The Armenian Weekly. Joe Biden owes Armenians an apology.
All of us. Armenian Republicans, Democrats and Independents.
In 2008, he took our votes then tossed us under the bus – and he never looked back…until now, when he needs our votes again.
We all remember it well. It was 12 years ago. The Obama-Biden campaign traded on Obama’s promises, Biden’s record and Samantha Powers’ video to win Armenian American endorsements and votes.
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But by their first April 24th in office, they had betrayed us. For the next eight years, they turned on us. Neither Obama nor Biden met with Armenian Americans to explain their reversals, much less apologize to us for their outright lies.
Now – 12 long years later – Biden wants something from us once again. No surprise: our endorsements and our votes.
Why wouldn’t he? Our votes in Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and other swing states could turn a close election.
The question is, why would we – knowing his track record – have any reason to believe that he would not pull exactly the same stunt? Make big promises. Take our votes. Then turn his back.
The fact of the matter is that the Obama-Biden administration did far more than break a solitary pledge or fall short of honoring their promises. The record shows that they pursued a whole array of policies 180 degrees opposed to the commitments that they had made:
—They broke their explicitly stated and repeated campaign pledges to properly commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
—They actively backed the Turkey-Armenia protocols and called for a “historical commission” to examine a known genocide as a disputed set of competing claims.
—They opposed passage of H.Res.252 commemorating the Armenian Genocide during its consideration by the Foreign Affairs Committee.
—They described the Armenian Genocide as a matter for “historical debate,” through an on-the-record statement by their Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
—They filed an official brief opposing Supreme Court consideration of a case allowing descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors to pursue insurance claims.
—They recklessly nominated Matt Bryza, an anti-Armenian, pro-Aliyev diplomat, as US Ambassador to Azerbaijan.
And now – adding insult to injury – Biden has hired Elvir Klempic, the former executive director of the venomously anti-Armenian, genocide-denying Turkish Heritage Organization to manage his campaign’s outreach to Armenian, Greek and other ethnic American constituencies.Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
If Biden wants Armenian American support – our volunteer hours, our donations and our votes – he will need to do far more than roll out a new set of promises.
He’ll need to start with an apology.