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Ah, the different things are different argument.

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Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

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You are here: Home / Open Threads / President Biden Speaks in Prime Time on Thursday (LIVE) at 8:00 PM

President Biden Speaks in Prime Time on Thursday (LIVE) at 8:00 PM

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Dark Brandon is scheduled to speak at 8 pm!

From the Washington Post

President Biden will deliver a prime-time address Thursday on the fight for democracy in America and “the continued battle for the soul of the nation,” a White House official said Monday, an address that is likely to confirm his growing rhetorical emphasis on the anti-democratic forces he sees as capturing much of the Republican Party.

Speaking at Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, the president is expected to highlight his administration’s achievements and argue that the country’s democratic values will be at stake during the midterm elections.

“He will talk about the progress we have made as a nation to protect our democracy, but how our rights and freedoms are still under attack,” the official said. “He will make clear who is fighting for those rights, fighting for those freedoms, and fighting for our democracy.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the content of the speech.

Biden in recent days has adopted a message for the midterm elections that includes fiery denunciations of what he calls the authoritarian strains in the Republican Party, notably during a speech last Thursday saying many in the GOP had turned toward “semi-fascism.” He added that the “MAGA Republicans,” as he called them, “embrace political violence. They don’t believe in America.”

While Biden has touched on such themes before, the full-throated nature of the speech was a change from a message that had more often stressed his legislative accomplishments.

Thursday’s speech is not billed as a political event, and given its character as a prime-time presidential address, Biden may avoid some of his sharper denunciations.

The need to restore America’s basic values, including democracy and the rule of law, has been a theme of Biden’s presidency from the beginning. He has cited it as the reason he decided to run in 2020, describing his horror at the march of white supremacists in Charlottesville in 2017, and President Donald Trump’s comment afterward that there were “very fine people on both sides.”

Biden at times has suggested a central way to combat anti-democratic forces is to show that democracy and governing can work. That prompted some Democrats to complain that he was shying away from forcefully denouncing Trump and other Republicans who falsely claimed the last election was rigged and who may be laying the groundwork to challenge future legitimate elections.

But now Biden appears to be seeking to meld the two messages — saying “MAGA Republicans” are trying to destroy democracy, and Democrats and traditional Republicans are getting things done.

Reader Interactions

123Comments

  5. 5.

    CaseyL

    @matt: Violence is their go-to. Not just the 3%ers & Co.: the whole RW media apparatus.

    Gotta step on that, fast and hard.  I hope Biden says something to that effect tonight.

  8. 8.

    matt

    @Baud: It’s kind of preposterous watching all of these ultimate soft target pampered celebrities go around tossing around Mob threats on the TV.

  13. 13.

    Bokonon

    Even before it happens, the GOP’s media wing is out in force, laying down partisan framing and calling Biden’s speech a disgrace and a provocation and a vicious act of partisanship.

    https://wapo.st/3B91ot8

    Yeah … look at that.  Look at the author.  It’s the very same Marc Thiessen who was the torture apologist when W. was President.  I guess he would know all about partisanship and disgrace.

  22. 22.

    Suzanne

    Maybe it’s tactically intelligent to attempt to separate the “MAGA Republicans” from the rest…. But IMO, if you still identify as a Republican, with everything we’ve endured…. you’re a MAGA Republican.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Joe is just name-checking TFG and MAGAts all.the.fuck.over.the.place, and I am — as the kids say — here for it!

  30. 30.

    Elizabelle

    Ed O’Keefe of CBS looked at this speech and saw a problem?

    Uh huh.  He has just shown his stripes.

  40. 40.

    M31

    “Political violence is never an appropriate tool!” — Joe Biden

    Inappropriate tools Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump disagree

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Also, I don’t know if anybody has mentioned this, but the woman who is the WH primary sign language interpreter is really good. I mean, I’m not hard of hearing and I don’t know a scrap of ASL, but I love her facial expressions. She brings the same emotions as Joe does.

  42. 42.

    Jackie

    Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R) said that inflation affects women more than men because “they gotta buy groceries.”

    Good thing men don’t grocery shop! ://🤦🏼‍♀️

  48. 48.

    HumboldtBlue

    @SiubhanDuinne: See? It’s not just me!

    The facial expressions on the sign interpreter are hilarious. She’s making the faces Joe wishes he could while giving this speech.​

  49. 49.

    Edmund Dantes

    @Suzanne: trying to claim majority of republicans are not MAGA is arguing facts not in evidence. Is he saying the majority of Republican voters stay home leaving the MAGA republicans to dominate primaries? Cause that’s the only way that argument works.

  52. 52.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Elizabelle:

    Jill’s not a fashionista, nor does she aspire to be, but she is always appropriate to the occasion. And unlike her predecessor as FLOTUS, Dr. Jill wears her clothes, her clothes don’t wear her. I adore Michelle and always will, and Hillary is something special — but I don’t think I’ve ever felt as connected to a First Lady as I do to Jill Biden.

  58. 58.

    Elizabelle

    @bbleh:   I hope so.

    I hope this isn’t “we didn’t show it, so we don’t have to address it.”

    First they came for the voters … but I had to broadcast Real Housewives of ____ because … $$$

  59. 59.

    M31

    “I call upon Gritty to kick every MAGA Republican in the balls, now and forever, as our Founders intended”

  60. 60.

    geg6

    @Edmund Dantes:

    I know you probably know this but you aren’t the audience for that line.  I don’t really believe most Republicans or Republican learners want to kill us.  Yes, a large percentage of them do but the ones I know aren’t strapping on an assault rifle getting ready to mow us down in the streets.  We and the President have to try to peel off the ones who are disgusted by their fellow GOPers or we’re all in for a world of hurt.  He’s right to try to appeal to them while condemning the radicals among them.  Does it work?  Who knows but we have to try.

  61. 61.

    Suzanne

    @Edmund Dantes: He’s trying to rhetorically divide MAGA and “mainstream” Republicans. It is probably a good strategy; creating that mental space to differentiate is important.

    But I don’t feel great about it. Republicans — all who remain at this point — are essentially good Germans. You watched that four-year hellscape and you’d still rather belong to the GOP?! GTFO.

  66. 66.

    John Revolta

    @raven: This. Biden knows that not all Repubs are crazy about Trump and MAGAhood, and he’s telling them “I’m not talking about you when I call out these enemies of America”. It’s good strategy- divide and conquer.

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    @Suzanne:  If Biden can get enough “good Republicans” to stay home, and not vote for the election liars and other extremists because they’ve got an R behind their name, that could work.

    Divide them.  Put them on record.  Don’t let the voters sleepwalk into this election, as the Ed O’Keefes of the world would prefer.

  70. 70.

    RandomMonster

    I thought he spoke better than I’ve ever heard him speak. That said, he could have edited out the last 1/3 and ended stronger for it.

  71. 71.

    different-church-lady

    I don’t know what the results of this will be. But it has made me realize we couldn’t let the rot fester any longer. If we leave this infection untreated the whole thing goes systemic.

  74. 74.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HumboldtBlue:

    She’s really wonderful. I have no idea who she is (I mean even her name) but I really wish some enterprising feature writer would interview her, give us some of her backstory. I have a sense it would be a fascinating read. I have a further sense that I would absolutely love to sit with her for hours over many glasses of red wine. She just comes across as utterly likeable and interesting.

  75. 75.

    SpaceUnit

    @RandomMonster:

    Was there?  I didn’t notice it.  He definitely wasn’t using one during yesterday’s event.

     

    ETA:  I just rewatched the beginning.  You’re right.  My bad.

  76. 76.

    MazeDancer

    Equality! Opportunity! Democracy!

    Mr. Biden got me unapologetically fired up for my beloved Real America.

  78. 78.

    Suzanne

    @Elizabelle: You’re right…. It’s probably good strategy.

    But I’m still really, really salty about it. I don’t want to let anyone who ever voted for Trump feel off the hook about it. If they sucked up their misgivings about MAGA because they want tax cuts…. they’re bad and I want them to feel bad.

  79. 79.

    Origuy

    There’s a comedy duo called Moonie and Broon that do the Renaissance Faire circuit. Some of their shows have an ASL interpreter. They are always trying to see what the interpreter will do with their jokes. In one memorable episode, one of them said the phrase “my nipples explode with delight.” The interpreter, a young woman in Ren Faire garb, put her fists to her breasts and extended both forefingers. The two comedians were on the floor for several minutes.

  81. 81.

    Amir Khalid

    That was a great speech, a call to arms (figuratively speaking, of course) in defense* of democracy. I’m curious to see how the MAGA Republican and their appeasers display their hurt fee-fees.

    * I was so inspired by Biden’s passion and urgency that my spelling turned American for a moment.

  83. 83.

    Mike in NC

    Republicans gave up on free and fair elections in 2020. They must never be allowed back in power.

  84. 84.

    Elizabelle

    @different-church-lady:

    It has made me realize we couldn’t let the rot fester any longer.

    Very good point.  Ignoring it wouldn’t have any chance of a good outcome.

    Time to take the gloves off and call it what it is. And it is rot.

  85. 85.

    Steeplejack

    @Amir Khalid:

    I was so inspired by Biden’s passion and urgency that my spelling turned American for a moment.

    Thank you for your cultural sensitivity. 😹

  86. 86.

    Suzanne

    @The Thin Black Duke: I have not forgiven the people who voted for Trump, for any reason. The people who understood that he was unfit but voted for him anyway… I have some special contempt for them.

  87. 87.

    SpaceUnit

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Yeah, I’ve actually worked with them in the past.  It takes a good deal of practice and skill to actually operate those things and keep the text scrolling along at the correct pace.  Especially if you’ve got a speaker who’s prone to wandering off-script.

  88. 88.

    dm

    Referring to the protesters with the bull-horn, Biden said, “Good manners are something they’ve never suffered”. He worked them into his speech at a couple of points, making them illustrations of the ideals of free speech and the ability to criticize the government.

  89. 89.

    Geminid

    @Elizabelle: If Biden gets Republicans to stay home that’s good. If a few vote Democratic that’s all the better.

    It’s the Independents who will decide many races in purple states and districts, and this speech might help with that group. They are already shifting Democratic; today the Wall Street Journal reported on a poll showing a 15 point shift among Independents since March. Back then Republicans led by 12% on a generic ballot. Now a comparable poll shows Democrats leading 38-35% among Independents.

  90. 90.

    prostratedragon

    @Edmund Dantes:  On MSNBC they pointed out that it’s billed as a Presidential speech, not a campaign speech. In the latter he might call out any and all Republicans. For consistency in some ledger or something somewhere, things like that might actually matter.

  91. 91.

    Kropacetic

    @Suzanne: But IMO, if you still identify as a Republican, with everything we’ve endured…. you’re a MAGA Republican.

    Sometimes those with doubts but haven’t made the jump need an off ramp

  92. 92.

    RaflW

    Tons of grotesque pundit/cable anchor freakout that Biden is keeping on with his anti-MAGA rhetoric.

    So many problems with that. But the inherent, gross bias that it is incumbent on Democrats to ‘return to tradition’ after Trump rampaged over them all (and his party continues to break thru them).

    It’s frankly a sickness. It’s a wish for our broken politics to heal only by Democrat magic.

  95. 95.

    RaflW

    @prostratedragon: Huh.

    Reuters July 4, 2020

    WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to defeat the “radical left,” in an Independence Day speech at the White House that condemned recent protests against monuments to historical figures as attempts to destroy the United States. …

    Trump’s Fourth of July remarks doubled down on his speech the previous evening at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota where he accused “angry mobs” of trying to erase history and painted himself as a bulwark against left-wing extremism.

  97. 97.

    zhena gogolia

    Not really OT, people were asking about Stacey Abrams earlier today, and I just got this, FWIW:

    Stacey Abrams for Governor
    Susanne, we wanted our grassroots supporters to hear directly from us — we just released a brand-new internal poll:

    Stacey Abrams: 46%
    Brian Kemp: 48%
    (Source:Internal Polling 9.1.22)

    This latest poll shows Stacey is statistically tied with Brian Kemp. And to break it down even more: Stacey has surged since our last internal poll in May and closed the gap by 6 points.

  99. 99.

    Suzanne

    @Kropacetic: Sometimes those with doubts but haven’t made the jump need an off ramp

     
    I know, and yet I hate these people for their weakness. Failing the easiest moral test of them all.

  100. 100.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @zhena gogolia:

    — we just released a brand-new internal poll:

    interesting, those fabled “internals”. As I understand, they’re much more detailed, careful and expensive than the ones you usually see, which last is the reason the big news outfits don’t do them. The O’Bros have done a few over the years.

  102. 102.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @different-church-lady:

    if you haven’t used a ramp yet you’re not going to.

    I don’t know. I believe Liz Cheney was fine with trump right up to 1/6. I can’t remember seeing her say if she voted for him in 2020 or not

  106. 106.

    OGLiberal

    I just watched the cop in Columbus murder a unarmed sleeping guy without even looking before he shot….while holding an excited dog in the other hand.  I’m overwhelmed with hate for that man and the people who enable him.  It’s beyond anger at this point – I hate them.

  116. 116.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Just watched the speech. Joe at his best. Anecdotally, I see that some Republicans are peeling away. We need to continue working the margins (and the refs) and turning out in numbers. That’s how we save our democracy.

  117. 117.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Heh. It looks like ol’ Newt might get his turn in the barrel (WaPo):
    Jan. 6 committee asks former speaker Newt Gingrich to sit for interview

    The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection issued a request to interview former House speaker Newt Gingrich on Thursday.

    The request from Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.) cited evidence obtained by the committee showing Gingrich was in communication with senior advisers to President Donald Trump, including Jared Kushner and Jason Miller, regarding television advertisements that amplified false claims about fraud in the 2020 election.

    “These advertising efforts were not designed to encourage voting for a particular candidate. Instead, these efforts attempted to cast doubt on the outcome of the election after voting had already taken place,” Thompson said in a letter to Gingrich giving notice of the request for an interview. “They encouraged members of the public to contact their state officials and pressure them to challenge and overturn the results of the election. To that end, these advertisements were intentionally aired in the days leading up to December 14, 2020, the day electors from each state met to cast their votes for president and vice president.”

    Thompson also wrote that the committee has obtained evidence that suggests Gingrich was involved in the fake elector plot designed to encourage Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress to affect the outcome of the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

  118. 118.

    TS

    @Elizabelle:

    The networks aren’t showing this?  Jebus.

    And how many times did they show empty arenas waiting for TFG to appear? US media really believes in the RW right to rule.

  119. 119.

    JoyceH

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    Anecdotally, I see that some Republicans are peeling away.

    Today I took my car in for annual inspection, and the garage waiting room television, that was always set to Fox before, was on the Weather Channel. Don’t know if that means my mechanic is having second thoughts, or if customers have complained. I guess at least the Weather Channel can’t be considered partisan.

  120. 120.

    Another Scott

    @John Revolta: +1

    Remember that Schiff said basically the same thing – the GQPers in Congress hate the MAGAts but they’re too afraid of them to stand up.  Biden is trying to help create a space for Republicans to have an alternative to TFGism.

    It was a good and important speech.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  121. 121.

    JoyceH

    @O. Felix Culpa: I was seeing the news about Gingrich earlier – had we known before this that he was somehow involved in Fake Electors-a-lago? (Let’s do this – make -a-lago the new scandal suffix, replacing the old, tired -gate.)

  122. 122.

    Another Scott

    @SpaceUnit: There were giant monitors in the corners of the room in Wilkes-Barre yesterday that acted like teleprompters.  It worked very well.

    Biden likes to make digressions.  It’s good that he has a script to keep him on track.  Remember the horror of Bill Clinton going off-script for about 45 minutes on one of his SotU speeches.  ;-)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

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