Joe Biden gave a speech on September 1: “The Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation”. It was a dreadfully, awful speech. I can’t use enough adjectives to describe how bad it was.
The president stated his premise: “democracy and equality are under assault”, and then explained that MAGA Republicans, led by former President Trump, are the source of ALL our problems:
Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.
And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.
They refuse to accept the results of a free election. And they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.
MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.
The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has to fail. They believe America — not like I believe about America.
In another speech, Biden labeled MAGA Republicans as “semi-facists”:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/joe-biden-may-regret-calling-maga-a-semi-fascist-movement
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy,” Biden told Democratic donors during a private meeting last week. “It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the—I’m going to say something: It’s like semi-fascism.”
There is no criticism of any other group. He claims all current problems stem from a single group: MAGA Republicans. There is no introspection, no admission of mistakes of his own or his party. Only the political opposition is to blame. How convenient.
Presidents often campaign against their political opponents, although rarely in an address to the entire nation. Furthermore, Biden did not simply attack his political opponents; he attacked ordinary people, people who voted for Trump and other Republicans, people who think MAGA is a worthy goal, people who simply disapprove of President Biden’s own agenda. He is fighting a war of attrition. The president attacks all who support his political opponents, specifically any who voted for or gave aid and comfort to his political opposition. Despite his claim to the contrary, it is not even a battle for the soul of the people. The president doesn’t want to reach people like me; he writes us off. He wants to win by discrediting us as disreputable, not by discrediting our ideas. A debate of ideas is too difficult and too risky. Once MAGA and Republicans are tainted, any of their associated ideas can be dismissed. In other words, the president labels his opponents, so others won’t listen to their ideas. By default, his side wins.
Biden’s attack itself is the extreme. He uses the language President Bush used to describe the 9/11 terrorists. It is brazen. Are you a lawyer who might provide legal support to him or someone who might work in a future Trump administration? Think again or your future livelihood will be threatened. Did you ever donate to the president? Be careful. Your name will be in the paper and you will be shamed. Your neighbors will find out who you really are. Even wearing a MAGA hat has been problematic. Your kid might be attacked on the school bus. This is the ugly way politics works today, and the president’s speech embodies that very strategy.
A large portion of Americans, including me, could identify with MAGA or Republicans. I dislike most politicians, including a majority of Republicans, but I often vote for the Republican because I find the other choice so much worse. I defend some, certainly not all, of what Republicans have done. They have done a few good things, and I give them a low overall grade. Still, I wouldn’t vote for a Republican candidate if I believed that person didn’t at least support the Constitution or didn’t support the rule of law. I wouldn’t vote for someone I saw as trying to undermine democracy, or someone who believed the things President Biden accused MAGA Republicans of. We should have some common values.
Politicians, in general, are dishonest and lack the courage to govern effectively and fight for issues mattering to me and others who vote for them, but I don’t see these folks as the evil bastards that President Biden portrays. These charges do not hold water, certainly not for broad swaths of Americans. I certainly don’t trust President Biden, a venal, corrupt, barely cognizant geriatric, a man protected from scrutiny himself by a corrupt media, to save the country from evil political opponents. Politicians basically do what’s needed to get re-elected; that’s what they are best at.
Furthermore, MAGA is simply a campaign slogan: Make America Great Again. It is actually a fine slogan. We want the country to succeed; we want it to be great, even when Biden is president. There is nothing shameful about it. I didn’t vote for President Obama, but I thought “Hope and Change” was a fine slogan as well. I didn’t attack Obama supporters because they believed in hope and change. I didn’t attack anyone who voted for Obama as an evil bastard seeking to undermine our democracy.
I can’t know why people do what they do, so I give them the benefit of the doubt. People voted for Obama because they had different priorities than me and they didn’t see Obama as the dishonest politician the way I did or maybe they always voted Democrat or maybe they just liked his charisma and charm. Most, I think, were trying to do the right thing; they probably thought Obama would make the country better, unite us, or fulfill the promises he made. I didn’t believe Obama or like his proposals, but I don’t demonize people who did. I don’t question their motivation. Folks like Biden, on the other hand, imply, folks like me didn’t vote for Obama because we are racists (remember he said Mitt Romney would put black people “back in chains” or “You ain’t black if you don’t for vote for me”?). He talks about the cult of Trump while ignoring the equally prominent cult of Obama. We have enough cults to go around. Come on, man.
Biden also attacks large portions of Americans while at the same calling for unity. You folks who believe in MAGA or voted for Trump (74 million people, by the way), are just evil bastards who want to undermine democracy, are a threat to our country, want everyone else to fail, embrace anger, live in a shadow of lies, and all the rest, but please unite with me to solve our country’s problems. If you talked to your spouse this way, the marriage wouldn’t last five minutes. Maybe you don’t like Trump, have never voted Republican, and don’t see the humanity in your neighbors who think differently than you, so this message appeals to you. Maybe it makes you feel better to look down on the rest of us. However, this is not a good negotiating tactic for convincing your opponent to join your side–if that is what your intent actually is.
I engaged a few liberals on this issue and was told Biden wasn’t attacking all Republicans, just the extremists. He is attacking the bad Republicans, not the good ones, they say. But who does he characterize as non-extremists? Those who work with him on his agenda: the few Republicans who supported the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, those who support the re-definition of marriage act, the few who voted to impeach or convict Trump. These are the ones he points to in the speech, the ones who he “can work with”, the ones who support at least part of the Democrat agenda. I don’t support any of Biden’s agenda: I wouldn’t work with him on issues I oppose, yet I am also not an “extremist” as he defines one. He says: “I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans”, yet when they don’t support his agenda, they become extreme and a threat. Biden is not separating out a small portion of Republicans; he is going after them en masse. If we agree with any of Trump’s election claims (or even just want to hear more), we are called insurrectionists. No sir, we are not. Your rhetoric is the problem.
More Lies:
Biden continued, describing reasons MAGA Republicans are so bad.
They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th — brutally attacking law enforcement — not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots.
Nobody I know personally, no Republican politician, and no conservative media figure I listen to ever said people who behaved badly on January 6 were patriots. Please provide the quote you are referring to. I also broke down the numbers below. What portion actually acted badly?
No exact estimates were given of how many came to the January 6 rally. Pictures show the crowd was extensive. ABC News estimated 80,000. ABC news (not a pro-Trump organization) also said 2,000 entered the Capitol that day. That is 2.5% of the people who attended Trump’s speech. If this was an insurrection why did so many fade away that day?
https://abc7news.com/jan-6-insurrection-us-capitol-riot/11428976/
According to the DOJ, approximately 640 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, which is a misdemeanor. More than 225 accused rioters have been charged with the more serious crime of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, according to the DOJ.
Some people were charged with loitering basically. Fewer than 1% of the people who attended Trump’s speech were arrested, and most with misdemeanors. Is this the stuff insurrections are made of? Furthermore, there are numerous videos of the public being allowed to pass into the building by police officers. Did they want them to enter so they could claim something later? Or did they just see them as non-threatening and so didn’t challenge them? We will never know because the J6 committee and our corrupt media isn’t interested.
In the end, 99.75% (all but 225 of 80,000) followed Trump’s direction to “protest peacefully and patriotically”. He was not leading them on and they were not taking it on themselves to start an insurrection.
Biden continued:
And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Nobody stopped the peaceful transition of power. It actually happened peacefully. There was never any doubt. I am old enough to remember. The January 6 riot was problematic, but it was not an organized insurrection. The vast majority protested the manner in which the election was held: the changes made prior to the election, often in violation of state and federal law, the tactics used during the election itself, and the lies told about those who protested or just complained on Twitter and elsewhere. Those are the problems.
Need I also mention Democrats have been making claims about elections for more than 20 years? Stacy Abrams and every Democrat of note have claimed for four years she is the true governor of Georgia despite losing by 50,000 votes. Abrams was included in a governor’s panel during the 2020 Democrat convention, despite not actually being governor. https://defconnews.com/2020/08/20/democrats-just-made-stacey-abrams-a-governor/
More states were contested in Congress on January 6, 2017 than were contested on January 6, 2021.
Let’s be balanced. Where are all the gracious losers?
They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people. This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will of the people.
Who exactly tried to nullify 81 million votes? No evidence is provided. Again, we have only a repeat of the talking point. Everyone I know of on the Right has advocated that every legal vote be counted and every illegal vote be discounted. This is the controversial action Biden dislikes.
I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people who simply refuse to accept that they lost. (Applause.)
For eight years, I listened to Al Gore and his acolytes claim the 2000 election was stolen. We heard for the same for the four Trump years. Biden Press Secretary Jean-Pierre was asked about her own claims on stolen elections:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/sep/6/karine-jean-pierre-grilled-about-her-past-accusati/
Before joining the Biden White House, Ms. Jean-Pierre tweeted in 2016 that former President Donald Trump stole that year’s election. Two years later, she claimed that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, stole the gubernatorial election.
Of course, Ms. Jean-Pierre dismissed the comparison as “ridiculous.” Are you buying that one?
More from Biden:
I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country — the freedom to vote and have your vote counted — and — be taken from you and the American people. (Applause.)
The 2021 baseball All-Star game was moved from Atlanta, supposedly because of voter suppression by the Georgia legislature. How many votes were suppressed during the very next election a year later? There was record turnout in the Georgia 2022 primary, giving lie to the talking point yet again.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/turnout-georgia-primary-left-voter-suppression
So far in the 2022 primary election, 860,068 people have voted.
At this point in the 2018 primary, that number was 320,692.
Total turnout for the 2022 primary is 168% higher.
Other Opinions
One blogger I encountered agrees with the president’s sentiments:
I watched President Biden’s speech last night, was pleased with both what he said and the tone with which he said it. Some claimed that he ran on a platform of unity and that his speech was not unifying, as it called a spade a spade, called out the ‘maga-Republicans’ for obstruction, for inciting violence, and for dissing rule of law for their own selfish reasons. But if you looked with open eyes, you will have noticed that the president WAS calling for unity … to those who would listen. He was calling on Democrats, Independents, and reasonable Republicans to come together to protect and preserve the democratic principles that are the foundation of the U.S. Constitution. He acknowledged that the maga-Republicans had no intention of being a part of such a unity, but in essence said we need to move beyond them and their ways, that they are in the minority (which IS true), and that if we hope to save democracy in the U.S., we have our work cut out for us.
I noted she picks on Republicans and is not one for introspection or criticism of the politicians she likes.
If I “pick on Republicans”, it is a well-deserved ‘picking’. Tell me … what would you say the Republican Party today stands for? From where I sit, they stand for racism, misogyny, forced religion, enhancing the wealthy, uber capitalism, and NOT for things that would make this nation better for all.
Yes, some conservatives have pulled away from Trump and paid a high price. Others despise him but continue to lick his boots because they care more about their own political career than about the people of this nation.
Republicans do not stand for racism, misogyny, and forced religion. This may be the narrative but it is so untrue. Why would any politician stand for these very unpopular things? They couldn’t get votes. I wouldn’t vote for them and I don’t know anybody who would support such an agenda.
Dr. Ibrahim X Kendi, professor at Boston University and leading Critical Race Theory(CRT) advocate, can’t even define racism https://dangerousintersection.org/2021/06/01/circular-thinking-101-ibram-kendis-definition-of-racism/. He also calls for more racism to combat the racism of the past; this ideology will lead us into never ending racism as more and more racism is needed in the future to combat racism of today. This is more of a problem in my mind.
Both parties are for enhancing the wealthy, or at least the wealthy who fund their campaigns. The goal is to get re-elected. That’s their primary goal. They are not out to solve problems (but they are good at convincing you and others that’s what they are here to do). If you finally realize this point, you will understand what is going on.
Many on the Left gushed about Representative Cheney recently, but she too is looking out for her self-interests, nobody else. She is making a career on trashing Trump and she won’t go beyond that lane to speak out on other problems. She could have changed the party while in Republican leadership, but she chose a different route, one that she will keep playing to keep herself relevant. She likes the praise she gets now from Democrats and she will make sure she keeps them on her side now that her die is cast.
Politics is so cynical and we should see how self-interested most of these folks really are.
I asked my blogger friend directly: are you certain you are right and that I and millions of others like me who want something better for this country just as you do, support such evil? We are all fascists? We hate democracy? If you truly believe that, then I have no doubt you have absolutely no real perspective on politics today.
We judge each other actions, not each others thoughts and motivations. How do you possibly know what we think and that our intention is to end democracy and have it only our way? It is so offensive, yet it is so routine and so carelessly delivered, just as it was when Hillary Clinton called tens of millions of Americans “deplorables”.
https://time.com/4486502/hillary-clinton-basket-of-deplorables-transcript/
Speaking at a fundraiser in New York City on Friday, Hillary Clinton said half of Donald Trump’s supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables” characterized by “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic” views.
President Biden and all his cronies just doubled down on that comment. This kind of language is tearing the country apart. It cannot possibly unite us.
Let’s Be Logical
“MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security,” Biden said. “They are a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace — embrace — political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.”
These are absolute lies from the president. Millions like me voted for Trump and supported MAGA while also supporting personal rights, economic security, and democracy.
President Biden’s inaugural speech also mentioned national unity, but as the next election approaches, his rhetoric turns divisive. He condemns large portions of the American people to salvage a few more votes. Make no mistake, this is all about the next election. Turn the election into one about Trump and Democrats will do better. Allow it to be a referendum on the Biden Admin and the Democrats will crash and burn.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/poll-more-democrats-than-republicans-believe-biden-dividing-america
I studied mathematics in college. It taught me something other than how to find a derivative; it taught me how to think logically and clearly. I am distressed to see what passes for thought today. We are the most “educated” people; we have the most information at our fingertips than any other time in history, but we don’t know how to interpret it. So many people start with the answer and find facts to support their initial beliefs (often their feelings). They label and demonize anyone with an opposing point of view. Life is simpler that way. You don’t have to get your hands dirty and confront facts and logic from people like me. You don’t have to get into a difficult debate and possibly admit you might be wrong about one or two things. Folks like the blogger I quoted take their cue from Biden’s (and so many others) rhetoric. That’s why his speech is so dangerous. It is dividing us more, not uniting us.
“Misinformation” is a term thrown about loosely today. Trump and Republicans are accused incessantly. Have you ever considered who decides what is misinformation? How do they have a lock on the truth? How does one become an arbiter of truth? I suppose we all would like that title. However, what if the arbiter rigs the game or just doesn’t know enough to start with? Those classifying “misinformation” seem to be the same people attaching labels to MAGA Republicans.
Misinformation is just a euphemism for censorship. The government cannot admit it is pressuring corporations to censor (that would be against the law), so instead they say they are protecting you from “misinformation”. Censorship has essentially been sold as a public service. It’s dangerous and it will eventually lead to true facism.
President Biden pretends he is protecting you from MAGA Republicans and their “misinformation”. Ironically, our democracy is actually safer if we allow stupid politicians and stupid ideas to be exposed; discerning people will recognize them for what they are. They will be discredited organically over time if a full and fair debate is allowed. However, censorship makes people suspicious. If MAGA Republicans really are as evil as President Biden says they are, let people figure it out for themselves. We don’t need him to direct our thinking any more than MAGA Republicans need to be directed by President Trump. Furthermore, why trust the president’s opinions regarding his political opponents? He has reason to lie and distort the facts, and that is exactly what he is doing.
President Biden has been propped up by a corrupt media. He is the stupid politician who will now be exposed. His approval numbers today are actually worse than Trump’s four years ago, despite Biden’s fawning media and Trump’s hostile media. This speech will undo him and his party. I believe enough people will see through this. We have to make leaders like Biden pay with lost votes for such awful, hateful, and divisive rhetoric.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president-biden-job-approval-7320.html
Seek the Truth 
isn’t it interesting that when you ask progressives to answer specifics that go beyond their talking points, they are able to only have two responses as in your “blogger friend” to whom you posed a question. They either shout insults at you as people on her post did, which she also agrees with because she published them, whereas people like me aren’t given the same courtesy, or they say “I’m done with the conversation” which reveals their unwillingness to actually extend their mental horizons, challenge their long held beliefs and maybe, just maybe become a more well-rounded person in the process.
It is sad that I and others, who offer opposing viewpoints, though I admit, I have been known to have a bit of a temper at times, are so quickly relegated to the realm of marginalization and insignificance. That’s what makes me so angry at bloggers like the one you sited in your post, not that they have different views, but that they censor, in different ways, the people who do believe differently while, at the same time, claiming to be open and tolerant of diversity. their censorship comes in the form of shutting down the conversation by saying “I’m done’, implications of being a racist, being told to “fuck off”, or even not being allowed to have their comments posted at all. People can do what they want with their blogs but in my mind, if you don’t allow differing opinions, you’re demonstrating just how intolerant you are. This is why I mostly do not participate in the debate anymore, I find it futile, frustrating and even pointless. I read some blog entries but I rarely comment anymore as it has been made very clear that my differing opinions aren’t welcome so why stay in the room with that kind of reception/
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You are right in how they respond. If they are losing the argument, they find a way to end it or change it, but still never admit they are losing.
My wife too tells me engaging in the debate is futile. Even folks on the liberal blog ask why do I bother? They say they won’t change their minds and I won’t
change mine, so what’s the point?
But I think there is a point. I think we are reaching people, perhaps in a small way. Perhaps, if nothing more, they realize that we are not caricatures and that we have legitimate reasons for thinking as we do. This is some minor progress. I think a small fraction of people are moved and are changed more significantly, perhaps not instantly, but over time. Most of those people will never acknowledge the influence others had in changing their thinking, but it happens. Extreme patience and thick skin are required. You can’t do as some do and say “F– off” because then they will have reason to dismiss you and ignore you. You have to keep attacking their ideas, not them personally.
I know too I am having an impact because I am not being ignored. I’ve said something that has them thinking. As long as we continue to engage, there is hope for progress. Eventually, I think they have to see their own mistakes. How they respond to that recognition, is their issue, not mine. I just point out the mistake.
I think the debate also perfects my arguments and tells me how to focus them to reach others more effectively. I make mistakes in my arguments and they will be quick to point these out. I won’t make that mistake again. I also may not be reaching the people who I engage with directly, but others who are in the audience and not heard may be reached. We will never know how many we actually reach. I am sure it is more than zero, but I don’t know how many more. I don’t need to know the impact today. I will account for in the next life.
Thanks for the feedback.
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you make a credible point and it’s often true that our impact is more for the long-term something I must admit that I’m not the best at thinking in. I usually focus on the details and not the big picture, though, recently there have been more and more exceptions to this.
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I my books you are doing an excellent job, if that is worth anything to you. You hone your skills in reaching out, like a rookie soldier becoming a veteran.
I try to get them to dig a hole into which they fall. I will help them out if they wish, but sadly they seem to like it down there.
It does expose the truly nasty from the merely traumatized. I see so often the damage that drugs have done in their lives and this has warped their perspective.
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Thanks. I think it helps to hear what they think. It sharpens my argument and helps focus it on what might convince one or two.
I find many of these folks I debate to be very anti-religious. Religion is the problem in their minds. Anyone who has faith is out to control others and to impose it on others, per their arguments. My faith should make me a better citizen, a better person, and in no way do I use it as a weapon against others. Any position I hold, such as advocacy for life and against abortion is seen as a religious view. Expressing this view is seen as imposing my religion on others. There are many non-religious arguments in favor of life and I try to stick to the non-religious arguments when discussing with these people. One can have morals without being a person of faith.
Also, they make many statements which are not substantiated. I keep demanding over and over they prove their claims rather than repeat the talking point which so many they engage with believe without knowing why. I emphasize it when they provide no evidence. Eventually, they have to see their mistake, even if the do not admit it openly.
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Indeed, you are right. “Religion is the problem in their minds.” The problem is they have seen the hypocrisy of the false religion and understandably reject it, but Jesus Christ says ‘I have come that you might have life and have it to the full’ and that is what followers of Jesus should present, the true good news in Christ.
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I find it useful to do research on their site. What are they interested in, what good points do they make (they can sometimes!). There might be some common ground. Reconnaissance is the key, although sometimes the initial frontal assault can be tried to draw their fire, their arguments , if any. Then go for the flanks, find the weak spots.
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Hello
I wanted to say a very good breakdown of the most awful speech I have heard in a long time. I have seen how depraved are those who support it, how unpleasant they truly are. I am in the process of engaging someone in Canada over it, a lady who thinks the Democratic government under Biden is doing well. 8x better than Trump I think she said. Unbelievable. She has a PhD and lectures in history of Art.
So many of those who think the speech is good on WordPress sites are female and clearly lacking science skills and analytical thinking. Feelings are great, but need guiding by reason, so the two become compatible.
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