Biden Attempts to Use Pro Sports to Bully State for Passing Law Democrats Don't Like
Georgia deserves to lose the Major League Baseball All-Star Game for passing a law Democrats don’t like, President Joe Biden indicated Wednesday.
During an interview on ESPN, Biden was asked about comments made by Tony Clark, executive director of baseball’s Players Association, who’s said he’s interested in punishing Georgia for adopting its recent voting reforms by moving the July 13 All-Star game out of Atlanta.
“I think that today’s professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing that,” Biden said.
“People look to them. They’re leaders. Look at what happened with the NBA, as well. Look what’s happened across the board.
“The very people who were victimized the most are the people who are the leaders in these various sports,” he said.
Biden in ESPN interview says he would strongly support MLB relocating the all-star game from Atlanta over the Georgia law.pic.twitter.com/xGBzsFoD6e
— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) April 1, 2021
Biden said the Georgia law is “just not right. This is Jim Crow on steroids what they’re doing in Georgia and 40 other states.”
“What’s it all about? Imagine passing a law saying you cannot provide water or food for someone standing in line to vote. Can’t do that? Come on. Or you’re going to close the polling place at 5 o’clock when working people just get off? This is all about keeping working and ordinary folks that I grew up with from being able to vote,” he said.
Biden’s swings at the bill repeated contentions that have already been ruled false by even The Washington Post’s fact-checker.
First, The Post’s Glenn Kessler asked some experts, who said the bill actually expands, rather than restricts, voting.
“You can criticize the bill for many things, but I don’t think you can criticize it for reducing the hours you can vote,” Charles Bullock III, a University of Georgia political scientist, told the newspaper.
A Georgia Public Broadcasting article quoted by The Post agreed.
“One of the biggest changes in the bill would expand early voting access for most counties, adding an additional mandatory Saturday and formally codifying Sunday voting hours as optional,” political reporter Stephen Fowler wrote.
“Counties can have early voting open as long as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at minimum. If you live in a larger metropolitan county, you might not notice a change. For most other counties, you will have an extra weekend day, and your weekday early voting hours will likely be longer.”
Kessler then weighed in.
“Biden framed his complaint in terms of a slap at working people. The law would ‘end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work’ or ‘ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.’ Many listeners might assume he was talking about voting on Election Day, not early voting. But Election Day hours were not changed,” he wrote.
“Not a single expert we consulted who has studied the law understood why Biden made this claim, as this was the section of law that expanded early voting for many Georgians.
“Somehow Biden managed to turn that expansion into a restriction aimed at working people, calling it ‘among the outrageous parts’ of the law. There’s no evidence that is the case. The president earns Four Pinocchios,” Kessler wrote, giving Biden the column’s highest rating for a lie.
As for Biden’s claim that handing out water is banned, Fox News noted that the law, which is aimed at insulating voters waiting to cast their ballots from being targeted by advocates for any political party, allows “self-service water from an unattended receptacle” for voters standing in line.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
