By Philip Klein
Thursday, April 01, 2021
President Biden, in an interview with ESPN ahead of
today’s opening day, said he would “strongly support” MLB moving baseball’s
All-Star Game from Georgia over its election law which he dishonestly described
as “Jim Crow on steroids.”
Asked about the MLB Players Association considering
moving the all-star game from Georgia over the election law, Biden said:
I think today’s professional
athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing
that. People look to them, they’re leaders. Look at what’s happened with the
NBA, as well. Look what’s happened across the board. The very people who are
victimized the most are the people who are the leaders in these various sports,
and it’s just not right. This is Jim Crow on steroids, what they’re doing in
Georgia and 40 other states.
He went on to go back to his favorite debunked
talking point about the law: “Imagine passing a law saying you cannot
provide water or food to somebody standing in line to vote.”
Overheated rhetoric aside, his support for boycotting a
state for passing a law he disagrees with is completely at odds with the
message of “unity” he campaigned on and made the theme of his inauguration.
“America isn’t just a collection of clashing interests of
Red States or Blue States,” he said at his speech to the Democratic National
Convention. “We’re so much bigger than that.”
Well, now he is urging a sports league to go after a
purple state.
In his Inaugural Address, Biden said, “And I pledge this to you: I
will be a President for all Americans. I will fight as hard for those who did
not support me as for those who did.”
Yet this is not how you fight hard for all Americans.
Especially given that if the All-Star Game were to move, it wouldn’t be
Republican lawmakers or Governor Brian Kemp who would feel the hit most
directly. It would be the hot-dog vendors, hotel and restaurant workers, or the
people selling T-shirts or ice cream or bottles of water outside the stadium.
Punishing a state over a piece of legislation is not a
way to unify Americans. It’s a way to further divide Americans.
Video of Biden’s interview with ESPN here (relevant section
comes at about the 5:45 part).
No comments:
Post a Comment