September 9, 2020

"But here’s the deal, the federal government — there’s a constitutional issue whether federal government could issue [a mask] mandate. I don’t think constitutionally they could, so I wouldn’t issue a mandate."

From "Biden walks back national mask mandate over 'constitutional issue'" (NY Post).

Is this really a walk back? On June 26th, I blogged about Biden's statement the he would "everything possible to make it required the people had to wear masks in public." I said:
Maybe "do everything possible to make it required" is clever phrasing and he's really thinking the President lacks the power to order everyone to wear masks or to commandeer local law officials to enforce a mask requirement. So it wouldn't, in fact, be possible....

The idea of a federal requirement to wear masks is so bad, so out of touch with the values of federalism. The conditions vary from place to place, even within states, even within municipalities. It's wrong to have one rule for everyone....

78 comments:

D.D. Driver said...

I love this so much because the Mask Mandate was an example of what Real Leadership (TM) looks like.

But, when we say Mask Mandate we don't mean mandate-mandate, we just mean recommendation.

Which, if I am following the bouncing ball means that Real Leadership (TM) is "maintaining Trump's status quo."

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

biden is walking back a basket full of items.

Fracking is another item. - Yesterday: he would BAN fracking! - Now> maybe not.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Biden, Inc.

Birkel said...

The polling was terrible.
We are not a nation of Karens.

Retail Lawyer said...

Biden is the leader of the party in opposition. Governors could just announce the mandate because their leader wants it. No need to wait for him to be inaugurated. Or maybe the whole country really knows its ridiculous.

Matt said...

FFS.

Josephbleau said...

So how is his position on masks different then Trump's? It seems that Trump is "killing people all over the place" so what would Joe do differently?

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

It doesn’t matter one whit who’s doing the ordering. Masks are a security bankie for most of the country now -not just wearing them but making everyone else wear them too. Hang that garlic around your neck or no leaving the house for you! Nail a chicken head over your door while you’re at it!

There is zero thought going into mask policy. It’s pure bullshit raindancing to coax people into coming out and spending money.

My kid is required to wear a mask at all times, including outdoors and including when she’s hundreds of feet away from others in a stiff breeze, while on her college campus. Tell me that’s a rational policy written by smart humans. Just try.

Federalism is the least of our fucking problems now. We have government mandated and socially enforced superstition now.

Rory said...

It doesn't make any difference what he said weeks ago: Biden ads have been saturated with a "mandate" of masks.

Ann Althouse said...

(Comment removed because it was on the wrong post.)

rehajm said...

But here’s the deal...

He thinks he's Ross Perot!

Mike Sylwester said...

Joe Biden is simply following the science.

Scientists told Biden that anybody who is outside in the open air should wear a mask.

If Trump had made everyone wear masks outside in the open air just one week earlier, then 150,000 people would not have died.

Ken B said...

Right on the law. Doesn’t this though refute Biden's entire attack on Trump over covid? Isn’t the entire attack based on things Trump did not do, the doing of which would be unconstitutional?

Dave Begley said...

Heck of a campaign issue for Joe especially since the *science* proves that masks are nearly worthless and cloth masks are wholly worthless.

Kevin said...

The Left is always walking back to find 50.1%.

It’s because their real policies couldn’t win a city council seat.

NYC JournoList said...

Does it count as a lie if the statement is true but the intent is to deceive? Is this not the inverse of a Trumpism (the words are false but the intent is true).

Kevin said...

“I would just say: Hey Joe, instead of saying no, we can't, let's say yes, we can.” — Kamala Harris

Nonapod said...

So he's saying if he were president he technically probably couldn't issue a mandate... so therefore he wouldn't... but he would do everything possible to "make it required" (mandate). So by "do[ing] everything possible" we're to infer that presumably he would pressure congress to pass mask mandate legislation I guess. So, in short, he's saying he'd like a mandate, so he's not really walking back anything so much as qualifying how he'd go about it.

Gk1 said...

What a dumbass. Does he ever think before he opens his pie hole? Does any of his staff think for him? It's just sad at this point.

Mandatory Masks outside are deeply unpopular virtue signaling at a time he's sinking like quicksand in battle ground states which are already chafing at nanny statism to begin with.

I'm Full of Soup said...

People who lead of with phrases like "Here's the Deal" are typically full of soup because their arguments suck.

Indigo Red said...

Biden sings an old song.

First, you say you do
And then you don't
And then you say you will
And then you won't
You're undecided now
So what are you gonna do?

MayBee said...

The point is, nobody is following his suggestion. He is supposedly the leader of the Democratic Party and nobody is doing his big idea!

That is a really bid deal!

Krumhorn said...

The real issue is the sentiment that underlies the impulse to require masks by federal authority. The lefties assure us that very smart people can be relied upon to govern us and make everything right if we would just agree to submit to their tender mercies. Presumably, that would be through a series of 5 yr plans. The authoritarian itch is strong in these folks, and we all are asked to stand by quietly while they scratch it.

- Krumhorn

Yancey Ward said...

Mask wearing is 100% virtue signalling, and nothing more. If you believe masks will save you from COVID, then by all means, wear your mask and leave me the fuck alone.

Mark said...

Is this really a walk back?

YES

Howard said...

It's better to kill 150,000 people so the Trump dipshits can learn to do the least minimal action to help fellow Americans all on their own initiative.

Paul said...

Slow Joe makes those with Dementia look good.

Sad.

Unknown said...

I don't honestly think Biden has ever considered if it's Constitutional (or cares), I think someone in his campaign saw a weakness and this was an attempt to take his position off the table.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

I see Joe wears masks in many of his commercials. I wonder if this is really working for him. I think the masks make him look sickly and even more frail than he normally appears. Almost like he’s a patient with some contagious disease. I’m guessing it plays well with the Karens of the world but their votes are already locked up. I doubt it works as well with independents.

Tom said...

If the federal government can’t make me wear a mask, how can it make me buy health sucky insurance?

Clark said...

After June 26th Biden said explicitly that he would institute a federal mask mandate.

madAsHell said...

They want to use face masks to create Hutu's and Tutsi's!!

gspencer said...

Joe's not walking back the millions he grifted from his corruption which includes his shilling for the credit card companies. Ask him how he got the land on which his house sits. Yeah, the house with its own pond.

Todd said...

Josephbleau said...

So how is his position on masks different then Trump's? It seems that Trump is "killing people all over the place" so what would Joe do differently?

9/9/20, 12:25 PM


Easy! He will round them all up and put them in old-folks homes like NYC did. That way he is killing people in just a few places instead of all over. Much neater that way. Less expensive to clean up and most of the bodies are out of site instead of where ever they fall. Vote Biden!

TrespassersW said...

Joe Biden, Thursday, August 13:

""Let’s institute a mask mandate nationwide starting immediately..."
(https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-calls-for-mandate-requiring-all-americans-to-wear-masks)

AA asks, "Is this really a walk back?"

Yes. Yes it is.

Chris Lopes said...

The scary part is that had the issue polled better, Biden would not have "discovered" the constitutional prohibition against such a ban.

hstad said...

Wow, a lot of comments on political rhetoric trying to address "Biden's" political mistake on masks comments.Commentators are missing a major issue this mistake points out.I now believe that the entire "Biden" campaign is shell-shocked and rudderless. This is just another one of many in the past and up to election day of 'political narratives' thrown up to the wall to see what sticks. Nothing has been thought out well and I don't see any winning strategies emanating from the "Biden" campaign. "Biden" is in real trouble!

TheThinManReturns said...

am only commenting on THIS post to humbly request the professor unleash the comments. Or, is this what moderation of liberty has wrought?

narciso said...

his advisors want to keep the schools closed into next year, murthy frieden, and 'death eater' emmanuel.

madAsHell said...

"Biden" is in real trouble!

Trump has sucked all the campaign issues out of the tent. The democrats are running on "Black Lives Matter", and the "stain of impeachment".

exhelodrvr1 said...

Palau offers US joint-use bases - another victory for the Trump admin that you won't hear anything about.

Yancey Ward said...

Well, Howard, will you wear your mask for the rest of your life since it can save, according to you, thousands of Americans from influenza and pneumonia? As you wrote, it is the minimum that you can do to save lives of your fellow Americans.

Right?

FullMoon said...

It's wrong to have one rule for everyone....

Waiting for rural DustBunnies take on our illustrious and handsome Gov Newsome shutting down entire state of California in the name of science and safety.

Skeptical Voter said...

Well why did Bozo Biden open his yap on masks in the first place?

Lance said...

I don’t think constitutionally they could, so I wouldn’t issue a mandate.

That wouldn't have stopped Franklin Roosevelt.

FullMoon said...

This is just another one of many in the past and up to election day of 'political narratives' thrown up to the wall to see what sticks. Nothing has been thought out well and I don't see any winning strategies emanating from the "Biden" campaign.

Best example is agreeing to pick a black woman as a running mate. That was about the most stupid thing coming from Biden as an impromptu agreement during an interview. Expected his gang to find a way to get out of that one but they lacked enough imagination to do so. Obama agrees with me, hence the "never under estimate Joe's ability to fuck things up"

tim in vermont said...

The mandate as Biden first suggested, of anybody in public anywhere being forced to wear a mask was ridiculous, but if federalism is the argument, I have no doubt that RBG and her posse would have zero problems with a commerce clause argument, which outranks the 10th amendment, and Roberts would go along.

Biden has lost a step.

wendybar said...

Howard said...
It's better to kill 150,000 people so the Trump dipshits can learn to do the least minimal action to help fellow Americans all on their own initiative.

9/9/20, 1:24 PM

Yeah, Cuomo and the other Democrat governors really screwed up when they forced infected people into the Nursing homes where almost all of the deaths happened.

TheThinManReturns said...

Release the Comments!

holdfast said...

His walk-back on Fracking is way more economically significant.

There need to be TV ads on that in PA and other fracking states 24/7.

YoungHegelian said...

When asked about the constitutional issues involved in a nation-wide mask mandate Vice-President Biden replied "My staff warned me about wading into this, and I told them find me the best constitutional law scholar & let's run it up the flag pole & see who salutes. Well, they found me some dog-faced pony soldier of a retired professor out in the Midwest, I dunno, some ditzy blond with academic credentials out the ying-yang, and she said 'No way, Jose'. I said 'C'mon, man!', but she wouldn't budge. So, here we are."

BUMBLE BEE said...

Obama had Joe for assassination insurance and now Joe has Kamala!

Gospace said...

The conditions vary from place to place, even within states, even within municipalities. It's wrong to have one rule for everyone...

Maybe you could send a personal message to Dictator Cuomo informing him of that.

Gospace said...

The conditions vary from place to place, even within states, even within municipalities. It's wrong to have one rule for everyone...

Maybe you could send a personal message to Dictator Cuomo informing him of that.

Yancey Ward said...

You can't buy insurance against death itself. Kamala put her money down on Joe dying.

alanc709 said...

One size fits all means nothing fits anyone.

Ambrose said...

This allows Trump's detractors to criticize him either for not imposing the nationwide mandate or for considering that he could do so. Win-win. It's almost too perfect to not be planned by the Biden camp,

Drago said...

Ever since the democraticals discovered no one was buying into their "peaceful" blackshirt-marxist antifa riots and reversed their narratives at least 3 times and then completely abandoned the entire storyline altogether to embrace "law and order" and "not defunding the police" and "America First" and fracking and no mask mandates and being against the ChiComs, Poor Howard was left all by himself on the Island Of Misfit Howard's Heroes Morons.

And the dems didnt even send Howard a note of condolence for making him look like the pathetic patsy he is.

DEEBEE said...

But invariably the critics of POTUS always whine about lack of a central plan. Does that not militate against federalism? IMO making sure federal government stands behind Governor's’ decisions, nudging and cajoling them in the “correct” direction — POTUS policy — semis deft and not daft.

Nichevo said...

Maybe "do everything possible to make it required" is clever phrasing and he's really thinking the President lacks the power to order everyone to wear masks or to commandeer local law officials to enforce a mask requirement. So it wouldn't, in fact, be possible....


And if I were to point out that you thus equate "clever" with all that is bad, I would be the anti-intellectual.

Drago said...

holdfast: "His walk-back on Fracking is way more economically significant.

There need to be TV ads on that in PA and other fracking states 24/7."

Oh, there will be.

MadTownGuy said...

If Biden is elected, my guess is that he won't remain in office for long. Effectively, Kamala Harris is running. This is the "Bait and Switch" campaign or, if you will, the "Biden Switch" campaign.

Drago said...

tim in vermont: "The mandate as Biden first suggested, of anybody in public anywhere being forced to wear a mask was ridiculous, but if federalism is the argument, I have no doubt that RBG and her posse would have zero problems with a commerce clause argument, which outranks the 10th amendment, and Roberts would go along."

I completely agree.

Which is why any voting case that makes it to the SC will be decided by Roberts against Trump. The dems found their way back to a SC majority without even having to appoint anyone else.

mikee said...

The people who want Kamala for President would not hesitate to off old senile Joe, and everyone knows it. That is, everyone knows he's senile, and everyone knows the left would prefer Kamala as the most socialist President in US history. Joe didn't pick her. His leftist enemies picked her, knowing he is as good as dead, and will not serve if elected, because Joe Biden has dementia. All it will take is Kamala saying so publicly to end the farce of his presidency, if elected.

TheThinManReturns said...

ain’t no there, there. sorry Joe, no more ice cream.

Rory said...

Just a note that Biden spent about 25 years on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he chaired it for about eight years.

Static Ping said...

You are asking a lot from Biden. When he was in his prime, he couldn't remember what positions he held the prior election or even the prior year, assuming they were now inconvenient.

Michael K said...

Howard said...
It's better to kill 150,000 people so the Trump dipshits can learn to do the least minimal action to help fellow Americans all on their own initiative.


Not even Howard believes his crap anymore.

zefal said...

democrats walk back most of their agenda when the general election approaches, then they run it back to where it was if they get elected to their primary positions.

stevew said...

There's plenty of stuff to criticize Biden for, this isn't one of them, for me.

JAORE said...

Mandatory Masks outside are deeply unpopular ...

Hence the walk back.

Like fracking in Penn.

Or defund the police.

Of course the inverse is also true:

Buy America is popular so Joe claims it as his own.

JAORE said...

I think an ad could be made where they play a Joe position, cut to a drill sergeant who yells,"About face!" Then play the "new" Biden position.

Browndog said...

All libs think everyone needs to wear a mask at all times otherwise everyone dies. Like good libs, they can't imagine anyone would think otherwise.

Mask mandate it is! WINNING!

...then, somebody shows the Team Biden the poll numbers.

Paul Doty said...

That may be the first time Gropin' Joe has been accused of clever phrasing. C'mon, man!

n.n said...

Howard said... It's better to kill 150,000 people so the Trump dipshits can learn to do the least minimal action to help fellow Americans all on their own initiative.

Planned Parent, deficient hygienic habits, social contagion, and stigmatizing early treatments that complement body functions to mitigate infection and disease progression. Also, immigration reform from affected/infected areas, and judgment free/safe spaces/sanctuary cities for immigrants/migrants from others. Oh, and don't forget your goggles. The eyes are a window to contagion. Meanwhile, the virus evolved and reached peak viability before the mandates were ordered and enforced. Today, they reuse, recycle the sociopolitical rhetoric of "hide the decline" in climate consensus and Some, Select Black Lives Matter.

Drago said...

Michael K: "Not even Howard believes his crap anymore."

I feel bad for Howard.

He can't continue his months long bragging rituals about his antifa Normandy-Invader-Warrior-Lords anymore since that democratical narrative caravan has long ago moved on....yet he so wants to keep on barking......

Nichevo said...

He thought his personally recruited and trained regiment, the 69th Feral Diverses, aka "Garbage Howie's Own," were going to clean up on Fat Old White America. Unfortunately they keep getting their clocks cleaned on the actual field of battle. Sad!

DeepRunner said...

In a moment of reminiscing about The Motives of Muttering Joe, Ann Althouse said:
"Maybe 'do everything possible to make it required' is clever phrasing and he's really thinking the President lacks the power to order everyone to wear masks or to commandeer local law officials to enforce a mask requirement. So it wouldn't, in fact, be possible...."

Nah. He walked it back. There's barely enough wiggle room in those words for a body to turn in its coffin. I guess. Maybe. But after banging on about mask virtues, I am not willing to give the person who writes Muttering Joe's lines on the teleprompter the benefit of the doubt. Not in the ongoing age of poll-testing lines.