Speaking in front of Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, President Biden declared that defeated former President Donald Trump and "MAGA Republicans" represent a threat to the liberty of our Republic.
During the course of his half hour speech, President Biden explained that Trump and MAGA Republicans threaten the Republic's liberty because they do not believe in the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, the results of free and fair elections and the willingness to use violence as a political tool.
President Biden was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Trump hecklers, but carried on with his remarks. He defined politics as "a mediation of our differences" with room for disagreement, debate and dissent. But such a mediation is impossible when one side only accepts election results when they win while making claims of cheating if they lose. This has been Trump's stock and trade since November 7, 2020 and has passed down to the likes of Sarah Palin who along with other Republicans cried foul objecting to Alaska's newly implemented ranked choice voting after losing her Congressional race to Democrat Mary Peltola last night.
One can make the case that President Biden ought to have made this speech months ago. But now is the perfect time with the 2022 midterm elections only two months away along with the expected resumption of the January 6th Committee hearings. Democracy is on the ballot and the President of the United States should be leading the charge in favor of it.
The question remains if we will choose wisely especially for those of us who live in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. If these states elect MAGA Republicans to oversee those elections then we can expect those officials not to abide by the will of people if it contravenes their own.
Should this come to pass then the United States will have turned to authoritarianism. Once that turn is made it will be almost impossible to turn back.
Worse still other democracies such as Canada, Britain, France, Italy and Australia could be soon to follow. The decisions we make at the polls in 2022 and 2024 not only will have profound implications for the future of democracy in America, but for its very future wherever it exists in our world.
In other words, President Biden probably gave the most important speech he's ever given in 50 years of public service.
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