Desperate Biden tried to link all Republicans to MAGA extremism. Bold strategy, Cotton
In a last-ditch effort to rally Democrats to vote in the midterms elections just a few days away, President Joe Biden delivered a confusing, two-faced speech to his base Wednesday night.
From the once-bustling Union Station in Washington, D.C., now a ghost town of empty storefronts — an apt metaphor for America under Biden — the president tried to link voting for any Republican at any level to endorsing election denial or even violence. As the kids say: That’s a bold strategy, Cotton.
“Even in our darkest moments, there are fundamental values and beliefs that unite us as Americans, And they must unite us now,” Biden said. “What are they? Well, I think, first, we believe the vote in America is sacred. To be honored, not denied. … Counted, not ignored.”
Biden continued with this gem:
“There are candidates running for every level of office in America...who won’t commit to accepting the results of elections that they’re running in. This is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And it’s un-American.”
Whether due to skyrocketing inflation, stubbornly high gas prices or fears of rising crime — take your pick! — it’s like Biden finally realized there are so few compelling reasons to vote Democrat that he was forced to tell the audience to vote for democracy, if anything at all. Even the most enthusiastic Democrat had to hear this speech and realize: Democrats don’t stand for anything; they’re just against the other guys. How persuasive.
Democracy is a fundamental value in America, and election integrity is a nonpartisan issue everyone should value. While Biden is right to hammer home the importance of trusting our system, preserving election integrity, and to encourage everyone to get to the polls regardless of what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, it was wrong to take that plea a step further and tie all Republicans to MAGA fanatics. It was also wrong to suggest that anyone who votes for a Republican must not believe in election results.
Biden’s plea doesn’t hold up to logic, either: If people cast their vote based on previous MAGA-based threats to democracy and Democrats lose, doesn’t that mean voters thought Biden and his party were the threat? Based on, well, democracy? Democracy is not at risk when Democrats, or Republicans, are voted out of power.
Biden’s previous attempt to make this case well enough to move voters had a similar stench of fear-mongering and desperation. He behaves not as a sitting president but as a candidate about to lose office. He speaks not from a position of the strength of his conviction but fear of losing.
In Biden’s fear, he reached for the most dramatic thesis he could muster: A vote for Democrats is a vote for democracy. It’s not only false but designed to stir up more fear and anxiety. Either election integrity has truly been compromised and no one should vote, or our democratic republic is actually thriving when it comes to voting rights, and everyone should vote for the candidate they think will do the job best.
It can’t be both.
How apropos, though, that Biden’s entire speech should be so two-faced: For the last two years, he’s been downplaying inflation and high gas prices, telling the world through his press secretaries that everything is fine.
Wednesday night’s vapid speech from inside what was once a glamorous, bustling hub of transit from the superpower of the world’s capital couldn’t have been more analogous: As Union Station is now largely empty, so is Biden’s rhetoric.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 10:02 PM with the headline "Desperate Biden tried to link all Republicans to MAGA extremism. Bold strategy, Cotton."
