POTUS Democracy Speech: Hits on Patriotism, But Resorts to Politics
Plus: New political parties, the diversity of the Democratic electorate, success for ranked-choice voting in Alaska, and a "maybe" moderate presidential candidate
President Biden’s September 1 Speech from Philadelphia, PA
President Biden, in a speech to the nation, speaks about the threats that the MAGA movement poses to American democracy. He differentiates “MAGA Republicans” from “mainstream Republicans” and warns the former pose an existential threat to the country. In his speech, he called for all Americans to unify in defense of democracy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They’re incompatible. We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country. It’s wrong. We each have to reject political violence with all the moral clarity and conviction this nation can muster now.”-President Biden [White House]
Response
There is no question in my mind that “MAGA Republicans” pose an existential threat to American Democracy. I agree with mostly everything President Biden said about the MAGA movement and the unpatriotic and dangerous actions of its most passionate supporters.
However, in order to restore American democracy, President Biden needs to understand the mandate he was elected with. He has to go no farther than the title of his speech and his campaign theme of restoring the soul of the nation. Voters understood this to mean reinvesting in democratic institutions which were under assault by the previous administration, a return to civility, and the promotion of moderate policies. A vote for Biden was understood by many Americans to be a vote for normalcy.
With that in mind, this speech should have stayed true to its intended purpose. However, there are points in the speech where President Biden departs from the subject of democracy defense and turns to promoting the Democratic agenda and playing kingmaker in deciding who is respected, moderate, and reasonable in the Republican Party.
Biden also decries “culture war” politics and yet turns to culture war issues and seems to carelessly lump all social conservatives into the category of “MAGA Republicans.” Rhetorically, the speech seemed to try and redraw the boundaries of debate and package democracy defense together with the Democratic Party’s agenda. Furthermore, President Biden then proceeds to list several of his major legislative accomplishments, as evidence that the defense of democracy is succeeding.
The president came across as using the actual defense of our democracy as an opportunity to mobilize voters ahead of the midterms. Paired together with Democrats donating over $44 million to MAGA-candidates in Republican Primaries (I wrote about that here), I see no clear response from Democratic leaders to the threat against our democracy from MAGA Republicans. It seems many have made the calculation that the threat can serve as a mobilization tool to gain more supporters.
I am grateful for President Biden’s commitment to defending democracy here at home. I voted for him because I believe in the message he campaigned on of “restoring the soul” of our nation after the previous administration’s assault on our democracy. However, building an apolitical pro-democracy coalition means having to understand that this cause is bigger than politics.
For Your Radar
What is the Keystone Party? A City & State Explainer
Justin Sweitzer of City and State Pennsylvania interviews Gus Tatlas, chair of the Keystone Party. The new Pennsylvania political party is fielding five candidates across the state and can gain official recognition as a political party if it receives certain minimum thresholds. Tatlas shares the priority for his party is the implementation of ranked-choice voting and converting the Pennsylvania State Legislature into a part time legislative body to encourage productivity. [City &State]
What Two Primaries Reveal About the Decline of Working-Class Democrats
Kim Phillips-Fein, in a New York Times op-ed, looks at two Congressional races in New York and reflects on the diverse constituencies that comprise the Democratic Party’s core voting blocs. While it is true that Democrats often fare well in local elections, clear distinctions remain between racial and ethnic minorities, the working class, and educated liberal voters. While all of these groups tend to vote Democratic they tend to have minimal association and unifying institutions outside of election day. [New York Times]
Hope from Alaska
Andrew Yang shares how Alaska’s new electoral system, which combines non-partisan primaries and ranked choice voting, already produced an encouraging result in its first iteration for the state’s sole house seat. In June, after the first round of voting, one would think former Gov. Sarah Palin was on a trajectory to victory. However, the second round of voting witnessed Mary Peltola emerge as the winner as votes were re-allocated after a Libertarian candidate dropped out and another Republican was eliminated from the race. [Andrew Yang]
If an Alternative Candidate Is Needed in 2024, These Folks Will Be Ready
David Brooks covers the efforts of No Labels, a group preparing for a scenario in which Republicans nominate a morally unacceptable presidential candidate and Democrats nominate an ideologically extreme presidential candidate. What they are building, as Brooks describes it, is basically an emergency exit option for voters. If something like a Donald Trump-Bernie Sanders election takes place, No Labels is preparing to gather signatures and to gain ballot access for a candidate across all 50 states. They have also developed compromise positions on all of the hot-button issues of our day. [New York Times]