Beau Biden is planning something, but he is skipping over a step…..
It is time to come clean with your fellow Delawareans. We are adults. We can accept and understand any kind of news, good, bad or even horrible, every day. But first, Celia Cohen:
Beau Biden collected more than $1 million in political contributions in 2013. This does not look like the conduct of a sick man. This looks like the conduct of a man who wants to be regarded as a future candidate for governor. Not that anybody is saying. Not that anybody ever does. It is all still supposed to be about Biden running for a third term as attorney general in 2014.
“He has not made any bones about his love of public service. At this point he has not made any decisions. He’s always taken it one year at a time,” said Molly Magarik, who manages Biden’s political operation.
Money talks, and maybe this money is as close as Delaware is going to get to a statement about Biden’s wellbeing.
Well, Biden will need more than fundraising as proof of his wellbeing before he proceeds with whatever plans he has, especially if he intends to run against Matt Denn for Governor. Now, he may have no plans to run for Governor in two years. This money’s purposes may be to just scare off any Republican opposition, and then Biden will take over from Senator Carper in 2018 (assuming John Carney doesn’t have any plans of his own).
Delawareans are entitled to know exactly what Beau’s mysterious procedure was, and what the condition was that necessitated the procedure, and whether Beau’s current Marine style shaved haircut is in any way connected to any ongoing condition.
Maybe the haircut is related to his National Guard service, maybe he just likes it. I know I like a good buzz cut (but that is mostly because I am balding and refuse to do hair plugs or a comb over (hint hint Mr. Vice President)). Maybe his condition has been resolved. But maybe it is ongoing. Maybe it is chronic. Maybe it will reoccur. Regardless, Delawareans are entitled to know the full truth if the Attorney General wants a promotion.
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The primary is the election and Beau Biden would lose to Matt Denn in the primary.
Unless the Biden mafia has some other plans for Denn – I don’t see Beau trying to outwork Denn in a primary.
People seem to forget that in 1988 when Joe biden had his two leaking aneurisms treated he was out of action for 18 months. Where beau went in Houston isn’t just a cancer treatment center, it is for all neurological and vascular issues. Beau probably had the same issue as his father, since it is hereditary. Beau will take it easy because he can. Who are the Republicans going to run anyways. The biden Mafia will see to it that Matt Denn will get appointed as attorney general because Delaware loves to recycle their politicians anyway
The difference is, Joe Biden fully disclosed his medical condition. Beau has not.
How does one get “appointed” to the office of attorney general ? Or was that a comment on the sorry state of the DEGOP?
Maybe he is really an alien in human form. He should come clean about that, too.
Seriously, though, its the orange tie. That is a dead giveaway of a man in declining health.
One gets appointed attorney general by the governor when the position becomes vacant. Recent example: Minner choosing Carl Danberg to succeed Jane Brady when she was appointed to the Superior Court bench.
Hardly a stretch in this scenario — Beau, with two years to go as AG, would run for governor. Should he win, it’s easy to hand off the AG job to Denn.
Of course, the Biden Mafia could become more than a little annoyed should Matt dare challenge the anointed one in a primary, and there are plenty of other lawyers who wouldn’t mind being the AG. So, unless he’s supremely confident of victory, Matt’s best path to staying in state government would be to stay out of the race and hope that Jack can find a constitutional way to appoint him as AG during his final hours as governor.
I am probably like most people in that as long as Beau Biden demonstrates he is up to the demands of the job, he is qualified to run. What diseases or physical conditions are necessary to disclose? Polio? STDs? AIDs? Is there any private information for public officials or is everything subject to disclosure? Certainly anything that incapacitates a public official should be disclosed, but even then we don’t necessarily have to right to know what it is, only that incapacitation has occurred. This has already been debated here. So I’ll just reiterate, I don’t believe he has skipped a step, no matter how bad someone wants to know what his health problem was/is.
Whether Beau has skipped a step or not, and wherever the money and influence lies, the sad fact appears to be that even though Matt Denn would make a far better governor, everyone assumes that the Delaware Democratic Party will turn the nomination over to Biden automatically.
Frankly, if that happened, I’d love to see Matt primary Beau. I think he could beat him.
There is a lot of recent precedent arguing that the Democratic Party may not get its way in the matter.
Frankly, I think Matt would win too. Especially if nothing more is revealed about the mystery surrounding Beau’s health.
DD I think Matt would win not because of Beau’s health (low information voters abound), but because he is perceived as a legacy throughout the State, and Matt Denn (although I do criticize him sometimes) has built an actual record of doing things and building organizations. I will spot Beau that he is more charismatic in the 10-30 second range, and that he will have a shitload of money, but I think Matt will be better organized and has been doing a far better job of building a following among the Democratic faithful.
An extremely unscientific poll by the News Journal up today shows most readers don’t seem to think Biden should run for higher office.
http://archive.delawareonline.com/poll/2014-02-13/7795955/results?1392319398344
With that said, News Journal comments tend to be conservative to ridiculous so….
I wonder how many politicians in this state have had illnesses that we didn’t know about? They probably did their jobs just fine without having to hear a whole bunch of whining from people who somehow think they have a right to know someone’s personal business.
We have no idea if Beau is doing his job ‘just fine’. We have no idea if he is doing his job at all.
We DO know that he, or someone purportedly acting on his behalf, used the power of his office to go against a tiny blog that Tom Gordon and Dennis Williams considered a nuisance.
We DO know that he has made brief cameo appearances, but has done no interviews, or provided any extended public access.
A lot of people have been complicit in what is a coverup of his health problems. Why?
BTW, that’s a rhetorical question. The answer is that he’s a Biden and his family has a lot of pull around here, even with the so-called ‘professional’ media.
Look, I’m not a Beau fan. I would easily support Matt over him. Mostly because I don’t like how Beau approaches juvenile crime issues. Some people will hold it against him that his office went after that Facebook group, and, I don’t blame them. I, too, suspect he is sicker than I know, but, that won’t be my reason for not supporting him. All that being said, when I had a serious illness several years ago I considered it a very personal issue and I believe he has that right as well.
If you have actual evidence of Beau not showing up for work, we would all love to see it.
Reading Celia in full, I wonder if this story was AIMED at Denn? It reads like The Biden Mafia’s PR operation (which Celia is a part) saying, “Are you sure you want to tangle with this?”
Celia does not write shit by accident.
Gotcha, SussezAnon. He’s just become more reticent and reclusive b/c…why?
His whole MO has changed. This once-VERY public public official has basically been in hiding since August. Nothing to see here, folks.
BTW, AQC, I get the personal privacy point–but not when someone is a public officeholder, has said that he intends to run again, and disappears off the radar screen.
At that point, his constituents at least deserve some kind of update. We haven’t gotten it.
Something has obviously been amiss. And those in the know are keeping it to themselves. I think the public has a right to know what’s going on.
El Som, we seem to agree on most things political. This is just not going to be one of them.
AQC, I’m curious. Why do you think that the public doesn’t have the right to know about the condition of a public official who has publicly stated that he is running for reelection and who has raised a lot of coin to do so?
That’s what I don’t get. Along with the conspiracy of silence surrounding his situation.
I think electing these guys is basically the same as hiring them to do a job. As with any employer, I think our only right is to know are they doing the job we hired them to do. I have not seen any evidence that he’s not doing his job. He may be less public, but, that’s not his job. Referring to my own experience again, I was friends with my boss and he knew about my illness and treatment, but I didn’t want anyone else to know. It was personal. I don’t believe politicians give up the right to personal privacy.
And, the people giving him the money must know whatever they feel they need to know in order to give him money. That’s on them.
It’s not just the campaign contributors who should have an interest in his health. (Although I can certainly understand that if someone makes a contribution because they hope to gain some benefit from it, they want to make sure the beneficiary of their largesse is healthy enough to deliver for them.) The people who pay his salary have an interest too. If we’re electing someone to work for us for four years, we would like reasonable assurances that he will be capable of performing those duties for that time period.
Sorry, but the conspiracy of silence surrounding the AG’s health, this “how dare you ask” attitude, is a little off-putting to many of us.
Beau should know by know that Delawareans like their politicians to level with the people. I wish he’d stop acting like his health is covered by some FOIA exemption.
Do you guys think a woman should have to tell you if she’s pregnant and running for office?
Hardly, AQC. This isn’t like the early 1980s, when it was a mini cause celebre when Marna Whittington became the first pregnant cabinet secretary in state history.
Pregnancy is hardly a disabling or life-threatening condition.
It most certainly can be Mediawatch.
“Pregnancy is hardly a disabling or life-threatening condition.”
Once again I’ll ask, where do you draw the line on reporting illness? Is any illness that is life threatening and/or disabling? That doesn’t exclude very many diseases and for some women would include pregnancy. Doesn’t the test have to be the inability to carry out one’s responsibilities? If you have evidence of that condition, then Biden should do the right thing. Barring any such evidence, if and until he is failing to perform his duties, we have no right to his private life.
I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with the comments of progressive minds on this blog. First of all I would never ask an employee, job candidate, volunteer or politician about their health. Are you the same people who rallied against excluding people who had pre existing conditions from obtaining health care? Did the progressives fight for protections for pregnant women and people with aids? I am sorry I don’t want you or anyone else telling me what I am capable of doing or sticking their nose in my business? I have a job that in part is paid for by contributors. And government . Iis the public entitled to monitor my health status? Guess what if and when I have a medical issue I will choose when and if I will share it, on a final note I saw Beua Biden this week at West End. Here is what I observed ; He was energetic, engaged and dynamic. Did he lose a little weight ? Yes ,and I am jealous I need to lose a few my self. I observed no change in his mental or physical stamina. Finally for those of you who don’t know me I have always prided myself on being straight forward in my comments.
Beau Biden is under no obligation to share his health problems. And I am under no obligation to trust a man who won’t come clean with me about his health problems. Particularly a man who is not his own man in the first place.
One other point: The cost of flying a non-federal employee around the country in a federal plane still hasn’t been paid back. And I mention this because of the long Biden history of never paying for anything they can avoid paying for.
I love you guys, but Beau COULDN’T EVEN MAKE IT TO DOVER TO KEEP HIS SIGNATURE BILL FROM GOING DOWN. Keeping firearms away from the dangerously mentally-ill. All he had to do was persuade members of the D Senate Caucus to restore the bill to the calendar. He didn’t show up. BTW, his not showing up is, what’s the word, EVIDENCE. Circumstantial, yes, but real evidence he wasn’t up to the job on that day.
Assuming he wasn’t up to the job that day, don’t those grassroots supporters of the bill deserve an explanation as to why their champion was not there?
So, I take these claims of good health with more than a grain of salt.
And now I’ve provided evidence. Which was there for everyone to see all along.
I was very annoyed Beau did not go fight for that legislation, but, I don’t think it was just because of his health. That bill was dead in the water and everyone knew it. I believe Beau did not want to go down there and then have it not pass. He’d rather take a hit on people questioning his health than the hits that would come for him not being able to get his legislation through a Democratic senate.
I don’t know that Beau wants to run for office. A federal judgeship or prosecutor could be what he wants. As a judge he could take it easy. As a prosecutor he could stay active politically without having to run for a while.
Raising lots of money for someone who doesn’t want to run for office.
Much to my chagrin, looks like it might be Matt Denn who doesn’t want to run for office. Say it ain’t so, Matt.
“Assuming he wasn’t up to the job that day” “And now I’ve provided evidence.”
An assumption is evidence? Really? I mean really really?
He may nave a right to privacy from the public, but not from party insiders doing the vetting. What if he pulls this disappearing act during the campaign, or worse, falls off a stage? The stakes are too high for a governorship (if that is what we are talking about here). It is easy to replace a sitting governor, but not a gubernatorial candidate.
Chip’s most ardent defender is worried about candidate vetting by party insiders?
@AQC: I think you’re right, and all his political calculations are more offensive to me than his failure to be straight with the public; indeed, I consider them all of a piece. We are being sold a manque upon whom we can project whatever we desire.
Geezer: nailed it x 3, ftw.
Bidens: shameless crytpo-royalist hucksters.
Thanks Paul. Beau also visited Kingswood recently and appeared to have the same vigor I’ve always known him to have. I believe that we should let him decided what if anything we need to know. Seems that we spend more time these days dealing with personal matters of individuals as opposed to what we are going to do to improve the violence, how to turn the poor education system around and how to get some parents more involved with their children’s lives.
“how to get some parents more involved with their children’s lives.”
Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure Joe is highly involved in Beau’s life.
The last thing we need in Delaware is more idolizing of this fucked-up family’s next generation.