recipe for defeat for a generation. Also, not terrible good for ecological conditions or foreign policy.
Biden shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, funded countless green power expansions.
Biden protected forests made vulnerable by the previous Trump admin, protected streams again, and got the EPA back in shape after the previous admin had a Coal Lobbyist running it.
Biden rescheduled Marijuana, pardoned hundreds of nonviolent marijuana convictions.
Biden attempted three different times to cancel all student debts but in the end only managed to get the SAVE plans enacted.
Biden increased access to healthcare.
Biden signed into law a Same Sex marriage bill.
Biden's "inaction" on abortion is actually nothing to do with Biden but the fault of a stacked SCOTUS and deadlocked congress.
Biden did happily endorse a border security bill, but the Biden admin also condemned Texas barbwire fences along the river and instead wants to process immigrants and only persecute criminal immigrants. The previous Trump admin went after everyone, ironically letting the actual criminals run free as resources were wasted elsewhere.
Netanyahu came to Washington DC to beg for more aid because it was drying up. Despite decades of support from Biden, he was very restrained with how much he offered Israel and instead sent Naval vessels to provide aid to Palestinians. He has repeatedly told Netanyahu in public and in private, according to leaks, to end this war.
Under Biden the FTC has given out record breaking fines and prevented massive mergers.
Biden was not a great president but he was a good fucking president.
Federal data show the Biden administration approved 6,430 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first two years, outpacing the Trump administration’s 6,172 drilling-permit approvals in its first two years. The Biden administration’s policy of fossil fuel expansion contradicts the clear climate science that fossil fuel growth must be stopped and governments must phase out fossil fuels to avoid the most catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Biden officials intend to reject a blanket prohibition on old-growth logging that’s long been sought by some environmentalists. Officials concluded that such a sweeping ban would make it harder to thin forests to better protect communities against wildfires that have grown more severe as the planet has warmed.
Joe Biden’s Role in Creating the Student Debt Crisis Stretches Back to the 1970s
Etc.
I can't imagine being pro-wildfire.
Or thinking Biden's actions 50 years ago are a negative mark on his presidency.
Then you'll love living in a desert.
Asking the fox to guard the hen house for the fifth year in a row, hoping for different results.
I'd easily give that specific fox 4 more years given the choice we were given, but I'm willing to admit it was a pretty low bar to clear. Are you saying you disagree with the Biden's Green Power expansion, that you disagree with his attempts to end student debts?
Its starting to sound like your policy stances are that of a Trump supporter.
I disagree with his fossil fuel expansion. The green power plan is being promoted, first and foremost, by market dynamics as wind/solar drop below coal/oil and the demand for AI continuous power reignites nuclear.
But our actual carbon emissions aren't falling. We're producing more carbon today than when Biden took office. And the demand for electricity means even more fossil fuel consumption into the future.
Okay but I already said he could have done more with my very first comment, we're not here to talk about the things he didn't do. He at least offered the fewest Offshore Leases of any recent administration and instead the administration invested about 70 Million USD into offshore wind projects, four such commercial projects should be operational sometime next year.
While automakers made a fool of his administrations fuel economy standards by simply making larger vehicles that don't fall under the regulations, his administration did clearly make an attempt to increase fuel economy of gas vehicles. He also provided new tax credits for purchased EVs and made efforts to replace all federal vehicles with electric.
Again, he could have done more. I think a lot of his plans fell short or outright failed. But he was a good president.