The Great Uniter Divides Again

I sat through Biden’s “Safer American Plan” speech in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday so you didn’t have to. Twice. You’re welcome.

After the requisite mentions, thank-yous, and name-dropping (it is, after all, election season), POTUS mentioned hate, anger, violence, and fentanyl and that people just want to feel safe again, which is what his crime plan is “all about.” He called for “funding the police,” as opposed to defunding the police. Someone should really tell the rest of the Democrat Party, as I don’t think they got the memo. He went to pains to separate bad cops from good cops, noting that there are lousy senators, presidents, doctors, and lawyers. And somehow leaped from that to the fact that police departments need more resources, and recalled the good old days of beat cops. He took the time to point out that every Republican in the House and Senate voted against last year’s funding package for law enforcement while adding that his new plan would fund 100,000 additional “accountable officers” and stressed a need for restoring public trust. He commented that because cities were doing so well, they reduced the number of officers they needed. Does anyone recall Portland?  For that matter, does anyone recall Rudy Giuliani restoring law and order to Times Square and the rest of NYC? Does anyone recall Soros-backed DAs who let criminals walk free or Kamala Harris bailing out destructive rioters?

Sorry, moving on.

Interestingly enough, he took a page from the conservative talking points in noting that the poor and disadvantaged communities are the ones who want community policing. He forgot to point out that they were some of the hardest-hit communities by the riots during the Summer of Floyd. He also plans to restrict no-knock warrants and chokeholds and create a national database of officers who have “misbehaved.” These plans are in place for federal law enforcement, and under Biden’s plan, they will apply to state and local officers as well. One wonders what the criteria will be to land an officer on the naughty list. And while fentanyl from China has been flowing across the southern border, POTUS has apparently just discovered that America has a fentanyl problem.

He touted his “Safer Communities Act” where he “beat the NRA!” Yay! NRA was the first trigger word (pun intended) that he threw out. And of course, it was the “vast majority” of Republicans who would not vote for it out of the fear of the NRA, despite apparent universal support from across the country.

Biden, yelling at the top of his voice, said that he is determined to ban assault weapons. After all, according to Biden, it isn’t about taking away guns, and responsible gun owners should be treated as examples. He “supports” the Second Amendment, but also invoked Antonin Scalia, to whom he attributed the phrase that the rights under Second Amendment are not unlimited. He added that right now, people cannot go out and buy automatic weapons or cannons. He also made a lame attempt at a joke by telling, and I quote, “those brave right-wing Americans who say ‘It’s all about keeping Americas independent and safe,’ if you want to fight against the country you need an F-15.” (sic) Insert rimshot here. Keep it classy, Great Uniter.

He added that gun deaths involving children outnumber those of law enforcement and said that there is a mass shooting in America every single day and that we are a country awash in weapons of war.

Related: A Tale of Two Joe Bidens

Biden allowed his voice to rise while describing the horrors of Uvalde while not acknowledging the failure of the system to recognize the shooter’s potential for violence or the feckless behavior of the responders who allowed the hellish scene to unfold. Seconds later, he pivoted to his now famous “deer don’t wear Kevlar” comment.

He also touted a plan to prevent crime with after-school and summer job programs, drug and mental health programs, and better housing to help ex-convicts re-enter society, which sounds good. But when Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he said: “That’s where the money is.”  There is more to crime than simply a lack of jobs. This is the same administration that has allowed major acts of violence to pass by with a wink and a nod, and DAs in their own party have refused to lift a finger in places like New York and L.A., where the violence and crime have long been out of control and appear to be heading toward Mad Max proportions.

Ideally, Biden could have come out with a plan or at least an appeal for people to come together on the issue of guns. Ideally, he could have brought people together or at least facilitated a real debate. But, he had to circle back to evil Republicans. He mentioned some of his “friends on the other team talking about political violence and how it’s necessary.” That may hold true for the fringe, but Biden sent the message that all conservatives are for political violence. He essentially said he never thought he would see the day, and that political violence is never appropriate. Someone forgot to tell Maxine Waters. Or the population of Portland. Or Kamala Harris, who backed a bail fund that recently released a convict who killed one of his enemies. Is that the kind of reform you are looking for, Mr. President?

Of course, no political speech from Uncle Joe from Scranton would be complete without a January 6 reference, and Biden did not disappoint. And I quote: “To this day the MAGA Republicans in Congress defend the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6.” Name them, please. I have yet to see a member of Congress who has defended that behavior. In fact, every Republican legislator I have heard has condemned those activities. He also slyly worked in his opinion that the rioters killed two police officers. He said, “Think about what the world saw.” The world also saw Sri Lanka and Iraq, and the world saw Afghanistan.

To his “MAGA Republican friends,” Biden said: “Don’t tell me you support law enforcement if you won’t condemn what happened on the sixth… FOR GOD’S SAKE, WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?” But as I mentioned above, it was condemned. Sadly, the people in attendance and most voters probably won’t take the time to research that, which is just the way Biden and Co. want it.

And just like that, it became a stump speech.

Given the Democrats’ proclivity for ignoring and fomenting violence, one might well ask President Biden: “For God’s sake, whose side are you on?” But I think you know the answer to that question.

 See the full speech here.