Biden Attempts to Appeal to Black Voters. Twitter Finds Him Guilty of Hypocrisy

Joe Biden has had a tough time in the polls recently.

When he first announced his campaign, he was thought to be the clear favorite. Even then, he angered progressives with his relatively conservative stance on healthcare: opposing dismantling Obamacare and instead favoring a public option. 

Even more sickening to left-leaning Democrats is the fact that he is a vocal opponent of socialism.

However, the issue of race is hounding his campaign like nothing else. First he was attacked for working with segregationists in order to get things done. Then came Kamala Harris’ righteous anger – which coincidentally gave her a huge boost in the polls.

The most damaging attack was on mass incarceration. Many progressives blame his 1994 crime bill for the discrepancy in incarceration rates between blacks and whites. This issue is especially important because it damaged the Clinton campaign in 2016 by harming their reputation with black voters. Even if he wins the nomination, this issue could lose him the general election. 

Yet another embarrassing moment came at the NAACP annual conference. There, he said that his legislative record couldn’t be racist because if it was, Obama wouldn’t have picked him for VP. Predictably, this was seen as tone-deaf. 

To escape these controversies, Joe released a twitter campaign aimed at fighting mass incarceration.

Too many people are incarcerated in the US – and many don’t have resources to successfully rejoin society after serving their time.

That’s why I’m releasing my plan to reduce our prison population, create a more just society, & make our communities safer. https://t.co/bnXs8L6bnP pic.twitter.com/it7JtZ0OjS

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 23, 2019

Unfortunately, progressives were quick to remind everyone of Joe Biden’s past.

https://twitter.com/benszemkus/status/1153605805221879812

 

https://twitter.com/CDonatac/status/1153827842292981762

https://twitter.com/JeffKeller3/status/1154011404762001408

From the other side of the aisle, conservatives argued that Biden was simply copying the First Step Act. Signed by Trump last December, that law made key reforms to sentencing that were widely celebrated by the black community.

 

https://twitter.com/PeppersSausage/status/1153607040574676992

Finally, one guy just kept it short and sweet.

https://twitter.com/JamsJessa/status/1154082149634650112

Either way, it doesn’t seem like a lot of people liked Joe Biden’s attempt. Time will tell how his campaign does in the coming months.