Speaking at the Annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon on Thursday to mark St. Patrick’s Day, President Biden began by asserting, “Father, before I begin — bless me, Father, for I’m about to sin. I — well, I just want you to know, I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.”
Before an audience in the Rayburn Room at the U.S. Capitol, he continued, “I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter. Okay?”
Biden: “I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid.” pic.twitter.com/QKpJfxaW30
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 17, 2022
In an attempt to portray himself as caring about Americans’ unity, he added, “We should have more times like this where Democrats and Republicans get together, and we actually not only agree on one thing, but we remind ourselves we actually like each other. And it’s a useful thing.”
The Washington Post admitted in January that Biden had “escalated his partisan rhetoric Wednesday during his first news conference in 10 months, laying the blame for his stalled agenda at the feet of Republicans and suggesting on the eve of his one-year anniversary that he has been surprised by their intransigence.”
Last July, speaking at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Biden issued a bitterly partisan attack on Republicans over voter rights, snapping, “While this broad assault against voting rights is not unprecedented, it’s taking on a new and, literally, pernicious forms.” He said:
In Texas, for example, Republican-led state legislature wants to allow partisan poll watchers to intimidate voters and imperil impartial poll workers. They want voters to dive [drive] farther and be able to be in a position where they wonder who’s watching them and intimidating them; to wait longer to vote. To drive a hell of lot lo- — excuse me — a long way — (laughter) — to get to vote. They want to make it so hard and inconvenient that they hope people don’t vote at all. That’s what this is about.
This year alone, 17 states have enacted — not just proposed, but enacted — 28 new laws to make it harder for Americans to vote, not to mention — and catch this — nearly 400 additional bills Republican members of the state legislatures are trying to pass.
The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real. It’s unrelenting, and we’re going to challenge it vigorously.
While this broad assault against voting rights is not unprecedented, it’s taking on a new and, literally, pernicious forms.
It’s no longer just about who gets to vote or making it easier for eligible voters to vote. It’s about who gets to count the vote — who gets to count whether or not your vote counted at all. It’s about moving from independent election administrators who work for the people to polarized state legislatures and partisan actors who work for political parties.
To me, this is simple: This is election subversion. It’s the most dangerous threat to voting and the integrity of free and fair elections in our history. Never before have they decided who gets to count what votes count.