Joe Biden: $200 Million for Iran and a Vote Against the Alaskan Pipeline

Joe Biden's Tough on America's Enemies:
Biden One of Only Five Senators
To Vote AGAINST the Alaskan Pipeline in 1973
A $200 Million 'No Strings Attached' Check for Iran
Tomorrow's Headlines Today:
Biden Big Winner in VP Debate

"If I can save just ONE caribou, it will be worth it."

Three Weeks After September 11, Biden Wants to Cut the Iranians a check for $200 Million, "no strings attached"


If a few gas lines in the South--due to the double whammy of Ike and Gustav--make readers nervous, think back to 1973 when the entire nation was one big gas line.

The Arabs, in effect, declared war on the USA for its role in helping Israel defend itself during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973. The Arab oil embargo made gas lines the only way motorists could obtain gasoline--when any was available.

What did Joe Biden do?

He voted against the original Alaskan pipeline.

Shockingly, Sen. Joe Biden was one of only five senators to vote against the first Alaskan pipeline bill in 1973. This is like having been a Nazi sympathizer during World War II. If Sarah Palin does nothing else, she has got to tie that idiotic pipeline vote around Biden's neck.

The Senate passed the 1973 Alaskan pipeline bill by an overwhelming 80-5 vote. Only five senators voted against the pipeline on final passage. Sen. Biden is the only one who is still in the Senate -- the other four having been confined to mental institutions long ago.

The stakes were clear: This was in the midst of the first Arab oil embargo. Liberal Democrats, such as senators Robert Byrd, Mike Mansfield, Frank Church and Hubert Humphrey, all voted for the pipeline.

But Biden cast one of only five votes against the pipeline that has produced more than 15 billion barrels of oil, supplied nearly 20 percent of this nation's oil, created tens of thousands of jobs, added hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and reduced money transfers to the nation's enemies by about the same amount.

The only argument against the pipeline was that it would harm the caribou, an argument that was both trivial and wrong. The caribou population near the pipeline increased from 5,000 in the 1970s to 32,000 by 2002.

It would have been bad enough to vote against the pipeline bill even if it had hurt the caribou. A sane person would still say: Our enemies have us in a vice grip. Sorry, caribou, you've got to take one for the team. But when the pipeline goes through and the caribou population sextuples in the next 20 years, you really look like a moron.
Ann Coulter
Biden Secret Service Code Name: 'Assassination Insurance'

Joe Biden is the man that the Mainstream Media will declare the winner in tonight's debate with Sarah Palin. The headline are already written at the New York Times: "Biden Wins Big, Palin Doesn't Know the Square Root of 266443".

Joe Klein wrote his piece for Time sometime shortly after August 30: "Biden Steady; Palin Too Dangerous to Declare Winner".

Kathleen Parker will write a column about wanting nationalized health care because Sarah Palin aggravated Parker's near-terminal "cringe reflex"--oh, and by the way, Kathleen has a pain right here that feels like two billy goats butting their heads together.

Barack Obama picked Joe Biden because of his "experience".

That experience includes his vote against the original Alaskan pipeline. Joe Biden's a stand-up guy: when the Arabs put their foot on America's throat, Joe Biden stood up for the caribou.

Biden's experience also includes wanting to send the Iranians a $200 million "no-strings attached" check shortly after September 11.

“Seems to me this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran,” Biden declares. He surveys the table with raised eyebrows, a How do ya like that? look on his face.

The staffers sit in silence. Finally somebody ventures a response: “I think they’d send it back.” Then another aide speaks up delicately: “The thing I would worry about is that it would almost look like a publicity stunt.” Still another reminds Biden that an Iranian delegation is in Moscow that very day to discuss a $300 million arms deal with Vladimir Putin that the United States has strongly condemned.
--Michael Crowley, New Republic October 11, 2008
Rhetorical Question

Obama's has taken heat for wanting to negotiate with Iran without pre-conditions. Many think that is not only wrong, but counter-productive. So, maybe Barack Obama made the smart VP pick after all: at least Biden wanted to send the Iranians $200 million first.

The $200 million check to the Iranians shortly after September 11 and the vote against the Alaskan pipeline are all part of Joe Biden's record of achievement in the Senate.

Say what you will: it's a much larger record than that of his running mate, Barack Obama.


by Mondo Frazier