WASHINGTON, DC, Oct 12 -- It’s common knowledge that President Biden is prone to "lose it" sometimes but his senility came to the fore in the speech he delivered recently at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) gathering in Bethesda, MD. His rhetoric seemed to be calling for violence against Republicans when he called them “semi fascists.” It was as if he was stirring up a movement to do away with the Republican Party.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu said that the president was "Effectively calling half of America semi-fascist because he's trying to stir up controversy -- he's trying to stir up this anti-Republican sentiment right before the election. It's horribly inappropriate, it's insulting, and people should be insulted by it, and he should apologize."
Kevin Williamson at the National Review called it “a stupid, irresponsible, and intentionally provocative speech in which he declared Donald Trump and his supporters are a ‘clear and present danger’ to the United States.” In his article Williamson points out that the term, clear and present danger, is a legal term -- “a doctrine that has been cited in order to permit the state to imprison war protesters — and even war critics— or to arrest a man for making a speech at a political rally.”
There are those, including me, who think the president’s speech indeed sought to trigger a movement to not only overthrow the Republican party but American democracy, itself. No political party in the history of the United States has ever sought to do away with its opposing party. Dems versus the GOP is supposed to be a matter of civil opposition. The notion of “the loyal opposition” has long been the cornerstone of American politics. Joe Biden’s remarks seem to suggest he wants a new era of one party rule-- the Democrat party with more than a hint of socialism. In itself, it is a disloyal desire, disloyal to his own party, disloyal to the citizens he serves.
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance issued a report last year declaring that “Democracy is at risk. Its survival is endangered by a perfect storm of threats, both from within and from a rising tide of authoritarianism.” The report declares that more countries than ever are undergoing “democratic backsliding” -- including the United States.
Another organization, The National Democratic Institute , a nonpartisan institution that supports democratic institutions on a global scale, issued its own study on the importance of a loyal opposition in support of democracy. “The role of a loyal opposition is to strengthen democratic government in two vital roles. First, by holding the governing party to account publicly and questioning its measures and priorities, the opposition increases government transparency and lets a country’s citizens clearly see how their government is functioning. The second role is the opposition provides citizens with an alternative to the ruling party’s way of running the country. If a citizen feels marginalized by the ruling party, or that the issues that affect them are not really being addressed, a strong opposition party provides an alternative government that gives this citizen a choice when it comes time for the next round of elections.”
The bottom line is that a strong opposition in government makes a nation strong. It helps keep the party in power on its toes and gives voice to the needs and wants of voters whose candidates of choice lost their elections.
What does all of this mean as it relates to our power hungry president and his henchmen in Congress? It means that it’s time we start cleaning our House as well as the Senate and the Executive Branch.
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