Biden's speech wasn't "partisan" -- it was plain truth media won't tell

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:

John FitzGerald
@TheTweetOfJohn
·
Follow
It’s the media's duty to admit that the typical "both sides" and "partisanship" frameworks don't apply in a situation where one party has embraced a fascist assault on democracy, while the other party is trying to stop them.

salon.com
Biden's speech wasn't "partisan" — it was plain truth media won't tell
The Republican Party is a threat to democracy — and the media needs to get out of the "both sides" trap to say so
11:06 AM · Sep 2, 2022

https://www.salon.com/2022/09/02/bidens-speech-wasnt-partisan--it-was-the-plain-truth-the-media-is-too-timid-to-make-clear/

During Thursday night's somber warning about the threat to democracy posed by Donald Trump and his rising fascist movement, President Joe Biden repeatedly emphasized the importance of being "honest with each other and with ourselves" about the current situation. "But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise."

The president reiterated that point later, noting that it is "my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful."

Presumably, it is also the duty of the mainstream media to level with the American people, to tell these truths, no matter how painful and regardless of how much whining they get in response from Republicans. So too, it is the media's duty to set aside the cynical "horse race" coverage that can reduce existential issues to little more than political game-playing. And to admit that the typical "both sides" and "partisanship" frameworks don't apply in a situation where one party has embraced a fascist assault on democracy, while the other party is trying to stop them. It is on the media to prioritize the truth over some ill-fitting "balance" between two parties in an era when one of those parties rejects democracy itself.

But of course, what we all too often get is a bunch of media hand-wringing about "partisanship" while ignoring the seriousness of the crisis in favor of a reductive lens treating this as little more than some campaign shenanigans.

Amber Phillips of the Washington Post formatted her post-speech analysis in a listicle format. The first item? "This speech did not shy away from partisanship." Yep, Republicans are embracing authoritarian, anti-democratic politics, but the Beltway press keeps acting as if "partisanship" is the thing to worry about.

*snip*

[TheRealNorth]

1. I remember when CNN and MSM media proudly claimed GWB was a "uniter"

As he told the world that if you're not with us, your against us.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. The Speech No President Should Have to Give -Joe Biden's duty made it necessary.

This was NOT a political speech unless you think that the protection of our democratic form of government is a partisan issue. I dd NOT believe that caring about the protection of our democratic form of government is a partisan issue.

Link to tweet

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/09/the-speech-no-president-should-have-to-give/671338/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

A Sad Duty
Joe Biden told us last night that American democracy is under attack. He did so in plain language and left no doubt about either the dire nature, or the source, of the threat. Most important, he named names—including, finally, Donald Trump. The president took a political risk and spoke the hard truth: that a significant number of citizens of the United States of America, concentrated in the rotted-out shell of the Republican Party, have become extremists who are engaged in anti-constitutional opposition to our system of government.

Whenever a president gives a speech, pundits, analysts, and citizens all jump to grade the exercise. Was it a great speech or just a good speech? Did it hit the right marks? Did it serve the right constituency? Did it help or hurt his party?....

And make no mistake: He had to give it. His duty demanded it. As Biden rightly said, the American democracy faces an “ongoing attack” from what he termed “MAGA Republicans” who do not respect the Constitution, the rule of law, the will of the people, or the results of free elections. No president could remain silent under such circumstances......

Mostly what I felt watching the president was both sympathy and a kind of horror that he was having to say any of this at all. And so I simply cannot judge it as anything but a sad duty, the same kind of speech a president must give in the face of a national tragedy. These are not speeches anyone wants to write or give. Nonetheless, if I had to pick out a line that will resonate in history, I think—or I hope—that it will be Biden’s reminder that democracy requires sensible, tolerant, and mature human beings in order to work:

Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: Either they win or they were cheated … You can’t love your country only when you win.

It really is that simple.