Fighting the Attack on Freedom & Democracy

President Biden, in speech at Independence Hall, says Trump and allies threaten democracy.

The November 2022 election is about freedom in our democracy. It’s about how Donald Trump’s Republican Party is attempting to restrict many of our freedoms, and how President Biden, the Democratic leadership in Congress, and Democratic candidates are fighting to protect those freedoms.

Speaking at Independence Hall in Philadelphia Sept. 1, Biden warned that “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”

The most vivid example of the GOP's attack on individual freedom is the effort by Republicans to restrict a woman’s right to control her own body, with many red state officials trying to impose an absolute ban on abortions, no matter the circumstance, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) pushing a bill to restrict abortions nationwide.

But, it's far more than the fight over reproductive rights and a woman's right to choose that's at stake.. Many other freedoms are in the crosshairs, such as our freedom to be safe – in our schools, our places of worship and other public places. We should be able to send our kids to school without worrying that some crazed gunman with an assault rifle will barge in and rip them to shreds. We should be able to worship without fear of attack, or visit a nightclub or go shopping without being afraid of getting shot.

That's why Democrats support sensible gun safety laws and the prohibition of assault weapons, contrary to the Republicans’ insistence that such laws would infringe on the right to bear arms as they continue their fidelity to the gun lobby, which heavily finances their campaigns. Times have changed. When the 2nd Amendment was enacted, a firearm was a single shot muzzleloading musket, not an AR-15-type weapon of war.

Democrats believe in the freedom to love and marry who you like, not who the Republicans would dictates. When the Roe v. Wade decision came down, conservative Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that other previously settled issues, like same sex marriage, should be reexamined. The threat is real, depending on the future makeup of our Congress; hence the importance of this election.

Democrats oppose efforts to ban books and restrict what’s made available in public libraries or taught in school. They support the teaching of truth and oppose efforts by those who seek to rewrite history. They support the freedom to learn and to know truth.

Democrats fight for the right to vote, for all Americans, and they oppose efforts by Trump Republicans to restrict voting to serve their own purposes. They fight for the integrity of our elections, opposing efforts to rig the outcome for favored candidates.

On November 8, will voters elect racist candidates who would jeopardize the rights of all Americans, regardless of color or national origin, to enjoy equal treatment under the law? Or will they stand up for the right -- the freedom -- of all Americans to be treated fairly by law enforcement? Clearly, for meaningful police reform legislation to be passed, the composition of Congress needs to change.

Will voters elect climate change deniers who would turn back the clock on efforts to protect our environment and jeopardize the rights of future generations to live on a planet that can meet the needs of humankind?

Essentially, Republicans want to take away freedoms from all who do not work and live and look like them, says communications consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio. “They’re coming for our freedoms from the most basic notion that we decide who represents us to what happens in our bodies and our relationships to our ability to send kids to school and know they will come back home to us safe,” she said.

“For too long, Democrats have ceded the ideas of freedom, family, community," said Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. "The idea of freedom is under attack right now. There’s no denying that the Republican playbook is to tell you what to read, who to love, what you can or can’t do with your body. … I think we absolutely should, we should define what freedom is and take it back.”

Former U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, who is challenging right-wing GOP South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, puts it this way:

“We want our freedoms and liberties. We all want the freedom to control our own bodies. We want our veterans to have freedom, when they’ve given so much for our country. We’re going to go across this state with a megaphone, making sure that people know exactly what the governor has done, the freedoms he’s prevented and freedoms he’s taking away.” McMaster signed a law restricting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The law went into effect after Roe was struck down.

In late August, Newsweek reported on a poll from NBC that showed the top issue on the minds of most Americans is the threat facing democracy with 21 percent of voters ranking "threats to democracy" as the most critical factor facing the country. The cost of living trailed at 16 percent and jobs and the economy at 14 percent.

So, on November 8, the concept of freedom will be tested. Will voters decide to allow a narrow group of dogmatic power hungry Republicans dictate what freedoms we can continue to enjoy, according to their own narrow desires? Or will voters instead demand to live their lives in safety, in an atmosphere of fairness and equality, and on a planet that will survive for centuries to come?

Said Biden on that September day in Philadelphia, “We are still at our core a democracy — yet history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader, and the willingness to engage in political violence, is fatal to democracy. There is no question that the Republican Party is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”

Much will depend upon whether the majority of voters grow tired of the MAGA Republican attack on their freedom, and by extension, upon our democracy. We will have the answer on November 8.

As the President said, "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 to this ongoing attack on democracy. It’s in our power. It’s in our hands — yours and mine — to stop the assault on American democracy.”