Who’s Dividing Who?

I tried. I really did try.

For the eight or nine of you who regularly read these scribblings, you might recall that on a couple of occasions I’ve pointed out that we all – as in all parties and independents – need to stand behind our president.

If he’s your guy, it’s easy. If he’s not, then respect the office, salute the flag and help your candidate do better the next time.

I even went so far to say that I wouldn’t join the rest of the media in tearing down the president. My point was pretty simple. We have enough divisiveness in this country. I thought that one way I might be able to help at least a little bit would be to make sure the highest office in the land got some respect from this tiny corner of God’s country.

For almost two years I’ve stuck by that – mostly. Sorry, I just can’t do it anymore.

Joe Biden, the president – MY president – called me a fascist. And let’s be clear – I did not take anyone’s word for it. I did not listen to a 30-second clip and some talking head taking it out of context. The great thing about today’s instant information world is, well, information. I went straight to the White House web site and found the text of two speeches Biden gave – one at a reception in Bethesda, Md. and the other at Independence Hall in Philadelphia – and read them. Every word.

The man called me a fascist. Probably called you one, too.

His overall point is one made many times in this space – we are a nation of differing points of view, but a nation that only thrives when it unites, when it respects the peaceful transition of power. He said a lot that we can and should agree with.

But then he said that if you stand behind Donald Trump you are a semi-fascist.

Wait, what?

Forget the politics for a second. Forget the eerie resemblance to failed candidate Hillary Clinton calling Trump backers deplorable. Even forget the fact that he said – and I quote here – “I give you my word as a Biden.” (Listen, you can’t make this stuff up.)

But before we go any further, let me hit a couple of points about the guy Biden seems to be so scared of, Trump. I wouldn’t pretend to speak for anyone else, but I am desperately hoping for a better candidate than Donald Trump in 2024. I want a president who can accomplish many of the same things Trump did . . . without the name-calling, ridiculous tweeting and arrogance we saw daily for four years. That said, let me also repeat something I’ve said over and over – if Joe Biden and Donald Trump are on the ballot, I won’t hesitate to vote for Trump. I’m just hoping he’s not.

And can we leave it there please? Can I make that decision without attack? Maybe you are going to cast your ballot for Joe Biden. Good for you. I do not say that with sarcasm. I truly mean it. For unlike the idiots who will berate and even threaten us for whoever our choice is, most reasonable people respect our right to vote whatever way we want.

And that’s where Biden is off base – badly, badly off base.

He is using scare tactics – something he has done in the past. Anyone remember when then presidential candidate Biden told a black radio host that if African-Americans couldn’t decide on him over Trump “then you ain’t black.”

It seems that Biden likes to use strong words to suppress opposition. Hmmm. When I looked up the definition of fascism, part of it reads the “forcible suppression of opposition.”

Hmmm, again.

Look, we could make a lot of points here. Biden often comes across as an elderly person who forgets what he is saying . . . He says one thing today and the opposite tomorrow . . . his voting record in the Senate isn’t exactly stellar when it comes to race and money . . . And we could go on about the validity of each point.

We could even talk about the idea that Biden and his entire party keep Donald Trump’s name in the news. If that isn’t giving the former president free publicity and even creating more support, I don’t know what you would call it.

That’s not the issue.

The issue is simple. Joe Biden, the man who is our president, is telling me and millions of Americans that we are a threat to this country. He is saying that just because we believe Donald Trump was a better president than he is we are wrong. He is drawing a line in the sand with him on one side and six out of 10 Americans on the other.

Am I a threat to this country? Are you? I’m pretty sure we didn’t leave thousands of Americans in Afghanistan in the worst withdrawal since Saigon. I’m positive that we didn’t screw up any sort of smart transition to clean energy by overnight eliminating thousands and thousands of jobs in the oil and gas industry (and overturning American lives in the process). We’re not to blame for the debacle with $5 a gallon gas prices and a return to reliance on foreign energy. We didn’t discard any semblance of border security to our south.

We live in a word today where fiction tends to fester into fact, where opinions – especially hateful ones – get more attention than the truth. But we have two years of facts to go by. So, if you actually want to talk about the real threat to this country Mr. President, perhaps you ought to start by looking in the mirror.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you want to see for yourself the text of the two speeches, the White House has them on its web site. The links are here.

Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically on Wednesdays in The Paper. Timmons is the publisher of The Paper and can be contacted at [email protected].