Orange Gearle: sen. joe biden

My mother has accused me of being "too liberal" or "too radical". Now, a bit of background here...if you are an avid reader of Orange Gearle you might remember that I wrote this diary about being born what I call a "bi-political" child. The short story: my mother is a democrat, and my father is a republican. However liberal my mother is, she is concerned that I'm becoming a bit radical. Well, sorry mom, you can blame the current administration for that. This 'uniter' has divided this country more than I thought could ever be done. It was "hard work" but he accomplished it. I'm farther left than I've ever been....and I like it here.

On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a fundraiser for Jan Kvach at our local Democratic Headquarters. Sen. Joe Biden was the keynote speaker. I almost cried. Seriously, I had big tears in my eyes when he spoke about what Bush should've done after 9/11...what Kennedy or FDR would've done. I went to this event thinking, "Ok, I'll go, might be cool. I probably won't like him." After listening , I left ready to volunteer for his campaign. Now that some time has passed, I realize that I haven't figured out if he's just being a politician, or if he's really what he claims. I've just decided that I will "watch him" over the next 18 months and see what happens (as well as do my research, of course -- doing research is one of my many curses).

He said everything I believe in. He said everything I've been screaming for the last few years. He talked about the Democrats no longer being timid. He talked about America needing us (democrats) to be the leaders that we can be.

Of course he slammed President Bush, as he should. Of course, he talked about the war, the economy, the tax cuts for the richest of the rich. Of course he talked about the middle class and poor being left behind. But for the first time in a while, maybe ever, I heard a democrat talk about what he would do instead and (most importantly) how he would pay for it.

He also talked about America not being made up of Red and Blue states....that we are purple....this sorta feeds into my mother's thinking. And I agree -- to a point. :-) Mom, you would've loved that part. That moderate approach is probably what we need to get elected. I'm all about getting elected.

I enjoyed his comments about Katrina and the disastrous way Bush and friends handled it. I am going to try to get the video of him and watch it again. Then maybe I can update this a bit more. I'll admit I was taken in by his powerful speaking, and so I am unable to articulate the speech with any sort of clarity.

Have you read Crashing the Gate? You need to. Go buy a copy today. I've been bitching at you to do it for MONTHS. :-) Send it to your friends. Although he never said the words, this speech was very "Crashing the Gate-ish" as well as "Fifty State Strategy-esque". If nothing else, this guy is motivating. If he decides not to run, or isn't elected, he should become a motivational speaker. LOL.

Now, if he'd just vote for stem cell research and gay/lesbian rights....hmm....I'll have to look into that, I'm not sure where he stands...but I won't be a one-issue voter...I WON'T. Think Big Picture, people! Big picture. (steps off soapbox)

Here are a few more pictures from the event...