Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News last Saturday.

There he was. The president of the United States of America. Standing in front of our Independence Hall bathed in blood-red light of Soviet imagery and flanked by two uniformed Marines. With two fists raised, Joe Biden declared that millions of Americans who disagree with him are not only wrong, but they are angry extremists who they must be suppressed.

 

Like so many authoritarians before him, Biden and his administration have launched a concerted effort to other anyone who disagrees with the regime’s political and cultural orthodoxy. Biden and his leftist supporters are going well beyond simple argument in their attempt to dehumanize and delegitimize anyone who disagrees with them. We have crossed another mile marker on the path to tyranny.

 

Biden said, “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.” He went on to say, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution, do not believe in the rule of law,” and, “I agree 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.”

 

By Biden’s rhetoric, it would be irresponsible and dangerous to let such people govern. If true, then such people should never be allowed to hold the reins of power because they lack the legitimacy to govern, right? Lest you think that Biden is only talking about a small sliver of the Republican Party, his administration has made it clear that “MAGA Republicans” is a distinction with an amorphous definition that is stretched to include anyone who disagrees with the regime.

 

Before the speech, the president’s press secretary said, “what the president said … was that when it comes to MAGA Republicans, when it comes to the extreme ultra wing of Republicans, they are attacking democracy. Right? They are attacking, taking away rights and freedoms,” and, “When you are not with where a majority of Americans are, then you know, that is extreme. That is an extreme way of thinking.’

 

By the Biden administration’s own words, anyone who supported Trump or anyone who has views that are not whatever the Biden administration declares to be the majority opinion is now “extreme.” It does not seem to occur to them that with an approval rating hovering below 40%, Biden’s own supporters would be considered “extreme” by that definition.

 

This attack from the Biden White House is no idle threat. We have seen how the Biden administration, like the Obama administration before it, has weaponized the federal bureaucracy against opponents. The FBI has now been caught interfering in multiple federal elections by colluding with Big Tech, suppressing information that would be damaging to leftists, and targeting conservatives. The IRS was forced to apologize for targeting conservative groups. If you think that the 87,000 new IRS employees that were just authorized by Biden will not be used to target conservatives even more, you are naive.

 

Days before Biden’s Blood Speech, he mocked supporters of the Second Amendment, saying, “for those brave right-wing Americans … if you want to fight against the country, you need a F15.” As commander of the Armed Forces, the cavalier suggestion that he would unleash the military on Americans is chilling.

 

This is not about Trump. The same rhetoric is happening right here in Wisconsin. The state’s largest newspaper published a scathing attack piece against Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels for donating large sums of his personal wealth to Catholic and Protestant churches. Because those churches do not agree with the leftist orthodoxy, Michels’ support was demonized, and Governor Evers has labeled Michels an extremist. If you attend a mainstream church and put a few bucks in the collection plate, are you an extremist? Biden and Evers think you are.

 

This is not about whether you supported Trump or not. This is about an America where we are allowed to have and express different viewpoints and values, and when we win elections, we are allowed to govern according to those values. Biden and the leftist regime are attempting to redefine all political opponents as extremists who lack legitimacy to have their voices heard or to govern. This othering of the American right by Biden creates a justification for Biden and other leftists to silence, suppress, and oppress political opponents with the full force of the government under the banner of “saving democracy.” It is un-American.

 

We must not let this stand. Vote. Vote as if our republic depends on it.

 

It does.