Biden comes out swinging.

August 26, 2022

          To the relief of Democrats yearning for more aggressive messaging, Joe Biden delivered in a big way on Thursday. Biden fled the benumbing confines of the White House and delivered a “fiery speech” speech at a DNC rally in Maryland. In a private meeting before the public speech, Biden condemned “MAGA Republicans” for adopting “semi-fascism” as they move to undermine democracy. The full text and video of the public speech are at this link (C-SPAN.org). (The CSPAN text of the speech is auto-generated and difficult to parse. See my excerpts below.)

          It was gratifying to see a forceful and confident Biden reinvigorated after a string of victories. Biden left no doubt that the fate of democracy is on the line in the upcoming elections. And he took on Trump directly, perhaps sensing Trump’s weakness after the Mar-a-Lago search and the surprising primary victories post-Dobbs. Key highlights include the following:

In 2020, you and 81 million Americans voted to save our democracy. That's why Donald Trump isn't just a former president. He is a defeated former president.

[Republicans] have made their choice to go backward, full of anger, violence, hate, and division. We've chosen a different path: Forward, the future, unity, hope, and optimism.

The whole notion of the burn-it-all-down politics and MAGA Republicans continues to be a drumbeat.

In this moment, those of you who love this country -- Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans -- we must be stronger, more determined, & more committed to saving America than the MAGA Republicans are to destroying America.

There are not many real Republicans anymore. By the way, your sitting governor [Larry Hogan], he's a Republican you can deal with. I respect conservative Republicans. I don't respect these MAGA Republicans.

MAGA Republicans don't have a clue about the power of women. Let me tell you something—they are about to find out.

If we elect two more [Democratic] senators, we got a lot of unfinished business we're going to get done. Folks, look, we're going to codify Roe v Wade. We'll ban assault weapons, we'll protect Social Security & Medicare, and we’ll pass Universal Pre-K.

Do you want to put your Social Security in the hands of Ted Cruz and Marjorie Taylor Greene?

We also had to take on the climate deniers. And guess what? We beat them. The survival of our planet is on the ballot.

          Per CNN, Biden said the following at a private donor meeting before the public speech:

What we're seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy. It's not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the—I'm going to say something: It's like semi-fascism.

          Republicans were outraged over Biden’s reference to semi-fascism, and media outlets are busy trying to encourage a war of words between Republicans and Democrats over Biden’s choice of words. Ignore the wrestle-mania aspect of the media coverage and focus on the substance: What Biden said accurately describes the efforts of the GOP to subvert free and fair elections so they can retain power without regard to the will of the people. Call it what you will, the anti-democratic efforts and threats of violence by the GOP are anti-American and tyrannical.

          Good for Joe Biden for daring to speak unpleasant truths! Let’s hope that he does more of it, not less! The Republican Party is the biggest threat to democracy today. Every American who cares about the Constitution and the rule of law must understand the danger posed by Republicans. If Joe Biden wants to make this his personal mission for the midterms, Democrats should welcome his leadership and help. Someone needs to do it, and there is no one better situated that the President of the United States.

Judge orders release of redacted affidavit regarding Mar-a-Lago search.

          I have given up trying to predict what Judge Bruce Reinhart will do in the proceeding to unseal the FBI affidavit submitted to obtain a search warrant of Mar-a-Lago. Every one of my confident predictions has been completely wrong. So, I will stick to facts and eschew speculation. On Thursday, Reinhart accepted the DOJ’s proposed redactions and ordered the release of the redacted affidavit by 12:00 Noon Eastern on Friday, August 26th. Stay tuned.

          I will make two observations. First, as noted by Laurence Tribe and his co-authors Dennis Aftergut and Jeffrey Abramson, the fact that Judge Reinhart is firmly in control of the search warrant proceeding reinforces the rule of law and illustrates the operation of checks and balances. Everyone wins in that situation, even if no one is completely satisfied with Reinhart’s rulings.

          Second, after Trump demanded on social media (but not in court) that the affidavit be released, he went silent after Judge Reinhart ordered the release of the redacted affidavit. Trump is one of the few people in the world who knows what defense secrets he stole from the White House. The fact that he has gone silent suggests that he is worried about what will be revealed in the redacted affidavit.

Republicans attempt to backtrack on absolutist positions on abortion.

          Proving that Republicans cared about abortion only as a wedge issue to capture votes, some are attempting to erase their prior support for total bans on abortion after surprising losses in primaries. In Arizona, GOP senatorial candidate Blake Masters secured his party’s nomination by supporting a total ban on abortion and promising to vote for a fetal personhood amendment in the Constitution. Masters eliminated those promises from his website yesterday. See Talking Points Memo, Blake Masters Wipes Extreme Abortion Views From Campaign Website.

          Blake Masters is now claiming that his opponent (Mark Kelly) is misrepresenting Masters’ position by accurately quoting the now-deleted promises on Masters’ campaign website. Think about that for a moment. Everyone knows that Masters is lying. But Masters would rather be known as an unrepentant liar than continue his support for a total ban on abortion.

          Masters has made a cold political calculation. He wants to win above all else and understands that promoting extreme positions on abortion will decrease his prospects for success. Republicans are beginning to regret their extremist positions. See Washington Post, Buyer’s remorse could be creeping in for GOP on abortion.

          There is a lesson for Democrats in Blake Masters’ attempt to erase history. Democrats must highlight their support for reproductive freedom and must remind voters of Republican efforts to deny women control over their own bodies and to criminalize reproductive choice. In the words of Joe Biden:

MAGA Republicans don't have a clue about the power of women. Let me tell you something—they are about to find out.

Concluding Thoughts.

          The reaction to Biden’s plan for student loan forgiveness was all over the map—even within the Democratic Party. That’s okay. Biden is drawing criticism (and praise) because he is getting things done. That is a refreshing change of pace for Washington—which has been stuck in political gridlock for more than a decade. Biden is right to seize the moment. His accomplishments may not be perfect or uniformly popular—but at least he is controlling the narrative while improving the lives of tens of millions of Americans. It doesn’t get much better than that.

          Depending on the extent of the disclosures in the redacted FBI memo, I may publish a newsletter over the weekend. Otherwise, I will be helping my wife as she hosts a bridal shower for our youngest daughter.

          I will be in touch!