The Character of Joe Biden

Trying to talk about character and politicians in the same sentence is difficult, but character does matter. And all you will ever need to understand about the character of Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden is found in one final act of betrayal by him against his Church. I am a Roman Catholic. Mr. Biden claims to be one also. Not just claims to be one but has worn it on his sleeve for decades as he campaigns. But he threw his Church under the bus in order to pander to the Far Left wing of his party and secure the Democrat nomination for the presidency. Consider the following:

On June 5, 2019 Mr. Biden affirmed his long time support of the Hyde Amendment. (For those of you forced to endure a teachers union led education in the Portland Public Schools that refers to a congressional act that bans the use of federal funds for purposes of aiding, promoting or providing abortions.) Mr. Biden has historically used the Hyde Amendment to have it both ways on the abortion issue – he supports abortion on demand, but he opposes tax dollars to pay for it. Very clever but he also historically supported nearly a half billion dollars of taxpayer money annually for Planned Parenthood – America’s largest abortion provider. He would simply shrug and say it could be for administrative purposes or something else although he knew full well it was for abortions.

But if you are pro-abortion, and if you want the Democrat nomination, you have to oppose the Hyde Amendment. And so the very next day, June 6, 2019, Mr. Biden announced that he opposed application of the Hyde Amendment and supported its repeal. That put him in alignment with the other Far Left candidates in supporting taxpayer funded abortion on demand – any time, even up to the moment of birth.

That was it. Twenty-four hours after affirming his support for the Hyde Amendment and opposing taxpayer funded abortions, Mr. Biden threw his principles to the wind, his Church under the bus and his integrity out the window because he feared losing the Democrat nomination. That single gesture defines the very essence of Mr. Biden as a man without an ethical or moral standard.

Leaving aside the question of whether one is “pro-life” or “pro-abortion”, this is an examination of how and whether one adheres to the principles by which he was raised, to which he has pledged fidelity, and for which he has publicly embraced its aura. Mr. Biden was born a Catholic, he was baptized a Catholic, he has received the sacraments of the Catholic Church, he has noted that his mother before her death asked him almost daily as to whether he had gone to mass. During the final hours of his son’s life, he and his wife could be found at mass praying for their son. Being Catholic becomes an intimate part of your life such that it is interwoven in almost everything you do. So after seventy-five years of professing fealty to the Catholic Church, would a good man, a man of principle, a man of character simply toss it all away for a chance to be president. That is the effect of Mr. Biden’s latter day embrace of taxpayer funded abortion on demand. (Over 45 Million now dead.)

Pope Francis has stated:

“. . . one cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged.”

You need to leave aside your feelings about abortion because this isn’t about abortion. In this instance the issue of abortion simply becomes a tenet of your religious beliefs. What are the things that become paramount in a person’s beliefs? Family? Religion? Country? The list is small so the importance is great. Which of these would you abandon in order to be president? Nothing defines character more than the willingness of a man to stand by principle, by fealty and by loyalty. And nothing defines a lack of character more than the willingness of a man to abandon those principles, fealty, and loyalty. Mr. Biden fails in all instances.

Cartoonist Gary Trudeau famously characterized President George W. Bush as a feather. (Again for those of you forced to endure a teachers union led education in the Portland Public Schools that was to suggest that Mr. Bush was an intellectual lightweight.) In a similar vein, it would be appropriate to characterize Mr. Biden as single stem of wheat bending to whichever way the wind blows.

That is not an admirable quality in a man or woman who seeks to lead the strongest country in the world.

(Next week: Democrat nominee Joe Biden and senility.)