Last night, President Joe Biden returned to his earlier claim that his political opponents are fascists seeking to establish authoritarianism in the United States. While the hellish red background is gone from his controversial Philadelphia address, the message remains: a vote for the GOP is a vote for tyranny. Despite polls showing citizens view the President as inciting political unrest and potential violence with such attacks, the theme was quickly picked up and magnified in the media. Presidential historian Michael Beschloss actually suggested on MSNBC that we could be just days away from an authoritarian hellscape if the GOP prevails in midterm elections — raising the specter of our children being taken away and killed.
If you thought that the election was being decided on the top polling issues of the economy, crime, and classic kitchen table issues, think again.
On MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” Beschloss went all in on the “democracy-or-death pitch” before the midterms:
“[S]ix nights from now, we could all be discussing violence all over this country. There’s signs that may happen, may God forbid, that losers will be declared winners by fraudulent election officers, or secretary of state candidates, or governors, or state legislatures…
We could be six days away from losing our rule of law, and losing a situation where we have elections that we all can rely on. You know, those are the foundation stones of a democracy…
Joe Biden is saying the same thing tonight, and a historian 50 years from now – if historians are allowed to write in this country and if they are still free publishing houses and a free press – which I’m not certain of – but if that is true, a historian will say what was at stake tonight and this week was the fact whether we will be a democracy in the future, whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed.”
So much for gas prices. The choice is now voting Democratic or lining up your children in front of a firing squad. (Strangely, it will only be our children and not adults targeted by the roaming GOP goon squads). However, it will all be “off-the-books.” After all, Beschloss warned Hayes, “we both write history, you and I” and he is not certain that “historians [will be] allowed to write in this country” if Republicans gain a majority in Congress.
In other words, there may be no history books, no living children, and no democracy, but feel free to vote your pocketbook, America.
At the same time, Democrats and the J6 Committee are pursuing those who engaged in similar inflammatory rhetoric leading up to the January 6th riot. The airways are also now filled with warnings from leaders such as Hillary Clinton that the midterm elections are about to be “stolen.” Likewise, many are campaigning to ban books by figures like Justice Barrett in the name of protecting free speech.
The alarm raised over many of these GOP candidates is particularly ironic since Democrats spent millions to support the most conservative candidates in Republican primaries. Those candidates (now denounced as election deniers) prevailed in their primaries with Democratic campaign support and could now win in states like New Hampshire.
It is all perfectly Orwellian, but it is not particularly effective. With the over-the-top rhetoric and open bias in the media, the public is tuning out many in the press (which is at record lows in trust). This is becoming a type of primal scream session among friends, cathartic but confined.
President Biden was widely criticized for his Philadelphia speech, but he and others are now doubling down on this type of reckless rhetoric. The likely effect will be to incite further violence and to give license to the most unhinged in our society.
When you have absolutely nothing to run on, use hyperbolic nonsense. The fact that Biden did not address the things that concern Americans the most, Inflation, the economy, border crisis and crime to name a few, shows desperation. The House is gone. And possibly the Senate. Let’s see which side is in denial or react violently.
It’s beginning to sound like a self-fulfilling prophecy. The hysterical Democrats (who control the media and therefore can spread the disease throughout the country) are riling up their hysterical masses, so when a Republican victory comes in 2022 or 2024, the hysterical mob will quickly become violent, necessitating a forceful crackdown — unless we want a repeat of 2020. These ridiculous Democratic charlatans and demagogues are setting up the country for a violent encounter. That’s how much the Democrats hate America — they’d rather see it burn than their party lose power. MSNBC is the biggest threat to democracy in this country.
Perhaps if the Left goes full monty on violence post the 2022 Election the government might be wise and stay out of it completely…..and let them riot, loot, burn down whole neighborhoods and order the Police to stand down completely….leave the National Guard for use by the governors…..and let the People sort out their differences. Maybe that is the final best solution for this division…..let one side or the other prevail and be done with it.
I am still trying to figure out how the Democrats see voting as being a threat to “democracy”!
I am still trying to figure out how the Democrats see calling for the Constitution to be the supreme law of the land is a threat to “democracy”!
I shall never figure out how the Democrats see free speech where everyone can offer their opinion and views is a threat to “democracy”!
And I damn sure do not understand how a US President would talk as does Joe Biden about half of the people in this Nation the way he does!
But above all…..when the Republicans take control of Congress….I shall not understand why they do not defund wasteful spending, begin Impeachment proceedings against Biden and many of his Cabinet Secretaries, the Attorney General and Director of the FBI and start a cleaning of the Federal Government.
In other news regarding “threats to democracy” a group of WRITERS and PUBLISHERS are DEMANDING that Amy Conan Barrett’s book NOT be published. Only in the upside down world I know call Doublestandardstan could we have the “free speech” crowd demanding that a sitting Justice have her book banned all as they state that Republicans want to ban books for not wanting oral sex primers in kindergarten libraries. This is what I mean by Doublestandardstan.
This guy is demented. I hope that the first thing that occurs when the new Senate and House convene in January are impeachment hearings. He is clearly unfit.
Actually that would be the first thing they should not do. I am not as hopeful of many in the polls but I don’t see how the GOP cannot at least have a five or six vote majority in the House (maybe as much as a 228-207 advantage) as of 1/1/2023. On the other hand unless the GOP gets three or four Senate pickups (which I think unlikely), Schumer is still leader because Romney and/or Collins will go Independent and caucus with the left.
But if the GOP does prevail, they should play the long game, stick to their knitting for now of controlling inflation (repurposing already appropriated funds and daring Biden to veto things everyone needs) and reforming Medicare and SS (and letting Biden veto a plan that will save Medicare Part A from imploding in what will by then be two years).
Save the investigations of the Biden crime family and the FDA being in bed with Pharma and other corruption for the executive branch in 2025. Besides waiting being good government, it would be good politics
Are these advocates for the principles of socialism, like Beschloss and Hayes, seeking free and fair elections . . . or guaranteed outcomes?
One of the things that bothers me the most is how stupid these rants are. The level of discourse has plummeted to new and obscene levels. Imagine that we have MSNBC saying what they say nightly and then telling us that we must stop misinformation. Imagine that we have Joe Biden saying that democracy is on the ballot as his team censors anything harmful to them, tries to pack the Court, tries to add states, creates a Disinformation Board the HOMELAND SECURITY, sends SWAT Teams to arrest people that disagree with them, supports Hillary Clinton, Stacey Abrams et al while saying election denial is the end of democracy and on and on.
Without wanting to sound as hyperbolic as Democrats I do believe that this crop of Democrats are truly a threat to our First Amendment right of free speech and all our freedoms that flow from it.
You are not being hyperbolic. The threat is presented quite openly. They do not hesitate to call for banning free speech, and if they have the power, they will not hesitate to actually ban it. And they have openly called for adding justices to the Supreme Court to achieve whatever result they want.
..Spot On, Well Said, Prof. Turley…! All the illogical, paradoxical Superiority-fanaticism, Hate-speech and Fear-mongering from the Left make it clear that neo-Fascism indeed has a thriving Left-wing presence…… . easy to understand why Ronald Reagan left the Demoncrats at another time when ‘progressive extremism’ was trying to do away with ‘classic Liberalism…’ and Everything Else.
The hyperbole of this exchange on MSNBC is astonishing and sad. I’ve been re-reading Thomas Fleming’s A Disease in the Public Mind which focuses on the polarization leading up to the Civil War. The similarities in overheated and divisive rhetoric between that period and our own are many.
Being a Southern woman, the hilarious hysterics of Democrats have always reminded me of Aunt Pittypat:
https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/3968d31f-ef46-447c-bb56-04f22e6eefd9
It is beyond incredible that there is an audience for this fantasy. The saddest part is that there are many more of them than the right wing militia survivalists that MSNBC is always fretting about.
I missed the memo about Biden et al calling for free, unfettered speech.
Propaganda by and for the braindead.
Last night the President gave a speech about threats to democracy and “election denial”. The past few weeks I’ve been hearing that term used quite a bit as if it’s some kind of crime, the best I know it’s not. Last nights speech made me feel like I’m being set up and with questionable mail-in ballots I might be correct.
Why days before an important election is the President harping on “election denial” and not his accomplishments?
I hope I’m wrong.
“. . . made me feel like I’m being set up . . .”
I agree. It sounded like a warning and a threat: We are rigging more elections. Accept blindly and submit — or else.
If those people really believe that tripe, then they are in serious need of mental health intervention
Another thoughtful and Insightful article, but I would offer two thoughts. First, this was a discussion on MSNBC, a network that was long ago taken over by the far left lunatic fringe. Second, Beschloss, once an excellent historian, has long since seemingly surrendered to that lunatic fringe to get airtime. Also, a note on President Biden – will future historians hold his wife and close advisors responsible for elder abuse – not to mention abuse of the American public?
MSNBC just confirmed it’s a Red Wave.
I’m used to hyperbole in politics. But…. Someone seems to have lost their mind.
Out of the mouths of people who are abortion rights zealots.. Almost funny….”whether our children will be arrested and conceivably killed.”
BIDEN and The DEMS are desribing themselves in what they are and will do. Beschloss has gone over to the Dark Side a long time ago, he has to be a member of the Great Restet DAVOS/World Economic NUTS/Authoritarians. Its the DEMS/BIDEN that are seeking Authoritarian rule and telling people shut up vote and accept tha we are going to WIN.
I hope the Voters are so angry that they vote out the AUTHORITARIANS and SOCIALIST and LEFT WING SOCiAL Justice Crowd and the Republicans take control and begin to reverse this AUTHORITARIAN SOcial Justice Grea Reset Crowd
Bescloss is really a Strong supporter of AUTHORITARIAN/DAVOS rule – he hates TRUMP and Freedoms
I agree, Mr. Turley. What we are witnessing are the hysterical screeches of a dying regime that knows it’s days are numbered. This cabal of irresponsible juvenile delinquents and extremist “Woke” Marxist deviants will be decisively crushed on November 8th and they know it. They might as well cease and desist with the intimidation tactics. Millions of us in the GOP are armed to the teeth and trained in lawful self-defense as protected under the 2nd Amendment. I do not fear the Left’s thugs. Not even a little bit.