Calling for the “renaissance of democracy” and “getting rid of the filibuster for this,” President Joe Biden delivered a speech in Atlanta, taking Americans on a walk through current and past events, from Jim Crow in the 1960’s to his predecessor’s “Big Lie,” all in an thunderous effort to pass major voting right legislation.
“This is the moment to decide, to defend our democracy,” Biden said from Morehouse College, offering voters a choice between historic segregationists and freedom fighters. He called it “one of those defining moments” in America.
“What in the hell are we talking about?” Biden said of efforts by Republican lawmakers to make it harder to vote, receiving applause and laughter.
Biden cracked several jokes, at one point saying, “I’m so damn old I was there,” to applause on stage and online.
The nation’s 46th president had no problem attacking Donald Trump, although not by name, and called his efforts on January 6 an “attempted coup.”
To the GOP, “too many people voting in a democracy is a problem,” President Biden said, talking about how Republicans are “taking away options” as they create long lines to vote.
President Biden began with quotes from the Bible and sprinkled them throughout.
“Hate evil, love good, and establish justice at the gate,” President Biden said at the beginning of his speech, a passage from the Christian Bible.
“Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion,” he said, accusing Republicans of wanting “to turn the will of the voters into a mere suggestion.”
“The goal is to disenfranchise anyone who votes against them,” Biden said, calling it what we would see in “totalitarian states.”
“I’m tired of being quiet,” Biden said as his voice slowly grew louder and louder, as did the applause.
Biden even name-checked the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, a known white supremacist. President Biden repeatedly stated that “even Strom Thurmond supported voting rights,” off-script noting he had to work “damn hard” to get the segregationist’s vote.
“The US Senate should be able to protect voting rights with a simple majority.”
“Today, I’m making it clear, to protect our democracy I support changing the Senate’s rules” in “whatever way” they need to be to “protect democracy.”
“I will defend democracy against all enemies – foreign, and yes, domestic.”