As you are presumably aware President Biden gave a prime-time address last night. If you’re curious James Joyner posted on it.
I don’t have anything material to contribute. As you might expect Democrats liked the speech and Republicans hated it. I think that the speech would have been more effective if Democrats hadn’t called every Republican president since Eisenhower a Nazi. Nearly all of the commentary I have read has been feces-flinging.
Update
And J. Peder Zane says both political parties are a mess in his retort at RealClearPolitics:
At a time when about 70% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, does anyone believe either party knows how to set things right?
The GOP still pretends to be the party of small government and fiscal responsibility, but it has not only failed by any measure to achieve either, it no longer even tries. It’s just words, words, words.
At a time when about 70% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, does anyone believe either party knows how to set things right?
The GOP still pretends to be the party of small government and fiscal responsibility, but it has not only failed by any measure to achieve either, it no longer even tries. It’s just words, words, words.
Democrats have long claimed that they know how to fix things through government action, but six decades of failed social policies have thoroughly undermined that notion. Joe Biden’s recent declaration that he will erase a massive tranche of student debt is remarkable for many reasons. His unilateral, probably unconstitutional, move is a sure sign of our broken government drift towards authoritarianism.
Sept 1 is the traditional start of campaign season; sounds like Biden is betting it is a base-turnout election.
Some of the imagery from the speech was…. amusing.
The one I am looking for is the next couple of months is some kind of unexpected “must pass” piece of legislation. The stresses in different domains (financial, energy, geopolitical) are building….. I can’t predict how Congress will react if it is told it must “bail out Japan”, “bail out Tether”, “impose export curbs on LNG”, “authorize military action in Ukraine / Iran”?
There are lots of video clips milling around detailing Biden’s unprecedented egregious comments. However, it seems MSNBC was the only news outlet to air his full speech – perhaps because they were clued in beforehand how alienating and over-the-top it would be. Even though Biden appeared to gloriously vent his gut at primarily MAGA supporters, the speech itself was cringe-worthy in how the accusations directed at his opposition reflected more the behavior of his own administration and the party currently in power. Disregarding the constitution (college pay-offs, endless mandates etc), authoritarianism (renewing medical emergency powers when there are no longer medical emergencies), border violations, lying about the Afghanistan debacle, repeatedly citing MAGA as a threat to our democracy (we are a representative republic) while BLM and Antifa ravaged cities, clamping down on everything involving “choice,†except for abortion…..Biden has basically been a bumbling dictator in the making.
As for the optics of his speech,â€creepy†is one word I’ve read over and over again in the comment sections. Other descriptions used was his backdrop reminded people of Nazi Germany – the blood red color of the lighting, flag in a longitudinal position flanked by military representatives – it was both a strange and unsettling setting to give a speech about the soul of the country. After all it was Hitler’s ploy, in rising to power, to demonize the opposition party.
Finally, my first impression, however, was that Biden looked like Lucifer standing in front of Hell. Even though the midterms may resemble a David vs Goliath type of match-up, where democrats now have access to massive amounts of monies from the elite rich, the new wing of MAGA is mainly funded through small donations, from grass roots groups energized and spirited to overcome the chains of control Dems want to put on workers and the middle class..
Looks like the quote got mangled, leaves out Zane’s comment about the failure of 60 years of social policy.
Amusing, I expected Darth Vader or Mandrake the Magician to walk out on stage.
Thanks. I had intended to include it but somehow it got left behind. Fixed.
My views align with Curious – this was a speech to rally the base. It doesn’t make sense in any other context, and the base will overlook much of its incoherence.
As I noted over at OTB, the reactions are entirely predictable and consistent with “where you stand is where you sit.”
I really dislike that phrase,â€where you stand is where you sit.†It implies that most perspectives are affixed to ideology, and not to seeing events through an objective lens. Biden’s speech, for instance, was orchestrated to rile people up, twisting around hyperbolic accusations directed to undermine his opponents, using satanic staging and coloring that more than a few saw as Orwellian. It was meant to intimidate, militarizing a president’s message given in iconic Independence Hall. If such a vile display had been used by Trump during his presidency, I would have permanently closed the book on him.
Remind me. Who, exactly, is “temperamentally” unsuited for the presidency?
Conflating their own interests with the country’s, Democrats have talked themselves into the idea that their entire agenda is synonymous with ‘democracy.’
Really, who thought that was a good idea?
Leave aside the diabolical staging, which managed somehow to turn Independence Hall’s timeless Leveler aesthetic into a Riefenstahl-esque nightmare. Leave aside the presence of the two carefully placed U.S. Marines — which, had the president in front of them had an (R) after his name, would have launched a thousand Atlantic thinkpieces. Leave aside Biden’s clenched fists and his shouting and his wholly unwarranted overconfidence.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/09/bidens-catastrophic-speech/
Censored x2
“Who, exactly, is “temperamentally†unsuited for the presidency?”
Trump. Look at words and actions.
Steve
My view, expressed during the 2016 campaign, is that Trump’s lifelong experience rendered him uniquely unsuited for the presidency. He doesn’t understand how the federal government works or have much notion of the rule of law. That’s a consequence of a career as an urban land developer (particularly in New York and New Jersey). Inherited wealth didn’t help, either.
I also think that lengthy service in the Senate renders one unsuitable for the presidency and I said that during the 2008 campaign. IMO those best suited for the presidency are the governors of medium-sized states. Believe it or not some states are actually competently governed. Governors of small states don’t really “get” the scope of the job; governors of large states are just too corrupt.
My sense is that what his supporters like in him is that Trump is confrontational. He punches back and doesn’t just take it like a gentleman. Democratic presidents typically do that through proxies. That’s among the reasons that Biden’s speech was so unusual. As people are saying it suggests he thinks that Democrats can at least hold their own in the midterms by mobilizing the base. Throw red meat. Maybe. But it can also mobilize your opponents’ base. We’ll see.
“Believe it or not some states are actually competently governed. Governors of small states don’t really “get†the scope of the job; governors of large states are just too corrupt.”
That is the case here in Colorado. And while our legislature is currently controlled by the Democrats, most legislation passed here in recent years had bipartisan support.
I would have to see what foreign-policy positions they took first, but I would be very happy to see Polis or Hickenlooper as President. But they are far too heterodox and lack the name recognition to succeed in the current primary system.
The number thrown out recently regarding those not college educated was two-thirds. These people are mainly blue/white collar workers, basically the middle class representing the core strength and values of this country. It also constitutes people who politicians routinely take for granted. Consequently issues important to them – controlled immigration, low inflation, access to good jobs, importance of families and religion, voting integrity/voter ID, school choice, safety from crime – become secondary to what the establishment constantly dishes out and mandates – social justice â€equity,†climate change, racial/gender/trans, globalism, abortion targeting.
Voter malaise is what happens when social progressive’s amplification of pet projects and ideology drowns out the concerns of these little people. An antidote, cutting through a populace’s antipathy, is finding an active listener who follows through. This role was fulfilled by Trump, whose business background was a greater asset, in the larger scheme of things, than his experience in government. And, his unwavering diligence in directing policies towards what people really wanted was what created the MAGA movement – a movement denigrated by Biden’s course, repugnant speech Friday.
August 30th 2022 Wilkes-Barre, PA. Joe Biden Rally – 275 people *
September 3rd 2022 Wilkes-Barre, PA. Trump Rally – 12,000 + people. **
* Could not fill the auditorium, had to bribe people to be in the audience..
** Arena full, thousands outside.