Glad I Didn’t Say That! Is China Calling Biden’s Bluff on U.S. Allies?

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alliances, allies, China, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Global Times, Joe Biden, multilateralism, Trade

“Rather than picking fights with our allies and undermining respect for America, Biden will work with our closest allies [to end China’s trade abuses], mobilizing more than half the world’s economy to better deliver for our workers.”

–The Biden presidential campaign, 2020

“If Washington wants to exploit its alliance system to deal with China, it is bound to be restrained by its allies. Many US allies have economic interests with China and they are not willing to confront China in an effort to strengthen alliances with the US.”

–– Chinese state-run publication Global Times, November 8, 2020 

 

(Sources:  “The Biden Plan to Ensure the Future is ‘Made in All of America’ by All of America’s Workers,” “Joe’s Vision,” Joe Biden for President, Official Campaign Website, undated, https://joebiden.com/made-in-america/ and “Drop illusions over China-US relations, but don’t give up efforts:  Global Times editorial, November 8, 2020, https://globaltimes.cn/content/1206128.shtml) 

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Civic Grace is Selective for Senate Democrats

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Amy Coney Barrett, Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, Democrats, Dianne Feinstein, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Robin Givhan, Senate, The Washington Post

“’The only thing that heals this body is what I call a revival of civic grace,’ [Democratic Senator Cory] Booker said….He was asking his Republican colleagues to be big. To be benevolent. To extend grace” on the Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court nomination.”

–The Washington Post, October 20, 2020

“’I’ve had a long and serious talk with Senator Feinstein. That’s all I’m going to say about it right now’,” [Senate Democratc leader Chuck] Schumer told reporters” after “Feinstein credited Republicans for holding a hearing with decorum and even hugged Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), the chair….”

–The Washington Post, October 20, 2020

(Sources: “Republicans have the power to vote in Barrett. Sen. Booker implored them to have grace,” by Robin Givhan, The Washington Post, October 20, 2020, .https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/10/20/republicans-have-power-vote-barrett-sen-booker-implored-them-have-grace/ & “Schumer says he had ‘serious talk’ with Feinstein, sidesteps questions about Judiciary Committee post,” by Paul Kane, Ibid., October 20, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-democrats-feinstein-court/2020/10/20/11cae500-1311-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html)

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Should Working-Class Whites Really Trust Biden?

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Democrats, election 2020, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Joe Biden, The Washington Post, working class

“The president can only see the world from Park Avenue. “I see it from Scranton [Pennsylvania]….”

–-Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden, quoted on October 14, 2020

“A lot of White working-class Democrats thought we forgot them and didn’t pay attention. I want them to know . . . I get it. I get their sense of being left behind [during his eight years as Vice President].”

–Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden, quoted on October 14, 2020

(Source: “How Joe Biden — yes, Joe Biden — could revolutionize American politics.” by E.J. Dionne, The Washington Post, October 14, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-joe-biden–yes-joe-biden–could-revolutionize-american-politics/2020/10/14/b5d6abf2-0e4d-11eb-8074-0e943a91bf08_story.html)

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Following “The Science” on Lockdowns?

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CCP Virus, coronavirus, COVID 19, election 2020, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Joe Biden, lockdowns, WHO, World Health Organization, Wuhan virus

“I would shut [the economy] down [if necessary]; I would listen to the scientists. We’re going to do whatever it takes to save lives.”

–Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden, August 21, 2020

“We in the World Health Organisation [WHO] do not advocate lockdowns as the primary means of control of this virus. The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy you time to reorganise, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health workers who are exhausted, but by and large, we’d rather not do it.”

— Dr. David Nabarro, World Health Organization, October 11, 2020

(Sources: “Biden says he’d lock down country if spread of coronavirus warranted it,” by Evan Semones, Politico, August 21, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/21/joe-biden-lockdown-us-coronavirus-400126 and “Coronavirus: WHO backflips on virus stance by condemning lockdowns,” by Alex Turner-Cohen, news.com.au, October 12, 2020, https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/global/coronavirus-who-backflips-on-virus-stance-by-condemning-lockdowns/news-story/f2188f2aebff1b7b291b297731c3da74)

Glad I Didn’t Say That: The Voice of Experience on China?

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China, election 2020, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Joe Biden, Xi JInPing

“I’ve spent more time with in private meetings with Xi Jinping than any world leader.”

— Democratic Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, quoted on May 2, 2020

Xi Jinping “is a guy who wants to feel it and taste it, and he’s prepared to show another side of the Chinese leadership.”

— Democratic Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, 2012

Xi Jinping “is a guy who doesn’t have a democratic — with a small d — bone in his body. This is a guy who is a thug.”

–– Democratic Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, February, 2020

(Sources: “Biden Aims to Out-Tough Trump on China While Invoking His Obama Experience,” by Warren P. Strobel and Sabrina Siddiqui, The Wall Street Journal, May 2, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-aims-to-out-tough-trump-on-china-while-invoking-his-obama-experience-11588420801 and “‘This is a guy who is a thug’: how the US elite became hawks on Xi’s China,” by Demitri Sevastopulo, Financial Times, October 8, 2020, https://www.ft.com/content/75ce186e-41f7-4a9c-bff9-0f502c81e456)

Glad I Didn’t Say That: So Who Exactly is Colluding with Russia?

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allies, Angela Merkel, energy, Germany, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Nord Stream 2, Russia, The New York Times, Trump, Vladimir Putin

““President Trump, for reasons that remain one of the top mysteries of his administration, has largely closed his eyes to Mr. Putin’s serial transgressions….”

—The New York Times, September 22, 2020

““The surest sign of European anger [over Russian trangressions] would be cancellation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a gas conduit from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. But the project is nearly completed, and Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, is reluctant to take a step that would be costly for Europe and that would look like bowing to threats from the Trump administration, which has demanded cancellation of the pipeline.

– The New York Times, September 22, 2020

 

(Sources: “Vladimir Putin Thinks He Can Get Away With Anything,” The New York Times, September 22, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/22/opinion/vladimir-putin-navalny-poisoning.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage )

Glad I Didn’t Say That! Middle Class Meg?

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Democratic National Convention, election 2020, establishment Republicans, Glad I Didn't Say That!, Hewlett-Packard, Jobs, Joe Biden, Meg Whitman, offshoring, STEM workers, tech jobs

“Joe Biden…has a plan that will strengthen our economy for working people and small-business owners. For me, the choice is simple. I’m with Joe.”

– Former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, one of four leading Republicans chosen to speak on opening night of the Democratic National Convention, August 17, 2020

“The IT services market has continued to change and put more pressure on HP to reorganise its operations, for instance by increasing the proportion of its services workforce in lower-cost, offshore centres to 60 per cent.”

–Then Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, September 15, 2015

(Sources: “Former GOP gubernatorial candidate Whitman endorses Biden at DNC,” by Carla Mainucci, Politico, August 17, 2020, https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/08/17/former-gop-gubernatorial-candidate-whitman-endorses-biden-at-dnc-1309809 & “HP to slash up to 30,000 jobs ahead of split,” by Richard Waters, Financial Times, September 15, 2015, https://www.ft.com/content/ff029c82-5bec-11e5-a28b-50226830d644 )

Glad I Didn’t Say That! A New Correction Coming from The New York Times?

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cancel culture, editing, fact check, Glad I Didn't Say That!, journalism, op-ed page, peaceful protests, Portland, protests, The New York Times, Tom Cotton

“[T]he published [op-ed] piece [by Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton] presents as facts assertions about the role of ‘cadres of left-wing radicals like antifa in infiltrating protest marches to exploit Floyd’s death for their own anarchic purposes’; in fact, those allegations have not been substantiated and have been widely questioned. Editors should have sought further corroboration of thoseassertions, or removed them from the piece.”

– The New York Times, June 5, 2020

“Antifa, which stands for anti-fascist, is a radical, leaderless leftist

political movement that uses armed, violent protest as a method to

create what supporters say is a more just and equitable country.

They have a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest, including the

current protests in Portland.”

– The New York Times, August 7, 2020

(Sources: “Editor’s Note,” The New York Times, June 5, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html and “Abolish the Police? Those Who Survived the Chaos in Seattle Aren’t So Sure,” by Nellie Bowles, The New York Times, August 7, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/us/defund-police-seattle-protests.html . Thanks to “CTIronman.”)

 

Glad I Didn’t Say That! How Trump Is & Isn’t to Blame for the China and Russia Threats

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America First, China, Dan Balz, foreign policy, Glad I Didn't Say That!, globalism, Russia, The Washington Post, Trump

President Trump has “emboldened adversaries such as China and Russia.”

– Dan Balz, The Washington Post, July 26, 2020

Starting after the Cold War “As the world changed, the role of the United States changed, too. Other nations rose to power. China’s economic prowess gave it standing it had lacked, and then [Xi Jinping] turned his country in a sharply anti-democratic direction. Russia under Putin became a global nemesis.”

– Dan Balz, The Washington Post, July 26, 2020

(Source: “America’s global standing is at a low point. The pandemic made it worse,” by Dan Balz, The Washington Post, July 26, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/reckoning-america-world-standing-low-point/?hpid=hp_hp-banner-main_reckoning-7p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans&itid=hp_hp-banner-main_reckoning-7p%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans).

Glad I Didn’t Say That: No CCP Virus Learning Curve for Globalization Zealots

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China, Daniel Griswold, free trade, George Mason University, Glad I Didn't Say That!, global supply chains, globalization, health security, healthcare goods, Mercatus Center, Paul Hannon, Stu Woo, supply chains, The Wall Street Journal, Trade

“US supply chains for medical goods are already diversified and are not overly reliant on China.”

Daniel Griswold, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, April 3, 2020

Number of countries that have imposed export curbs on healthcare-related goods, 2020: 85

Number of individual healthcare-related goods export controls imposed, 2020: 186

– The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2020

(Sources: “The Coronavirus Should Not Prompt Us to Rethink Globalization,” The Bridge, Mercatus Center, George Mason University, April 3, 2020, https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/coronavirus-should-not-prompt-us-rethink-globalization and “Steep Drop in Trade Flows Shows Pitfalls of Cross-Border Supply Chains,” by Paul Hannon and Stu Woo, The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/steep-drop-in-trade-flows-shows-pitfalls-of-cross-border-supply-chains-11590416983)