The crescendo of crazy

Thursday evening Biden gave a big speech. Some call it one of the best presidential speeches. I didn’t watch or listen. Mark Sumner of Daily Kos did, first giving a preview, then liveblogging. Sumner did not provide the text of the speech nor include a video of it. The speech had two complementary parts. One part was identifying MAGA Republicans as destroyers of democracy. Sumner quoted Biden (and the ellipses are Sumner’s).

Democracy cannot survive when people see only two outcomes to an election: Either they win, or they were cheated. And that’s where the MAGA Republicans are. … You can’t love your country only when you win.

The other was hopeful, the foundation he has built in the last 18 months and the possibilities for the future. That includes great things if we act together. Sumner said whoever is operating Biden’s Twitter account kept up with the speech. One tweet said:

While the threat to America is real, we are not powerless in the face of these threats. There are far more Americans of every background and belief who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those who accept it.

Sumner’s assessment of the speech:

This isn’t just a terrific speech, it’s terrific, forceful, and heartfelt delivery. Biden comes across with more energy, more dedication, and more strength than he has since he was elected. Powerful.

Leah McElrath tweeted during the speech. She wonders what prompted the speech? Just the upcoming elections? Are charges against the nasty guy imminent? Are there imminent threats of far right violence? She concluded with:

Earlier this week Biden made a comment about people who fantasize they’re protecting the nation from government tyranny with their AR15s. He basically said a gun won’t do it, you’d need a plane (ie a full military). That’s connecting in my mind with the Marine presence tonight. Biden’s message to MAGA extremists seems to be: “Folks, I know Trump has you riled up, but, whatever you’re planning to do to attack our democracy again, you’re going to fail. The rest of the nation has the weight of US institutions and the might of the US military behind it.”

Aldous Pennyfarthing of Kos reviewed the Republican pearl-clutching from Sen. Josh Hawley, Leningrad Lindsey Graham (Pennyfarthing’s term and I rather like it – fits well with Moscow Mitch), and Ted Cruz. They all call Biden’s speech dangerous and a threat to the country while missing the real threats to America (the threats Republicans are pulling out of nothing to keep their base stirred up). Though Graham has a point of out-of-control crime – though doesn’t mention that crime is being committed by the nasty guy and other Republicans. Sumner has more on the Republican response:

It’s not that Republicans don’t know that Trump is waging a war against both democracy and decency. It’s that they already surrendered. And now the Vichy GOP is going through the motions of pretending to be offended at Biden pointing out the threat of Trumpism. Because no one is more prickly, skittish, and hysterical, than people who know, right down to their bones, that they are on the wrong side.

Sumner then quoted a tweet from Dean Obeidallah:

Harry Truman's famous line fits perfectly for Pres Biden's speech on MAGA: “I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”

Then Sumner listed some of the things these same senators used to say about the nasty guy. An example:

There are reasons why Sen. Lindsey Graham (“Trump is race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot”) is now rushing to defend him and calling out Biden to “stop lecturing.”

Sumner explains the why:

Biden gave a speech defending democracy, the sanctity of free and fair elections, and the need to fight the forces dragging the nation toward fascism. And Republicans feel compelled to attack that speech. Not because they have the fervor of converts, but because they have already given in. Already bowed. Already sold their souls for a “win” that proved both meaner and more costly than they had ever imagined. Now they have to pretend that they’re somehow the good guys, even as their leader is out there saying that, given the opportunity, he’ll pardon the people who erected a scaffold on the Capitol lawn. They have to find a way to claim they’re the real Americans, even as they campaign on erasing democracy. ... Republicans are angry because they embraced the darkness, and Biden is holding up a light. It’s not just that they’re on the wrong side of history and decency, it’s that they know it.

Greg Dworkin’s pundit roundup for Kos is, of course, full of reactions to the speech and the Republican response. Jon Allsop of CJR said the Republicans have confused “political” with “partisan.” Of course, Biden’s speech was political – all public discourse is. It is basic to democracy. Their complaint is Biden criticized members of the other party. Dworkin quoted Dana Milbank of the Washington Post:

If it appears the volume of deception coming from MAGA Republicans is increasing, that’s because it is. Two academics from New York University set about documenting the proliferation of rubbish in a study they described this week for The Post’s Monkey Cage feature. They found that 36 percent of the news that Republican congressional candidates shared on social media came from unreliable sources on an average day from January to July, up from 8 percent for the same period in 2020. (The news shared by Democratic candidates from unreliable sources rose to 2 percent from 1 percent.) The most ominous finding is where the crescendo of crazy is coming from. Incumbent Republican members of Congress were relatively truthful: Only 6 percent of the news they shared came from unreliable sources. Among Republican challengers, fully 45 percent came from unreliable outlets.

Dworkin also included a quote about the election in Alaska to fill a vacant House seat (the same candidates face each other again in November for a full term). This is the first time Ranked Choice Voting was used. Sarah Palin (remember her?) lost. Mary Peltola won, making her the first Democrat in Alaska’s House seat in 49 years and the first Alaska Native in Congress. The problem pointed out by Adam Serwer of The Atlantic is the Republican didn’t win, which sparked charges the election had been rigged through Ranked Choice Voting. And RCV, even though voters approved it, is enough of a mystery that it can fuel conspiracy theories. Since the mainstream media is highly likely to devote its scarce air time to select quotes of Biden’s criticism of Republicans without the full context or the other part of Biden’s speech and because much of the mainstream media seems to promote the Republican agenda, a quote by Jay Rosen, who teaches journalism at NYU, is appropriate:

If you run a "mainstream" newsroom and someone asks you whether democracy is at greater threat from Republicans or Democrats, the key to avoiding a both-sides meltdown is to start like this: "We hold everyone to the same standards." Here's how the rest might go… "We hold everyone to the same standards. That includes the two parties. If our reporting shows you're putting democracy at risk, you can expect that to become a theme in our coverage. Right now our reporting is telling us that the threat is far greater from the Republican side."

Sumner reported a court unsealed a detailed inventory of what was taken from Mar-a-Lago during the FBI search. We knew about the 33 boxes and in amongst all that stuff were 100 classified documents. There were also hundreds of photos recovered. Those, and the unclassified documents, may not be critical but they’re still property of the National Archives. Also in the list, and not known before, were 88 entries for “empty folder.” 46 of those empty folders were marked as containing classified documents. The other 42 had instructions the contents were to be returned to a military aide. Were the contents of those folders scattered amongst those 33 boxes? That’s hard to tell. We know classified documents and newspaper clippings were intermixed. Or are the contents still missing? That is both frightening and infuriating. Secrets and Laws, a former CIA attorney tweeted that the most important revelation of the secret documens reclaimed from Mar-a-Lago is the sheer number. The number is useful if (certainly when?) the DOJ takes this to trial. At the trial they have to show willfulness, that having classified documents wasn’t an “oopsie.” Documents in his desk drawer should take care of that defense. Beyond that some of the documents will have to be shown as evidence. Some will be too sensitive. Others won’t convince a jury. If there were only a few documents the selection could be a problem. But with a hundred to choose from they are much more likely to sway a jury. Voters Not Politicians, an organization I continue to work with and which helped gather signatures to put voting rights on Michigan’s November ballot, has a new effort. They are giving candidates for the Michigan state legislature a questionnaire asking about their views on voting access and ethics. If the responses show the candidate is pro-democracy, VNP will endorse them. Yeah, it is scary and an indication of where the nation is when candidates need to be asked if they are in favor of democracy and even scarier that some show they are not. Here are the VNP endorsements. I see my Democratic candidate for the state House is on the list. I don’t see my Democratic candidate for State Senate. Did she reply with something foul? Or did she not respond? I don’t know if any Republicans are on the list (I doubt it) and I can’t check because party affiliation isn’t listed. The finalists in the annual Bulwer-Lytton contest have been announced. This contest asks entrants to come up with the worst possible opening sentence to a novel. It is named for Edward Bulwer-Lytton, who started his novel Paul Clifford with “It was a dark and stormy night.” In addition to a grand prize there are 13 categories from Children’s Lit and Historical Fiction to Science Fiction, Westerns, and Vile Puns. A few of my favorites from this year: From Purple Prose:

The pallid North Dakota winter coughed its phlegmy wind in my face, spattering my face with its icy spittle. –Andrea Dumas, West Fargo, ND

From Romance:

At least it was a creative way to be dumped, Ben mused to himself as he looked at the new location of his name on the updated seating chart for his wedding reception—the singles' table. –Izzy Maurer, Lincoln, UK

The Grand Panjandrum’s Special Award:

And so the two pachyderms with the same first name discovered each other, and they became the jazz duo legend known as the Elephants Gerald. –Brent Guernsey, Springfield, VA