Biden campaign vs. Biden administration: on Principles & Values


Bill Nelson: One of the rare civilians who has traveled to space

President Joe Biden is poised to nominate former Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida to lead NASA, an official familiar with the decision said, elevating a longtime friend from the Senate and space aficionado as administrator of the agency. Nelson, who flew a space shuttle mission more than three decades ago, has been a long proponent of NASA. He is not an astronaut but is one of the rare civilians who has traveled to space.
Source: CNN.com on 2021 Biden Transition Mar 18, 2021

Bill Nelson: Encouraged human spaceflight including mission to Mars

The NASA Authorization Act of 2010 that he co-sponsored ordered NASA to expand the commercial crew program, which launched its first astronauts to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule. Nelson also encouraged NASA to set the sights for human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit and the space station, including a mission to Mars.
Source: Politico.com on 2021 Biden Transition Mar 18, 2021

Bill Nelson: Leader of NASA should not be political

In 2017, he led the opposition to the Trump administration's nomination of Jim Bridenstine, a Republican congressman from Oklahoma, arguing at Bridenstine's confirmation hearing that the "leader of NASA should not be political." Bridenstine was confirmed in April 2018 on a party-line vote, and Nelson later praised Bridenstine for keeping the agency apolitical.
Source: SpaceNews.com on 2021 Biden Transition Mar 18, 2021

Merrick Garland: DOJ building a monument to ideal of justice

When I walked in the door of Main Justice this morning, it really did feel like I was coming home. I first walked into this building when I was 26 years old. I was here for a job interview and I was awestruck. This is a beautiful hall and this is a beautiful building built in the midst of the Great Depression. But, it was the ideal of justice to which it is a monument that was truly awe inspiring. Everywhere I looked there were serious people pursuing the cause of Justice.
Source: 2021 Biden Administration: Introductory address to DOJ staff Mar 11, 2021

Merrick Garland: We're united by commitment to rule of law & equal justice

All of us are united by our commitment to the rule of law and to seeking equal justice under law. We are united by our commitment to protecting our country as our oath says, "from all enemies foreign and domestic," and by our commitment to enforcing our country's laws and to ensuring the civil rights and the civil liberties of our people.
Source: 2021 Biden Administration: Introductory address to DOJ staff Mar 11, 2021

Antony Blinken: American leadership and engagement matter

American leadership and engagement matter. Whether we like it or not, the world does not organize itself. When the U.S. pulls back, one of two things is likely to happen: either another country tries to take our place, but not in a way that advances our interests and values; or, maybe just as bad, no one steps up, and then we get chaos and all the dangers it creates. Either way, that's not good for America.
Source: State Department speech: 2021 Biden Administration Mar 3, 2021

Antony Blinken: At our best US is a country with integrity and a heart

At our best, the United States is a country with integrity and a heart. That's what makes us proud to be Americans and why so many people around the world have given everything to become Americans. We will stand firm behind our commitments to human rights, democracy, the rule of law. And we'll stand up against injustice toward women and girls, LGBTQI people, religious minorities, and people of all races and ethnicities. Because all human beings are equal in rights and dignity.
Source: State Department speech: 2021 Biden Administration Mar 3, 2021

Antony Blinken: Bring nonpartisanship back to our foreign policy

We will bring nonpartisanship back to our foreign policy. There was a time, as the saying goes, when politics stopped at the water's edge. Secretaries of State didn't represent Democrats or Republicans. We represented all Americans. Some might think the idea is quaint now. Well, I don't. And the President doesn't either.
Source: State Department speech: 2021 Biden Administration Mar 3, 2021

Susan Rice: Well-honed interagency process and crisis management skills

Deeply experienced, talented negotiator who has played a key role in winning major concessions and sealing agreements with America's toughest adversaries to advance U.S. national interests. Has exceptional leadership, policy formulation and implementation experience as well as extremely well-honed interagency process and crisis management skills.
Source: 2020 Biden transition website BuildBackBetter.gov Dec 27, 2020

Jennifer Granholm: Aspired to be an actress; appeared on The Dating Game

Granholm appears to have been a ball of fire from the start, blessed with plenty of smarts, good looks, and ambition. She won the title of "Miss San Carlos." She moved to Los Angeles to try to hit it big as an actress. Granholm worked hard at her Hollywood dream, studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and working three jobs to pay the bills. But her plan failed. She got zero movie roles, and the only time she appeared on TV was as a bachelorette on the reality show The Dating Game.
Source: Anchorage Press on 2021 Biden administration Dec 23, 2020

Jennifer Granholm: Was first female governor 15 years after moving to Michigan

She moved to Michigan, where she became the first female Governor only 15 years after she arrived in the state. Once she got into politics, Granholm suggested that her attempts to break into Hollywood were doomed from the beginning. The Washington Post quoted her as saying "Ronald Reagan once said you have to be a good actor to be a good politician, but the reality is that I was a lousy actress, and I can't sing, and I can't dance."
Source: Anchorage Press on 2021 Biden administration Dec 23, 2020

Pete Buttigieg: Can't keep letting infrastructure week be a punch line

[On transportation funding]: "We can't keep letting infrastructure week be a Washington punch line," Buttigieg told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Americans shouldn't settle for less when it comes to our roads and our bridges, our highways, our trains -- all of the infrastructure that really powers our economy and creates so many livelihoods," he said.
Source: The Hill e-zine on 2021 Biden Administration Dec 22, 2020

Susan Rice: Father Federal Reserve governor; mother crafted Pell Grants

She spent her career in public service focused on foreign policy -- first as assistant secretary of state for Africa affairs during the Clinton administration, then as Obama's ambassador to the U.N. and, in his second term, as national security adviser. But as a child, she was a student of domestic policy. Her father was a governor of the Federal Reserve, and her mother helped craft the Pell Grant program. Economic mobility and racial justice, she said, "are issues I was raised on."
Source: NBC News on 2021 Biden administration Dec 21, 2020

Jennifer Granholm: Supported investigation over Russian collusion

Jennifer Granholm heavily promoted claims that President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election, even mentioning an unsubstantiated "pee tape." She also called for an "independent investigation of Russia/Trump collusion" after Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey while the agency was investigating such claims.
Source: Fox News Sunday on 2021 Biden administration Dec 16, 2020

Bernie Sanders: Progressives deserve important seats in Biden administration

After a summer and fall dominated by the imperative of defeating Donald Trump, progressive forces are entering a winter of discontent. While Sanders wants to maintain a cordial relationship with the incoming president, he doesn't like what he's seeing. "The progressive movement deserves a number of seats--important seats--in the Biden administration," Sanders said. "Have I seen that at this point? I have not.
Source: Common Dreams blog on 2021 Biden Administration Dec 14, 2020

Marco Rubio: Ivy League degrees make caretakers of decline

Sen. Marco Rubio predicted President-elect Joe Biden's new hires for his incoming administration would be "polite and orderly caretakers of America's decline," facetiously citing how many members of the group have Ivy League degrees. It's true that many of Biden's picks so far went to Ivy League schools, but Rubio's remark makes less sense when considering that the current White House is a similarly Ivy-infused crowd. President Trump himself went to the University of Pennsylvania, after all.
Source: The Week newsmagazine on 2021 Biden Administration Nov 24, 2020

  • The above quotations are from Campaign promises compared to follow-up actions taken by the Biden Administration.
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  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Principles & Values.
  • Click here for more quotes by Kamala Harris on Principles & Values.
2020 Presidential contenders on Principles & Values:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Jan 17, 2022