The Gloves Come Off (Finally)

President Biden kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign with a speech near Valley Forge in Pennsylvania to remind Americans who are angry at him for his support of Israel, his failure to bring satisfactory prosperity to the nation, and, worst of all, his corrupt acceptance of payments from foreign governments (oh, wait, that was Donald Trump!), of what happened three years ago this month.  He made it clear that the attempted insurrection on January 6, 2021 was part of an ongoing effort by Donald Trump to regain and hold onto power, even if it means neutralizing a few people - even law enforcement - to do it.

"For the first time on our history, insurrectionists had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power in America - first time- smashing windows, shattering doors, attacking the police," Biden said. "Outside, gallows were erected as the MAGA crowd chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.” Inside, they hunted for Speaker Pelosi [of] the House, was chanting, as they marched through and smashed windows, “Where’s Nancy?” Over 140 police officers were injured. Jill and I attended the funeral of police officers who died as a result of the events of that day. And . . . because of Donald Trump’s lies, they died because these lies brought a mob to Washington."

It was a forceful and defiant speech.  The President doubled down three days later in a speech at Mother Emmanuel Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the site of the 2015 racist shooting of black parishioners in a Bible study group.  There, President Biden reiterated his attack on Trump's accusations of a stolen election and remind people of his white-supremacist supporters and tendencies.  But the President has to keep up they attacks, and for one simple reason - they . . . work!  His earlier campaign speeches, in which he took pride in his record, sound like bragging.  And while it's not bragging if you can back it up - and he can - he can only back it up with statistics and figures, not how people feel about what he's done.  Neither statistics nor figures can move or inspire voters to come out to the polls.

Not surprisingly, Biden's speech in Pennsylvania got mocked by Fox News - not for its content, which Fox commentators likely found irrelevant - but for stumbling over his words and acting "confused," the result of a lifelong stammer that MAGA Republicans have used to depict Biden as too old and feeble to serve as President for four more years.  Meanwhile Trump, only three or four years younger than Biden but overweight and out of shape - and also prone to defecating in his pants more often than his supporters did on the Capitol Rotunda floor on January 6 - is held up by the MAGA crowd as the archetype of Kennedyesque vim and vigor because he's feisty and combative, and he also has all of his hair (which he sprays on regularly).

Sadly, I can't be certain that many people have been listening to Biden's speeches.  As today's music scene proves, you can offer something that sounds great, but who cares if not enough people are listening to it?  That's why Biden has to keep up this new attack.

Remember, when they go low . . . we kick 'em!  Eric Holder said that.  If we don't, those of us who oppose Trump will be sent to labor camps and/or executed.  I said that.