by Don Schmitz
President Biden’s speech at Independence Hall said some true things, but it was the rank hypocrisy that was grating. He vilified Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republicans, qualifying they weren’t the majority of Republicans. What? MAGA is a campaign slogan, which 77 million people voted for in the last election. This is the nub of the matter. If you believe in the 2nd Amendment, a secure border, or the right to life, you are MAGA. Tens of millions of Republicans heard their president infer that they are fascists accordingly.
He said they refuse to accept the election results. Some do. Yet he’s never made an impassioned speech about Democrats doing the same. Many Democrats assert Bush “stole” the 2000 election with “his” Supreme Court. Hillary and many prominent Democrats stated repeatedly that Trump stole the 2016 election, affirming Trump was an “illegitimate president”, as recently as 2020. Stacey Abrams lost in Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election and then claimed a fraudulent election, with past DNC chairman and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe falsely claiming votes had been taken from her. The Washington Post editorial board condemned them for pushing “unprovable allegations that will contribute to the corrosion of trust.” Prophetic.
Polls have shown that 62 percent of Democrats don’t believe the results of the 2016 election, while 61 percent of Republicans don’t believe in the outcome of 2020. Neither party has the high ground on this issue, despite the pontificating of the president. Both sides would vociferously argue with us why they are right.
Biden stated, “Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.” Very true, but he continued: “And that’s where MAGA Republicans are today.” No more than Democrats, Mr. President.
Referencing the Jan. 6 mob that attacked our capitol, he stated, “There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever.” I couldn’t agree more, but where were Democrats during the five months of the BLM/ANTIFA riots? A Princeton study documented that there were 500 violent demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd (many more were peaceful), 25 people were murdered, 2,000 police officers were injured or blinded, monuments were torn down all over the country, and property damage topped $1 billion.
They besieged federal courthouses and burned down police stations. It was well-planned, and highly political. Yet Vice President Kamala Harris helped raise money to bail out participants. Representative Maxine Waters called for protesters to “get more confrontational” should Derek Chauvin not be convicted. What is more confrontational than murder and arson? Prominent far-left activist Quintez Brown in February attempted to assassinate a Jewish mayoral candidate in Kentucky with a Glock handgun (he is an outspoken gun control advocate). BLM crowdfunded $100,000 for his bail. It would appear that some eschew political violence, just so long as it is by people on the other side of the aisle.
The backlash against the President’s speech stems from the double standards. His statements would ring true if universally applied, but they are transparently partisan. That guy driving by with a Trump and American flag? Right-wing fascist. The next car draped in BLM stickers? Progressive freedom fighter. Bad enough that the speech is political grandstanding, which sadly both sides do, worse yet when the country is so divided, distrustful of its institutions, and hurting from so much bona fide violence. In fact, it’s dangerous.
President Biden during the campaign and his inaugural speech said he was going to be a great unifier, representing all Americans, but has utterly failed. He isn’t even trying. In a speech last month at a DNC rally regarding the upcoming midterms he stated, “Your right to vote is on the ballot. Even the democracy.” Again, I understand whipping up the party faithful, and I’m not commenting on the many other topics he addressed. However, stating that voting Republican threatens democracy itself illustrates the fact that he is overtly and repeatedly labeling them as fascists, despite the spin.
A YouGov poll last month found that three out of five Americans believe that political violence would increase in the next few years, and 43 percent of Americans believe a civil war will break out in the next 10 years. Adding fuel to the fire, Biden recently mocked “brave right-wing Americans” supporting gun rights stating they would need F-15’s to fight the government. Those Americans heard their president saying he would bomb them. That is a level of inflammatorily irresponsible rhetoric we’ve not seen since presidential candidate Eric Swalwell stated a fight over firearms would be a “short one” because the government has nuclear weapons.
Trump’s insults of Democrats are legion. Obama said Republicans “cling to their guns and religion.” Clinton called them deplorables. Now Biden calls them fascists. The beat goes on, and the chasm widens.