Biden Address (9/1/2022): MAGA extremism is a threat to democracy (1 Viewer)

[superchuck500]

This will be controversial. It appears tailored to appeal to independent and Republican voters who don't approve of what the MAGA movement has become - an attempt to try to further isolate the Trump wing.

Will it work? Or will it have the opposite effect sort of like what we saw with the "deplorables" remark from Hillary?

One thing working for Biden's timing is that some Trump support in the media has clearly been pealing away, he's at a weak point - and could get weaker as the criminal case against him builds. But Biden is definitely throwing down the gauntlet.

 

[superchuck500]

I don’t agree with this particular criticism. The speech was not labeled as political, and wasn’t intended as such. Biden was careful to say not all Republicans, in fact he said most Republicans were not the subject of his speech. He (and I) would contend that his speech was about a threat to our very form of government, and one that all people who are for the Constitution should unite to defeat. Several presidents have given speeches about threats to the Republic with military personnel in attendance. It’s not a break in protocol.

This is the type of media “both side-ism” that has downplayed the very threat that we now find ourselves facing. That portrays the cultish Trumpism as politics as usual, and therefore opposing Trumpism is just a political stance. It’s not political. It’s supporting America to oppose these goons.

How could any movement that includes both Liz Cheney and Nancy Pelosi be political? It’s not. It needs to be made clear that it’s a point of pride in this American experiment to oppose Trumpism.

“Extremism led by a man willing to call his supporters to attack the Capital to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power after an election, and that seeks to suppress votes and impose a specific religious viewpoint on all of America is a threat to American Democracy.”

Republicans: How dare you insult all of us like that!

If you think he’s talking to you because you support those things, then yes he’s calling you out. If you don’t support those things, he’s not talking about you.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

My concern is that if anyone other than Harris is nominated (who I think would lose handily in the general), it will set off a ton of folks who will claim sexism for not giving her the nomination as the sitting VP. They could care less that she hasn't done anything to help herself out (much like her presidential campaign).

I'd like to think Democrats learned their lesson by nominating Hillary over Bernie in 2016 but I suppose that's too much too ask. Presidential elections are won by appealing to independents in middle America, not elitists on the East and West Coasts.

 

[Dragon]

I'm not american but Stacy Abrams really impress me a lot. I know she would be a tough sell but she has integrety to spare, is intelligent and has a tough no-nonsens approach to things. She also have this amazing ability to just get things done...

But she is also female and African-American

 

[el caliente]

It’s 2022 (election will be in 2024), Stacy Abrams being a black woman wont hold her back as much perceived. Hell, it might even help her given how hard people are pushing for diversity.

 

[UriUT]

I liked probably 90% of the speech, but I didn't like using Marines as props. Politicizing the military should be off limits. Trump did it and got called to the carpet for it. Whoever decided to put those 2 Marines there deserves the same criticism. The military belongs to the country, not to a political party.

Its been done before by all 4 previous Republican presidents. And with more troops in the background. I don't recall the prop criticism back then.

 

[UriUT]

And btw fdr made an anti-nazism speech before he declared war. He singled out those Americans advocating the same anti democratic ideology that these maga s do today.

 

[BullSheetBuddha]

"A good setting - with a dark twist

This isn't the first time Mr Biden has delivered a speech near Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

On 13 July, 2021, the president made the short trek up to Philadelphia to deliver remarks condemning Donald Trump's "Big Lie" claims of 2020 election fraud. At the time, he called for the passage of a new federal voting rights law - legislation that was ultimately blocked by Republicans in the US Senate.

From a political stagecraft standpoint, the scenery for Mr Biden on Thursday night couldn't have been more picturesque in person. It was a mild September evening in Philadelphia. The president's lectern was set in a tree-dotted park, with a fully lit Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, as the backdrop. A Marine band playing patriotic tunes off to one side.

At precisely 20:00 local time, the bell at the top of the hall rang. On its final stroke, the band struck up Hail to the Chief, and Joe and Jill Biden emerged from the building, now illuminated in red-and blue, and walked down a spotlight strewn red carpet to the stage.

On television, however, the mood came across a bit differently. The close focus of the camera meant the president was only framed in the dark red portions of the building. It made it look as though he were delivering his speech from the gates of hell - a mood only accentuated by the darker moments of his text.

His voice a bit hoarse - perhaps still rough from his recent bout with Covid-19 - the president flashed some anger as he denounced Maga Republicans who "embrace anger", "thrive on chaos" and "live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies".

There's an internet meme among Democrats about Mr Biden as "dark Brandon", vanquishing his political enemies without mercy. The visuals of this speech, intentional or not, will only feed those flames.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62761332

 

[UriUT]

I can't agree with this more. These thugs that pick on a single librarian for sharing access to books just because they want to ban and burn books can't be tolerated. They share the same traits as the german nazis.

 

[SaulGoodmanEsq]

I'm not american but Stacy Abrams really impress me a lot. I know she would be a tough sell but she has integrety to spare, is intelligent and has a tough no-nonsens approach to things. She also have this amazing ability to just get things done...

But she is also female and African-American

I'm against conventional-wisdom on Abrams. People are basically crowning her some rock star but I don't see it. The hype is reminding me of Hillary Clinton. Reality is she probably loses again in the governor's race. Georgia is doing fairly well economically and Kemp, while not overtly repudiating Trump, largely ignores him and stands on his own.

 

[MT15]

 

[MT15]

I'm against conventional-wisdom on Abrams. People are basically crowning her some rock star but I don't see it. The hype is reminding me of Hillary Clinton. Reality is she probably loses again in the governor's race. Georgia is doing fairly well economically and Kemp, while not overtly repudiating Trump, largely ignores him and stands on his own.

I dont think Kemp is so benign - he did, after all, engage in some shady voter roll purging in his official capacity as SOS just before he was elected. He flat out disenfranchised black folks to get elected. And his current running mate is an election denier. He’s not above pandering to Trump when it’s politically convenient. I agree Abrams has an uphill battle. Misogyny.

 

[superchuck500]

 

[MT15]

I like these takes:

I’d like to flesh this out a little bit. When the first post says “conservatives” they are talking about that wing of the R party who likes to call democrats and liberals “demonic” “satanic” “groomers” “pedophiles” “communists” and “socialists”. And this was all well before Biden’s speech.

They use bullying and intimidation to try to get their way. They threaten violence. They have deliberately painted their political opposition as evil incarnate.

This started well before Trump, (although he certainly escalated it) and it has been gaining acceptance by mainstream Republicans for years. They’re used to not having any real pushback on their dangerous and unAmerican rhetoric. It’s well past time for regular Americans to stand up to this nonsense. In our country, we have free and fair elections. The loser concedes and the winner takes office. The intimidation of poll workers, teachers, doctors and nurses has to stop.

And if regular Republicans are feeling the sting of Biden’s speech that means they haven’t done enough to stand up for Americans who are being threatened and bullied by the radicals on the right. They could start by denouncing Trump’s pledge yesterday to pardon all the people who broke into the Capitol and beat police officers within an inch of their lives.

 

[coldseat]

I'm against conventional-wisdom on Abrams. People are basically crowning her some rock star but I don't see it. The hype is reminding me of Hillary Clinton. Reality is she probably loses again in the governor's race. Georgia is doing fairly well economically and Kemp, while not overtly repudiating Trump, largely ignores him and stands on his own.

I don't know if she'll win, but Georgia would be better off with Abrams as their governor. America would be better off if Abrams is eventually our president.

I wanted Biden to select her as his vice-president because she is the real deal. Every time I listen to her speak, she comes off as the smartest person in the room. Not in some shrill, unapproachable way, but in that she understands them moment she's in, understands what it takes to get things done, and has the drive and persistence to accomplish it.

If she's able to win Georgia, that would be huge. But that is a big if given all the Republicans in Georgia.

 

[UriUT]

Where have all the real masculine men go??? I think that was the prevailing sentiment not long ago on Tucker and fox news? Now its their feelings are hurt.

 

[UriUT]

Yes. Bullies hate it when they are called out.

 

[UriUT]

Yes the marines are bad! Wait...both sides?? But she didn't seem to mind it back then. This is a good short thread about this both sidism.

 

[MT15]

I posted this in the Republican thread, but it fits here as well: