Democrats across the nation are calling out Republicans for exactly what they are doing: attacking our fundamental freedoms in nearly every walk of life.
It's about time.
For too long, the Republican party, which supports a failed and defeated would-be dictator, has tried to claim it is the sole defender of freedom in America, even as it constantly attacks our rights for health care, our right to a free and fair election without manipulation, our rights to be safe in the streets and our kids in school, our freedom to marry the one we love regardless, the right to a clean environment, and the rights of our children to learn about their country and its heritage without ideological censorship, and more.
Donald Trump can hold all the rallies he wants and blast out that Lee Greenwood song about protecting freedom, but that doesn't make him or the Republicans the true defender of freedom. It's all BS and political rhetoric that plays upon gullible people's emotions.
Trump simply flips reality upside down to serve his own purposes, just as he did with his constant claims about "fake news." It was Trump, after all, who was -- and still is -- the master of spinning fake news, an ability that eventually resulted in the riotous attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021 as he and his supporters fought to overturn the fair and free election of Joe Biden.
Why did they do that? Because they believed Trump's lies; his "fake news" about the election. And as a result, many of those people are going to jail.
Joe Cunningham, a former South Carolina congressman and Democratic nominee for governor, said in an interview with The Washington Post that freedom is “on the ballot this coming November.”
“We want our freedoms and liberties," Cunningham told The Post. "We all want the freedom to control our own bodies. We want our veterans to have freedom, when they’ve given so much for our country. We’re going to go across this state with a megaphone, making sure that people know exactly what the governor has done, the freedoms he’s prevented and freedoms he’s taking away,” he said, referring to Republican Gov. Henry McMaster, who signed a law restricting abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. The law went into effect after Roe was struck down.
As the Post article pointed out, this message is gaining steam among Democrats and is likely to find its way into fall campaigns.
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), angered by the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, laid out this vision Democrats shortly after the decision was announced.
“We are the party of freedom,” he tweeted. “Freedom to make your own health-care choices. Freedom from your fear of gun violence. Freedom to have your vote counted. Our message is our values. Freedom for all.”
California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic presidential candidate, aired an ad in Florida on July 4 targeting the state's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, also considered a possible presidential contender in 2024, that warned, “Freedom, it’s under attack in your state.”
Just hours before the House voted to codify same-sex marriage into federal law, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tweeted: “Democrats FIGHT FOR your freedom!”
It is a message that resonates with many people because it is based on fact, unlike the hyped up messages about "freedom" used by Republicans who actually seem determined to undermine, not protect, those freedoms we all cherish.