I think the giant gaping hole in this speech was what Biden was going to do about it (with the powers at his disposal). Examples:
* If you threaten or intimidate an election worker, I've instructed the Department of Justice to see the maximum federal penalties on top of whatever your local State charges you with.
* The FBI is actively investigating and preparing for violence from violent MAGA groups. We are actively observing those of you initiating plans for political violence.
* If you assault a police officer, the federal gov't will come down on you like a wall of bricks.
* If you peddle election lies and conspiracy theories on your media channel, the gov't won't ignore that and will assist to the fullest extent possible things like the Dominion lawsuit and pursue fraud cases where the evidence merits it.
While I agree with Biden's diagnosis of the problem, what was missing was what he was doing about it and - more importantly - the consequences of political violence to dissuade the MAGA LARPers - such as the Q-Shaman - from even getting started down that path.
He also did not need to get into his accomplishments as President in this speech. That was where things really went of the rails, and where I tuned out. Save that for the campaign trail unless it's related to combating political violence.
Hey, AllahPundit used the Eric Hoffer quote "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket" in his farewell post on HotAir. Doesn't talk about Joe's speech, but does touch on the state of the GOP.
I think the giant gaping hole in this speech was what Biden was going to do about it (with the powers at his disposal). Examples:
* If you threaten or intimidate an election worker, I've instructed the Department of Justice to see the maximum federal penalties on top of whatever your local State charges you with.
* The FBI is actively investigating and preparing for violence from violent MAGA groups. We are actively observing those of you initiating plans for political violence.
* If you assault a police officer, the federal gov't will come down on you like a wall of bricks.
* If you peddle election lies and conspiracy theories on your media channel, the gov't won't ignore that and will assist to the fullest extent possible things like the Dominion lawsuit and pursue fraud cases where the evidence merits it.
While I agree with Biden's diagnosis of the problem, what was missing was what he was doing about it and - more importantly - the consequences of political violence to dissuade the MAGA LARPers - such as the Q-Shaman - from even getting started down that path.
He also did not need to get into his accomplishments as President in this speech. That was where things really went of the rails, and where I tuned out. Save that for the campaign trail unless it's related to combating political violence.
I think we agree. Mostly.
Hey, AllahPundit used the Eric Hoffer quote "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket" in his farewell post on HotAir. Doesn't talk about Joe's speech, but does touch on the state of the GOP.
https://hotair.com/allahpundit/2022/09/02/farewell-to-hot-air-n494121