Now that the experts have done a full proctological examination of President Biden’s “Soul of America” speech we understand a little better what he thought he was doing.
First of all, the “Soul of America” meme comes from Jon Meacham and his 2018 book The Soul of America: the Battle for Our Better Angels, available on Amazon. Meacham is said to have had input on Biden’s speech. Looking at Soul of America’s Table of Contents — preceded by a Frontispiece of Franklin Delano Roosevelt — I would say that it is celebrating the glorious reign of the educated ruling class up until about 1970. The book starts with an Introduction, “To Hope Rather Than to Fear.” Then:
The Confidence of the Whole People: presidency, progress, prosperity, people.
The Long Shadow of Appomattox: raacist!
With Soul of Flame and Temper of Steel: TR etc.
A New and Good Thing in the World: fight for women, against Red Scare, Klan.
The Crisis of the Old Order: FDR and Depression
Have You No Sense of Decency: Middle Class, McCarthyism
What the Hell is the Presidency For: Civil Rights, LBJ
And the Conclusion is “The First Duty of an American Citizen.”
It is really pretty cute that the book stops at the pinnacle of the arc of progressive / liberal dominance, the Twin Peaks of the civil rights era and the Great Society programs. Because, a voter might ask, what have you done for me lately?
So President Biden was speaking in front of Independence Hall, in red-white-and-blue patriotic colors, invoking the Soul of FDR America.
He was speaking as the leader of a party that regards the founders as racist slaveowners, that utterly ignores the misery it has visited on workers, blacks, and the ordinary middle class, and has moved on to a post-national war on climate change and a sub-national war on systemic racism.
The point is that the Soul of the current Democratic Party is not about America. That is why most Democrats talk about “our democracy” rather than “America.” That is why the Democrats surrendered the America meme to Donald Trump without a murmur. The Democratic Party is no longer the party of America. It is the party of the educated class, and the tribe of the educated class is not the nation, but “our community” of educated people all over the world. The Souls of the people that Biden leads are shimmering with the vision of a “sustainable” net-zero world, with equity and DEI jobs for all oppressed peoples.
So when President Biden stands in front of Independence Hall, he is standing in front of a symbol that his immediate supporters don’t believe in. When he accuses the MAGA hordes thusly
MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people.
He is telling a lie. It is the MAGA hordes that make a fetish of the Constitution, while liberals believe in a “living Constitution.” It is the MAGA hordes that believe in the rule of law, and the liberals that believe in changing the law by Supreme Court fiat to suit their current enthusiasm. And as for the will of the people…
The Zman is all worried that the meaning of current events is that the rulers are going to do whatever it takes to stay in power, and that “the Stalinist nature of the inner party was clear in the speech.” He could be right.
But Stalin was the leader of the new regime, not a relic of the old regime. I’m reading Stephen Schama’s Citizens about the French Revolution. And the problem for the old regime was that it couldn’t get the army or the political sector or ordinary people to click their heels and obey good old fatso Louis XVI. It’s one thing for the new regime to blame all its setbacks on “saboteurs and wreckers.” But for the old regime? Not so easy. For instance, we are hearing about FBI whistleblowers contacting GOP senators. Gee, so the FBI rank-and-file is not all-in on Russia Russia and Raiders of the Lost Docs? The importance of that is that it sows seeds of doubt in the minds of the rulers.
The point of political rhetoric is to resonate in the hearts and minds of the people. Independence Hall and the Constitution and the rule of law do not resonate in the hearts of liberals. For them it is justice, and saving the planet. But for the president to make a speech in front of Independence Hall and tell ordinary commoner Americans that they don’t believe in the Constitution and the rule of law is a slap in the face.
So I suspect that President Biden Made Things Worse for his party in November. But what do I know?