You won't agree with me on really any of this but here you go:
First, have to say that WE ARE NOT A DEMOCRACY. He says Republic once and then goes on the democracy tangent. We are not a democracy. That’s mob rule which I have to wonder if that’s not what they are going for. I’m sure the constant reference to democracy is purposeful at this point. The country is that ignorant to fall right into that trap at this point.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
-How exactly? Could they be perceived as a somewhat belligerent political movement? Certainly, but a threat to the Republic? A statement of that nature must come strongly backed with a lot of evidence and clarity. We just didn’t get that. In fact, even the President himself said the following day that MAGA Republicans don’t represent a threat. Further, this is ultimately an attempt to further divide the Republican party in a national speech by the sitting President. Just not a good look. If Trump had done something like this people would go bananas. We need to get back to a point where something is right or wrong regardless of who does it.
“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.”
-This bothers me because these “MAGA” people are acting out because they have not been represented well because of the consolidation in most states around big cities. No one ever bothers to try and understand why these people are acting this way and how we can try to unite our nation.
“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."
-You mean like calling a president illegitimate or saying the election was stolen or hosting Stacey Abrams at a governor’s convention as the rightful Governor of Georgia? Or perhaps members of the House voting not to certify the results of a duly held election? All things Democrats have done and that’s just for starters. No, the Dems haven’t stormed the Capitol and no Dem President has behaved like Trump did which was truly egregious. However, it also bears noting that no Dem President has ever been treated by the media the way Trump was. There was definitely an effort to rig the election (not through voting machines but in the media) and it is readily admitted at this point. Sam Harris said the quiet part out loud recently for all to hear. Something that was already known by anyone watching with a somewhat objective eye.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards -- backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love."
-This is just false and here he does something very cynical. He lumps anyone who is pro-life or believes in marriage as between a man and a woman into the MAGA crowd. This basically renders his earlier statement inert. Certainly you can link some Twitter videos showing some loon saying these things. I know there are people who want this and conversely, I could link videos of loons saying completely absurd things on the left. How does that make us better? We’ve been playing gotcha for a while over Twitter and how’s that working out for us? It does nothing but divide us. Forces? As in an army? Where exactly?
“They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country."
-By what measure are they authoritarian? Please list all the authoritarian actions by Republicans that we have seen. By any measure this is a false statement. Joe Biden has been the least law abiding President I can remember. Now before you go nuts, I recognize if Trump was left to his own devices he would be far worse. But he did seem to listen some and not act on his worse instincts many times during his presidency. Biden is enabled and it shows. The list of times he’s flouted the law for political gain are significant.
“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."
-This is pure hyperbole and mislabeling of what happened. It was not an insurrection and they could not have overturned our government. The government of the United States is not a building. It is not a chamber. It’s so much more than that. At some point, this needs to be let go so we can move on but I know that’s not politically expedient right now. They want to suck every last bit out of this. That’s shameful.
“And, folks, it is within our power, it’s in our hands -- yours and mine -- to stop the assault on American democracy.”
“This is a nation that honors our Constitution. We do not reject it.”
“This is a nation that believes in the rule of law. We do not repudiate it.”
“This is a nation that respects free and fair elections. We honor the will of the people. We do not deny it.”
“And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool. We do not encourage violence.”
-Says the man who has no respect for the rule of law. He circumvents it with executive overreach at every turn. It’s just hard to believe anyone would buy the crap he’s selling. You can’t do everything in your power to destroy the American idea and then wrap yourself in the flag when you think it will help your cause.
“We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect for others, patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities.
“We are still, at our core, a democracy.
-We are not a democracy. Consider for a moment he’s saying this after the other things he’s said totally misrepresenting and demonizing a significant part of the country. That’s just remarkable.
“Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA Republicans are to -- to destroying American democracy.
-Again, a huge statement vilifying people in a treasonous way without any substantiation. Really dark stuff here. Not worthy of the President.
“So I want to say this plain and simple: There is no place for political violence in America. Period. None. Ever.”
“We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country. It’s wrong. We each have to reject political violence with -- with all the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster. Now.”
-Except the violence you stood by and cheered on because that was legitimate, right?
“On top of that, there are public figures -- today, yesterday, and the day before -- predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets.”
-These two are particularly rich. As though he and his ilk didn’t stand by and essentially cheer on the riots all over the nation in the Summer of 2020. That did happen and they were the most costly riots in the history of this nation. We can’t just latch on to 1/6 and pretend the Summer riots when a lot of people died didn’t happen. Especially when they were basically cheering them on and his own VP was helping to bail them out after being arrested. I noticed that only one side has moral clarity and it is entirely circumstantial as to what suits their political agenda at the moment. That’s not clarity or conviction.
“We’re a big, complicated country. But democracy endures only if we, the people, respect the guardrails of the republic. Only if we, the people, accept the results of free and fair elections. Only if we, the people, see politics not as total war but mediation of our differences.
“Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.”
-Pot calling the kettle black moment number 452
“They don’t understand what every patriotic American knows: You can’t love your country only when you win. It’s fundamental.
-Begin the list of people on the left who threaten to move or demonize our country every time things don’t go their way.
“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.
-How is this happening? I can only assume this is a very poor attack on voting laws which again, are less strict than the laws from his state or the state of New York. But that’s not convenient to acknowledge.
“MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies –- lies told for profit and power.
-This shows he has no understanding of what these people want or believe. I suspect because these are the things he and his kind seek he assumes that others want to take it from him. Nothing could be further from the truth. The MAGA movement has a lot of holes and silly views but this isn’t even remotely a part of that.
“I believed we could lift America from the depths of COVID, so we passed the largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And today, America’s economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced nation in the world. We have more to go.
-Yeah, right. I pray he has the opportunity to do more taken from him. Worst President in my lifetime and it’s not even close. I miss Bill Clinton and that’s saying something. But then, I voted for Bill Clinton.
“Democracy begins and will be preserved in we, the people’s, habits of heart, in our character: optimism that is tested yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it, empathy that fuels democracy, the willingness to see each other not as enemies but as fellow Americans.
-Wrapping up that speech with this section is unbelievable. Consider all he’s said prior to this and then he comes with this. LOL. Unbelievable hypocrisy even for a politician.
