The code of our civic religion is fidelity to freedom and democracy and the code of our humanity is to leave the world a better place for our kids, this particular generation is failing in both, but especially with respect to democracy.

This country was never even close to perfect when it came to the vote, the opposite actually. But we might be the first generation that actually takes a step back in, making it harder for the next generation to vote and enjoy democracy. (We are not counting reconstruction because that’s a topic unto itself).  While we were at it, we are also leaving them a planet with the oven on, the greatest economic inequality in history, we’ve near destroyed the middle class where one wage earner can make it, and fewer decent job prospects. We have a lot to be ashamed of.

Joe Biden does not shame people, but the Irish in him will unleash some occasional anger and it appears that he’s pretty angry about the fact that if the MAGAs succeed, we’re leaving our kids a far less democratic country, perhaps one that is a functional dictatorship. Russians vote, too.

During a virtual speech at a fundraiser for the DNC, Biden said:

“It’s under assault in ways I haven’t seen in my entire career. And I was the guy who was able to get the Voting Rights exten- — Act extended 25 years before, when I was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee,”

“It’s about who gets to vote and whether the vote counts, and who gets to count that vote. We have a system that does both those things with independence and integrity. But what Republicans want to do is say a political party gets to decide if a vote counts. It’s outrageous,” 

Those are fighting words for Biden, who generally tries to stay away from party v. party fights. Remember, Biden is the guy that brings everyone together?

“We’re going to fight like hell, so that doesn’t happen. That’s one of the most important things we can do. There’s a lot of work ahead. It’s not going to be easy. But I’m going to need you to do it.”

Ah, the fighting Irish, now that is what is needed right now.

“You have to be able to vote. It’s the single-most important thing we could do. We’ve got to demonstrate that democracies can work and protect. And I think it’s going to impact on our influence around the world more than anything And, you know, we got to prove we can make democracy work again. That’s what it’s about.”

We first have to prove that democracy can work for ourselves, so that our own children believe us and believe in it, or we’ve failed our two most important tests as adults. Never mind the rest of the world right now, if we don’t save this country’s democracy, the rest of the world will fall eventually, too.

It is that important, and it sounds like Joe is finally letting some Irish out on it. We couldn’t be happier, or angrier.
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