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Indivisibles,

Ezra here. We’ve never done this, but I thought it was important. Last
night, in a rare prime-time address, President Biden gave what I believe
to be the most important speech of his presidency. In stark and compelling
terms, he described the fight we’re in against MAGA extremism and in
defense of our freedoms and democracy. He called on all Americans to be
part of this fight. 

Distressingly, none of the broadcast networks carried the speech. NBC ran
Law & Order. ABC aired Press Your Luck. CBS could not miss Young Sheldon.
Fox News aired Tucker Carlson. 

So we’re sending out the full text of Biden’s speech to everyone on our
list (see below). [ [link removed] ]If you’d rather watch it, you can here. My only
request is this: read or watch it, and forward this to your friends and
family. It’s an important message from the President at an important time
in American history -- and we want this message to penetrate even if
broadcast media ignores it.

In solidarity,
Ezra

--

Ezra Levin

Co-Executive Director

Pronouns: He/him

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BIDEN ON THE

 CONTINUED BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF THE NATION

Independence National Historical Park

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

(September 1, 2022)

8:03 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  My fellow Americans, please, if you have a seat, take it. 
I speak to you tonight from sacred ground in America: Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

This is where America made its Declaration of Independence to the world
more than two centuries ago with an idea, unique among nations, that in
America, we’re all created equal.

This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated.

This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of
self-government the world has ever known with three simple words: “We, the
People.”  “We, the People.”

These two documents and the ideas they embody — equality and democracy —
are the rock upon which this nation is built.  They are how we became the
greatest nation on Earth.  They are why, for more than two centuries,
America has been a beacon to the world.

But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault.  We
do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.

So tonight, I have come this place where it all began to speak as plainly
as I can to the nation about the threats we face, about the power we have
in our own hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future
that lies in front of us if only we choose it.

We must never forget: We, the people, are the true heirs of the American
experiment that began more than two centuries ago.

We, the people, have burning inside each of us the flame of liberty that
was lit here at Independence Hall — a flame that lit our way through
abolition, the Civil War, Suffrage, the Great Depression, world wars,
Civil Rights.

That sacred flame still burns now in our time as we build an America that
is more prosperous, free, and just.

That is the work of my presidency, a mission I believe in with my whole
soul.

But first, we must be honest with each other and with ourselves. 

Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal.

Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that
threatens the very foundations of our republic.

Now, I want to be very clear — (applause) — very clear up front: Not every
Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. 
Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.

I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated,
driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that
is a threat to this country.

These are hard things. 

But I’m an American President — not the President of red America or blue
America, but of all America.

And I believe it is my duty — my duty to level with you, to tell the truth
no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.

And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the
Constitution.  They do not believe in the rule of law.  They do not
recognize the will of the people. 

They refuse to accept the results of a free election.  And they’re working
right now, as I speak, in state after state to give power to decide
elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers
to undermine democracy itself.

MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards — backwards to
an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no
right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.

They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fan the flames of political
violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of
justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

They look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th
— brutally attacking law enforcement — not as insurrectionists who placed
a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as
patriots.

And they see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after
the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.

They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million
people.  This time, they’re determined to succeed in thwarting the will of
the people.

That’s why respected conservatives, like Federal Circuit Court Judge
Michael Luttig, has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans, quote,
a “clear and present danger” to our democracy.

But while the threat to American democracy is real, I want to say as
clearly as we can: We are not powerless in the face of these threats.  We
are not bystanders in this ongoing attack on democracy.

There are far more Americans — far more Americans from every — from every
background and belief who reject the extreme MAGA ideology than those that
accept it.  (Applause.)

And, folks, it is within our power, it’s in our hands — yours and mine —
to stop the assault on American democracy.

I believe America is at an inflection point — one of those moments that
determine the shape of everything that’s to come after.

And now America must choose: to move forward or to move backwards?  To
build the future or obsess about the past?  To be a nation of hope and
unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness?

MAGA Republicans have made their choice.  They embrace anger.  They thrive
on chaos.  They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.

But together — together, we can choose a different path.  We can choose a
better path.  Forward, to the future.  A future of possibility.  A future
to build and dream and hope.

And we’re on that path, moving ahead.

I know this nation.  I know you, the American people.  I know your
courage.  I know your hearts.  And I know our history.

This is a nation that honors our Constitution.  We do not reject it. 
(Applause.)

This is a nation that believes in the rule of law.  We do not repudiate
it.  (Applause.)

This is a nation that respects free and fair elections.  We honor the will
of the people.  We do not deny it.  (Applause.)

And this is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool.  We do not
encourage violence.

We are still an America that believes in honesty and decency and respect
for others, patriotism, liberty, justice for all, hope, possibilities. 

We are still, at our core, a democracy.  (Applause.)

And yet history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and a
willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy.

For a long time, we’ve told ourselves that American democracy is
guaranteed, but it’s not.

We have to defend it, protect it, stand up for it — each and every one of
us.

That’s why tonight I’m asking our nation to come together, unite behind
the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your
ideology.  (Applause.)

We’re all called, by duty and conscience, to confront extremists who will
put their own pursuit of power above all else. 

Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans: We must be stronger, more
determined, and more committed to saving American democracy than MAGA
Republicans are to — to destroying American democracy. 

We, the people, will not let anyone or anything tear us apart.  Today,
there are dangers around us we cannot allow to prevail.   We hear — you’ve
heard it — more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political
tool in this country.  It’s not.  It can never be an acceptable tool. 

So I want to say this plain and simple: There is no place for political
violence in America.  Period.  None.  Ever.  (Applause.)

We saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the 6th.  We’ve seen
election officials, poll workers — many of them volunteers of both parties
— subjected to intimidation and death threats.  And — can you believe it?
— FBI agents just doing their job as directed, facing threats to their own
lives from their own fellow citizens. 

On top of that, there are public figures — today, yesterday, and the day
before — predicting and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in
the streets.

This is inflammatory.  It’s dangerous.  It’s against the rule of law.  And
we, the people, must say: This is not who we are.  (Applause.) 

Ladies and gentlemen, we can’t be pro-ex- — pro-ex- — pro-insurrectionist
and pro-American.  They’re incompatible.  (Applause.)

We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country.  It’s wrong.  We
each have to reject political violence with — with all the moral clarity
and conviction this nation can muster.  Now.

We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined, for that is a
path to chaos. 

Look, I know poli- — politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in
America.  I get it.  I believe in the give-and-take of politics, in
disagreement and debate and dissent.

We’re a big, complicated country.  But democracy endures only if we, the
people, respect the guardrails of the republic.  Only if we, the people,
accept the results of free and fair elections.  (Applause.)  Only if we,
the people, see politics not as total war but mediation of our
differences. 

Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two
outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.  And that’s
where MAGA Republicans are today.  (Applause.)

They don’t understand what every patriotic American knows: You can’t love
your country only when you win.  (Applause.)  It’s fundamental. 

American democracy only works only if we choose to respect the rule of law
and the institutions that were set up in this chamber behind me, only if
we respect our legitimate political differences.  

I will not stand by and watch — I will not — the will of the American
people be overturned by wild conspiracy theories and baseless,
evidence-free claims of fraud. 

I will not stand by and watch elections in this country stolen by people
who simply refuse to accept that they lost.  (Applause.) 

I will not stand by and watch the most fundamental freedom in this country
— the freedom to vote and have your vote counted — and — be taken from you
and the American people.  (Applause.) 

Look, as your President, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of
my being, and I’m asking every American to join me.  (Applause.)

(A protestor disruption can be heard.)

Throughout our history, America has often made the greatest progress
coming out of some of our darkest moments, like you’re hearing in that
bullhorn. 

I believe we can and we must do that again, and we are. 

MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and
despair.  They spread fear and lies –- lies told for profit and power. 

But I see a very different America — an America with an unlimited future,
an America that is about to take off.  I hope you see it as well.  Just
look around.

I believed we could lift America from the depths of COVID, so we passed
the largest economic recovery package since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 
And today, America’s economy is faster, stronger than any other advanced
nation in the world.  (Applause.)  We have more to go.

I believed we could build a better America, so we passed the biggest
infrastructure investment since President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  And we’ve
now embarked on a decade of rebuilding

the nation’s roads, bridges, highways, ports, water systems, high-speed
Internet, railroads.  (Applause.)

I believed we could make America safer, so we passed the most significant
gun safety law since President Clinton.  (Applause.)

I believed we could go from being the highest cost of prescriptions in the
world to making prescription drugs and healthcare more affordable, so we
passed the most significant healthcare reforms since President Obama
signed the Affordable Care Act.  (Applause.)

And I believed we could create — we could create a clean energy future and
save the planet, so we passed the most important climate initiative ever,
ever, ever.  (Applause.)

The cynics and the critics tell us nothing can get done, but they are
wrong.  There is not a single thing America cannot do — not a single thing
beyond our capacity if we do it together.

It’s never easy.  But we’re proving that in America, no matter how long
the road, progress does come.  (Applause.)

Look, I know the last year — few years have been tough.  But today, COVID
no longer controls our lives.  More Americans are working than ever. 
Businesses are growing.  Our schools are open.  Millions of Americans have
been lifted out of poverty.  Millions of veterans once exposed to toxic
burn pits will now get what they deserve for their families and the compa-
— compensation.  (Applause.) 

American manufacturing has come alive across the Heartland, and the future
will be made in America — (applause) — no matter what the white
supremacists and the extremists say. 

I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off. 
Proving that from darkness — the darkness of Charlottesville, of COVID, of
gun violence, of insurrection — we can see the light.  Light is now
visible.  (Applause.)

Light that will guide us forward not only in words, but in actions —
actions for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for America.

Even in this moment, with all the challenges we face, I give you my word
as a Biden: I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.  Not
because of me, but because of who you are.

We’re going to end cancer as we know it.  Mark my words.  (Applause.)

We are going to create millions of new jobs in a clean energy economy.

We’re going to think big.  We’re going to make the 21st century another
American century because the world needs us to.  (Applause.)

That’s where we need to focus our energy — not in the past, not on
divisive culture wars, not on the politics of grievance, but on a future
we can build together.

The MAGA Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has
to fail.  They believe America — not like I believe about America. 

I believe America is big enough for all of us to succeed, and that is the
nation we’re building: a nation where no one is left behind.

I ran for President because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of
this nation.  I still believe that to be true.  I believe the soul is the
breath, the life, and the essence of who we are.  The soul is what makes
us “us.”

The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are
created equal in the image of God.  That all are entitled to be treated
with decency, dignity, and respect.  That all deserve justice and a shot
at lives of prosperity and consequence.  And that democracy — democracy
must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible. 
(Applause.)  Folks, and it’s up to us.

Democracy begins and will be preserved in we, the people’s, habits of
heart, in our character: optimism that is tested

yet endures, courage that digs deep when we need it, empathy that fuels
democracy, the willingness to see each other not as enemies but as fellow
Americans.

Look, our democracy is imperfect.  It always has been.

Notwithstanding those folks you hear on the other side there.  They’re
entitled to be outrageous.  This is a democracy.  But history and common
sense — (applause) — good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from. 

But history and common sense tell us that opportunity, liberty, and
justice for all are most likely to come to pass in a democracy.

We have never fully realized the aspirations of our founding, but every
generation has opened those doors a little wider to include more people
who have been excluded before.

My fellow Americans, America is an idea — the most powerful idea in the
history of the world.  And it beats in the hearts of the people of this
country.  It beats in all of our hearts.  It unites America.  It is the
American creed.

The idea that America guarantees that everyone be treated with dignity. 
It gives hate no safe harbor.  It installs in everyone the belief that no
matter where you start in life, there’s nothing you can’t achieve.

That’s who we are.  That’s what we stand for.  That’s what we believe. 
And that is precisely what we are doing: opening doors, creating new
possibilities, focusing on the future.  And we’re only just beginning. 
(Applause.)

Our task is to make our nation free and fair, just and strong, noble and
whole.

And this work is the work of democracy — the work of this generation.  It
is the work of our time, for all time.

We can’t afford to have — leave anyone on the sidelines.  We need everyone
to do their part.  So speak up.  Speak out.  Get engaged.  Vote, vote,
vote.  (Applause.)

And if we all do our duty — if we do our duty in 2022 and beyond, then
ages still to come will say we — all of us here — we kept the faith.  We
preserved democracy.  (Applause.)  We heeded our wor- — we — we heeded not
our worst instincts but our better angels.  And we proved that, for all
its imperfections, America is still the beacon to the world, an ideal to
be realized, a promise to be kept.

There is nothing more important, nothing more sacred, nothing more
American.  That’s our soul.  That’s who we truly are.  And that’s who must
— we must always be.

And I have no doubt — none –– that this is who we will be and that we’ll
come together as a nation.  That we’ll secure our democracy.  That for the
next 200 years, we’ll have what we had the past 200 years: the greatest
nation on the face of the Earth. 

We just need to remember who we are.  We are the United States of
America.  The United States of America.  (Applause.)

And may God protect our nation.  And may God protect all those who stand
watch over our democracy.  God bless you all.  (Applause.)  Democracy. 
Thank you.  (Applause.)

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