Current Democrat presidential frontrunner and former Vice President Joe Biden finds himself the target of “friendly” fire. But the truth of the matter is, he lit this bomb himself. In a clearly misguided attempt to tout his own history of bipartisan compromise, Biden noted his past working relationship with former Sen. James O. Eastland. Referencing Eastland, a racist southern Democrat well known for his promotion of segregation against the “inferior race” of blacks, was a move Biden’s own advisers warned him against.

So why did Biden go ahead anyway? Well, it appears it was Biden’s bumbling attempting to push back on criticism over his flip-flop on the Hyde Amendment. As The Atlantic reports, “Joe Biden’s aides knew that the 2020 front-runner was going to get ripped apart over his support of the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion procedures. They were frustrated that the former vice president wouldn’t change his stance, and that he wasn’t initially receptive to their concerns. Now that Biden has come out against Hyde, his aides are trying to prevent him from being labeled a flip-flopper.”

Following Biden’s remarks on Eastland it didn’t take long for his Democrat presidential opponents to see blood in the water. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) opined that Biden “doesn’t understand the history of our country and the dark history of our country.” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) demanded an apology, and both Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders took the opportunity to offer criticism.

A couple of quick observations can be made here. First and foremost is Biden’s own misrepresentation of bipartisan compromise. He worked with Eastland, who was a big-government progressive Democrat/“Dixiecrat” and not a conservative as some within the mainstream media have erroneously asserted. In fact, Biden’s example serves only to demonstrate his long history as a savvy political opportunist.

Second, Democrats clearly desire no civility when it comes to President Donald Trump and Republicans. Biden, the only leading Democrat presidential contender who isn’t a socialist, is in very real danger of being weeded out by the party’s intolerant Left.

Finally, the truth is, unlike the other Democrat candidates, Biden has recognized that the “hate-Trump” and “free-stuff” messages aren’t going to win the election, and he’s making a half-hearted and fingers-crossed call for civility. Unfortunately for Biden, he is a gaffe machine. With 50 years in government, surely he could have come up with a better example of bipartisan compromise and civility than chumming up to fellow Democrats infamously known for their racism.

As the fallout continues, it will be interesting to see if Biden is able to recover. Will he stick to his (double-barrel shot) guns or eventually capitulate to the outrage mob and apologize?