Insight

“The American feels too rich in his opportunities for free expression that he often no longer knows what he is free from. Neither does he know where he is not free; he does not recognize his native autocrats when he sees them.” —Erik H. Erikson (1902-1994)

For the Record

“Montanans just voted by majority to deny healthcare to a tiny human being who is breathing, kicking and screaming outside the womb as a survivor of a failed abortion. In case anyone is wondering how monstrous abortion is, or how effective the ‘my body my choice’ propaganda is.” —Buck Sexton

“When people used to vote on Election Day falling behind in the last week meant you’d lose. No more. Democrats’ mastery of early ballot harvesting means if you surrender your lead once media coverage intensifies, or you have a disastrous debate, you’ve already banked your ballots. This is especially true where very high concentrations of party-line Democrat voters are concentrated in a small geographic area, compared to a widely dispersed rural vote.” —Stephen Miller

Upright

“When we look at the mission … the voters have spoken. And they have said that they want a different leader. And a true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage, and the voters have given us that very clear message. Because this is about America … A house divided against itself cannot stand. And indeed that’s where we are today. … I could not support [Donald Trump in 2024].” —Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Sears

Non Compos Mentis

“Ron DeSanctimonious [is] an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations, who didn’t have to close up his State, but did … and who has the advantage of SUNSHINE, where people from badly run States up North would go no matter who the Governor was, just like I did! … When I Endorsed him, it was as though, to use a bad term, a nuclear weapon went off. … I also fixed his campaign, which had completely fallen apart. … I stopped his Election from being stolen… And now, Ron DeSanctimonious is playing games!” —Donald Trump

Flood of Words and Drop of Reason (With Apologies to Benjamin Franklin)

“Well, we had an election [Tuesday]. And it was a good day, I think, for democracy.” —Joe Biden

“The states across the country saw record voter turnout. And the heart and soul of our democracy — the voters, the poll workers, the election officials — they did their job and they fulfilled their duty, and apparently without much interference at all — without any interference, it looks like.” —Joe Biden

“While the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen. And I know you were somewhat miffed by my … optimism, but I felt good during the whole process. I thought we were going to do fine.” —Joe Biden

“I especially want to thank the young people of this nation, who … voted in historic numbers again… They voted to continue addressing the climate crisis, gun violence, their personal rights and freedoms, and the student debt relief.” —Joe Biden

“When I came to office, we inherited a nation with a pandemic raging and an economy that was reeling. And we acted quickly and boldly to vaccinate the country and to create a stable and sustained growth in our economy; long-term investment to rebuild America itself and our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports, clean water systems, high-speed Internet. And we’re just getting started.” —Joe Biden

“We’re dealing with global inflation as a result of the pandemic and Putin’s war in Ukraine. We’re also handling it better than most other advanced nations in the world. We’re lowering gas prices. … Our economic policies have created a record 10 million new jobs since I came into office. … And we’ve done all this while lowering the federal deficit in the two years by $1.7 trillion. Let me say it again: $1.7 trillion. No administration has ever cut the deficit that much.” —Joe Biden

“The overwhelming majority of the American people support the elements of my economic agenda.” —Joe Biden

“I want to be very clear: I’m not going to support any Republican proposal that’s going to make inflation worse.” —Joe Biden

“I’m going to keep my commitment that … no one earning less than $400,000 a year … are going to see their federal taxes go up.” —Joe Biden

“Under no circumstances will I support the proposal put forward by Senator Johnson and the senator from down in Florida to cut or make fundamental changes in Social Security and Medicare. That’s not on the table. I will not do that.” —Joe Biden

“I will veto any attempt to pass a national ban on abortion.” —Joe Biden

“I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future than I am today. You know, I — particularly because of all those young people I’ve talked about, 18 to 30. They’re showing up. They’re the best-educated generation in American history, they’re the least prejudiced generation in American history, the most engaged generation in American history, and the most involved.” —Joe Biden

“The more [Americans] know about what we’re doing, the more support there is. … So, I’m not going to change the direction.” —Joe Biden

“I’m going to ban assault weapons.” —Joe Biden

“I said we’re going to restore the soul of the country, begin to treat each other with decency, honor, and integrity. And it’s starting to happen. … I’m going to do everything in my power to see through that we unite the country. It’s hard to sustain yourself as a leading democracy in the world if you can’t — can’t generate some unity. So, I’m not going to change anything in any fundamental way.” —Joe Biden

Facepalm

“[Biden] believes our democracy is still under threat. … One election will not change that.” —White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Dezinformatsiya

“Now that votes have been cast in record numbers and the people have spoken in a wonderful display of democracy, I need to take a sledgehammer to a narrative taking hold about Georgia. It’s the one that says the state’s onerous voter law implemented after the 2020 presidential election didn’t live up to its ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ reputation because it didn’t manage to suppress huge turnout for early voting. … ‘Jim Crow 2.0’ might not have blocked as many people from the voting booth as feared. But have no doubt it did its insidious convincing. And if allies of democracy don’t keep objecting to Georgia’s law — even on principle — expect that insidiousness to spread.” —Washington Post Editorial Board member Jonathan Capehart