>> Joe Biden's comments this week about his working relationship with some of the most
vicious segregationists in American government over the past century have drawn a lot of
condemnation this week.
But they've also drawn quite a bit of support with people defending him.
Some you might not be that surprised by, but some you might and we want to show you both
of these.
So first, we have Senator Dianne Feinstein who said, I think everybody is picking on
him, press as well as others.
He's the front-runner so he's the one to shoot down, so to speak.
I think it's a little unexpected, I don't think he has figured for this.
Jeanne Shaheen also Senator, said, I think it's not helpful to Democrats to attack each
other at this stage.
Why would you attack another candidate during a primary?
Madness, I say.
>> Well, I'm gonna jump in already.
So I remember Feinstein and Shaheen, getting so mad when everybody was criticizing Bernie
Sanders.
>> All right, he didn't do that all.
>> And that alternative reality.
>> Isn't that interesting?
Bernie Sanders has been attacked from day one through today, every single day, ten times
a day.
Feinstein didn't give it damn, never spoke up about it.
They don't care about their so-called colleagues.
You know that Bernie Sanders is technically in Democratic leadership in the Senate, okay?
And that's their leader, they're like, they don't give a damn.
They're like, Bernie Sanders, of course, you should spit on him daily.
Someone attacked Biden.
How could you criticize our beloved establishment buddy Joe Biden?
Somebody has gotta stop this.
Yeah, put an end to this.
What is this craziness?
I mean, the fact that they cannot see that hypocrisy is amazing.
And whenever you point it out they get doubly mad.
Yeah, there you guys go again pointing out things that are true, right?
>> So you tell me how this is any different?
And this is that they tweaked Biden on comments he made.
There wasn't like 28 articles every single day and Hickenlooper said that Bernie Sanders
ideas were like Stalin.
None of the Senate Democrats said a goddamn thing about that.
Nobody said, hey, Hickenlooper, what are you doing?
Bernie's in second place.
He could obviously be the nominee, let alone the fact that he's our colleague.
You're calling him Stalin, you monster.
>> That's right.
A really good point.
>> And again not a word, not a word.
Those Senate Democrats, they don't believe in unity, they don't believe in colleagues.
All they care about is protecting their own ass.
So I'm not interested in them saying, don't you dare criticize our beloved Joe Biden,
no deal.
>> Yeah, I agree on that, because the reality is yes, if there is dissension among the Democrats,
could it help Trump?
Because then he can pick on them in a different way.
Yeah, maybe, and that's some of their points.
But the reality is yes, they did not step up for Bennie Sanders.
And they don't have to have had agreed with him, they can consider him not to be part
of their establishment.
Sort of like abuse which is kind of true, but at the same time they could have been
less, yes.
Less hypocritical, so I agree, there is a hypocrisy there, there's a tone deafness.
And there's this desire to continue to push sort of the establishment side of the democratic
agenda.
And now one of the reasons for it is to be able to potentially fight Trump further.
I think you can trump, you can trump Trump by actually focusing on the more progressive
side of the party.
If that is what voters are going to do and not try to swing it.
Because they like a particular view of one of their candidates versus in general supporting
their candidates and the people vote for them.
>> A little bit more defense coming his way.
Senator Doug Jones said the real point of Biden's comments was that quote.
When you're sitting next to a Senate colleague, especially someone who, at the time, was in
his own party, you've got to work together.
You've got to figure out and find some common ground.
To which I would respond, have you read the comments from Eastland?
They're viciously violent racist stuff worse than you probably are imagining if you haven't
actually seen it.
You can add a little bit of criticism to your comments.
And also, you cannot pretend as Doug Jones is here, that Joe Biden just exists floating
free with no context whatsoever on the issue of segregation.
When you look at his positions on busing and topics like that, he is not clean in this
area as well.
And so him choosing to bring up the specter of segregation in his past is certainly worthy
of criticism.
Considering how light the criticism was for him on his own positions on segregation.
We do have one other defender though that you might not have expected, there's a few
tweets.
Where effectively, the argument is sort of similar with Tulsi Gabbard saying, adding
Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris saying Joe Biden did not celebrate or coddle segregationists.
His critics have unfairly misrepresented his important message to score cheap political
points.
I agree with, that's Clyburn and Joe Biden in order for Congress and the President to
get things done for the American people.
There needs to be civility in Washington and the country, the ability to work with those
who disagree, even those who hold some views which we abhor.
In order for Congress to work for the American people, we need to find common ground with
each other.
That is not possible without civility.
We don't need another president who is going to continue to divide our country.
We need a president who will unite us, united we stand, divided we fall.
I appreciate the sentiment in a lot of that.
But again, I don't think that Joe Biden is clean in this area.
And I think that when you combine it with his incredibly naive comments about working
with Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans in the future, we have to be critical of that
approach at this point.
Even though I agree with a lot of what she said there in other contexts.
>> Some of the Senate Democrats called it a gaffe, they always call it a gaffe.
It's not a gaffe.
That's what Joe Biden believes that you go work with the opposite side.
And so here Tulsi Gabbard is saying something that seems benign.
Well, hey, listen, we gotta work with the other side and we need civility, etc.
But it's from a bygone era.
And by the way, even in that bygone era, it was a bad idea working with terrible segregationists.
If you are getting those segregationist to vote for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting
Rights Act, great, no problem, right?
But if you're going to their side, not a good idea.
And in this case, Tulsi, if you're president, how are you gonna get Mitch McConnell to agree
with any of your policies?
He disagrees with at least 90% of your policies.
The only way that he and McConnell to go work with you is either you're gonna defeat him
and get him out of the way.
Or you're gonna have to go to him cuz he's not gonna come to you.
And so that is disappointing that it is unrealistic view of politics to think that Tulsi Gabbard
or any Democrat or Joe Biden can go, hey Mitch let's grab a beer like in the old days.
Let's just talk this through and then maybe we'll get Medicare for all.
Never going to happen.
So, but a couple other things.
So Trump, it'll give him fodder for 2020.
Trump's got plenty of fodder, don't worry about that.
And so, by the way, when Trump was running in the Republican race, there were 17 candidates,
if you remember last time around, right?
And the Republicans say, don't attack Trump.
Because it'll give the Democrats fodder.
No, they all attack Trump.
And he won anyway.
And it made him stronger and he wound up winning the general election.
All this is total nonsense.
And then Tom Carper, Senator also from Delaware, obviously backing Joe Biden.
Said that Joe Biden has done more to advance the cause of civil rights in a lifetime than
all other candidates combined.
Not true, not remotely true.
So, yes, Joe Biden has a mixed record on civil rights.
He opposed busing, where you bring black kids into white neighborhoods.
He still opposes it, today, says it was a bad idea and he hasn't changed his mind on
it.
The crime bill was terrible for civil rights.
He's done some good things for civil rights.
So it's not just all bad, it's genuinely mixed.
On the other hand Bernie Sanders has a stellar record on civil rights, including being part
of the Civil Rights Movement at the time.
Including marching with King.
Including chaining himself to African-Americans.
When he was not a politician.
Saying, if you're gonna arrest them, you have to arrest me with you.
Including doing housing discrimination stings when he was a student.
So no, Biden does not have a better record.
First of all then Booker and Kamala Harris who are African Americans combine, that's
preposterous.
I know that his record goes back further, I understand that.
And he just flat out on Bernie Sanders alone does not have a better record, period.
That's a fact.
But hey the media...Oh I don't know I don't know.
Bernie, black, black people love Biden, I'm saying it so that's it.
But what is it based on?
It's based on the fact that Obama picked him not on his Civil Rights record.
Do the actual fact checking.
And the reality is Sanders is better on that.
And finally, look at the arrogance of Feinstein when she said, as John quoted earlier, I think
it's a little unexpected.
I don't think he had figured for this.
>> Cuz he's a politician, right?
>> You're the front runner.
There's a 24 person field and you think, well I didn't expect that they would attack me,
I'm the establishment.
How dare you attack me?
And Feinstein backs that up like, my, this is unexpected.
It's unacceptable.
You can attack progressives all day long, but the establishment?
How dare you?
Well, sad day for you, Dianne Feinstein.
I don't care what you think.
You're also an establishment senator, and you're also deeply conservative.
You voted for Bush's tax cuts, and you voted for the Iraq war, just like Joe Biden did.
You voted for all the same heinous things he did.
So if you're expecting a free ride, those days are over.
They're over for you, and they're over for Joe Biden.
Let's have a real contest, where we talk about different ideas.
And what are people actually going to do?
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.
And to be fair Marianne Williamson and Mike Rebel as well.
Those four presidential candidates have signed to progressive economic play saying, we will
fight for these things.
Medicare for all, Green New Deal, constitutional amendment to get money out of politics, higher
wages, etc.
Buying goods, I'm not signing anything.
And I hate we went to it and told a bunch of rich donors, if you're like me, nothing
will change.
He said, I promise you, I need you very badly, and I'm gonna make sure that nothing changes.
>> Had no fundamental change.
>> So look, your choices are clear.
But if you expect us to lie down and say, yeah, we should put up someone just like Hillary
Clinton against Donald Trump, that promises no change.
No deal, cuz I'm not gonna lose to Donald Trump.
We're not gonna make those same mistakes again.
And if you say hey, why don't you just heel and have another establishment guy do nothing
for four years as president?
No effing deal, okay?
So if Biden is gonna say that he's the candidate of the status quo, we're gonna come for him.