以支持工会为荣的美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)在劳动节(Labor Day)宣布了中期选举前秋季竞选季的非正式开始，他在战场州进行了两场全国巡回演讲。
拜登在威斯康辛州和宾夕法尼亚州发表了白宫称之为“庆祝劳动节和美国工人尊严”的官方讲话轻微颠簸在支持率上。
在这两个摇摆州，民主党人正面临高风险、大量资助的中期选举。
在前往这些州庆祝劳动节时，拜登反映了他的民主党的策略前任巴拉克奥巴马和比尔克林顿。
拜登首先前往密尔沃基参加劳动节庆祝活动，民主党州长托尼·埃弗斯(Tony Evers)将在11月与共和党人蒂姆·米歇尔斯(Tim Michels)竞选连任。
拜登在近半个小时的演讲中，大部分时间不仅专注于工人的贡献和吹捧他的立法成就，还重复了他最近对“MAGA共和党人”和前总统唐纳德·特朗普的批评。
他说，在即将到来的中期选举中，选民有维护美国民主的道德责任。
“极端的MAGA共和党人不仅威胁我们的个人权利和我们的经济安全，他们拥抱政治暴力，”他说。
President Joe Biden speaks during an event at Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Sept. 5, 2022.
苏珊·沃尔什/美联社
“正如我上周所说，我们仍在为美国的灵魂而战，”他说。
通过这样做，拜登恢复了他2020年的“为国家灵魂而战”的信息，他说，在白人民族主义者于2017年在弗吉尼亚州夏洛茨维尔与反抗议者发生冲突后，这激发了他对白宫的竞选。他还在周四费城的黄金时段演讲中使用了这条信息。
副州长曼德拉·巴恩斯(Mandela Barnes)是民主党参议员，有望与现任共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊(Ron Johnson)展开激烈竞争，他没有陪同拜登参加密尔沃基的活动，尽管他与埃弗斯一起参加了该市早些时候的劳动节游行。威斯康星州参议员塔米·鲍德温(Tammy Baldwin)也没有出席，尽管她在2024年之前不会竞选连任。
“我要感谢塔米。她今天不能在这里，她是工作和人民的捍卫者，永远在那里。你知道，副州长曼德拉·巴恩斯也是一样，他不能来这里。他将成为你们的下一任美国参议员，”拜登说。
拜登描绘了民主党在其任期内最近的立法成就和共和党破坏他们努力的努力之间的明显分歧。他明显变得激动起来，开始谈论降低通货膨胀法案以及降低处方药价格的措施。
“几十年来，大型制药公司年复一年地获胜，因为它们拥有国会的大部分席位。因为他们得到了帮助，就像你们的资深参议员罗恩·约翰逊，”拜登说，引来了人群的嘘声。
“今年不行!今年我们打败了制药公司!今年我们打败了制药公司，这很重要!我们将改变人们的生活，”拜登说，并大声喊着“我们打败了制药公司!”
在拜登访问之前，共和党全国委员会和威斯康星州共和党召开了一次电话会议，抨击总统周四在费城的黄金时段演讲以及他最近取消高达2万美元学生贷款债务的举措。
约翰逊在Zoom电话中称总统“不温和”，他已经成为“首席分割器”。约翰逊指出，他的民主党对手一直在“躲藏”，巴恩斯最近没有举行任何新闻发布会。巴恩斯最近的活动之一是在8月29日就社会保障和医疗保险主题与老年人见面并打招呼，以回应约翰逊最近关于可能削减这些项目的评论。
但拜登也澄清了建制派共和党人和“MAGA共和党人”之间的区别，指出后者的“极端意识形态”已经在党内制造了政治暴力和剥夺选举权，以及无法跨党派工作。
“我想先说清楚。不是每个共和党人都是超级共和党人。不是每个共和党人都拥护这种极端的意识形态。我知道，因为在我的整个职业生涯中，我一直能够与主流共和党人共事。但是国会中的极端共和党人选择了倒退，充满了愤怒、暴力、仇恨和分裂，但是我们能够而且必须一起选择一条不同的道路，前进。
拜登在密尔沃基的演讲中还特别拥抱了一个新词，称MAGA共和党人为“特朗普”，当时他对共和党参议员里克·斯科特(Rick Scott)每五年重新授权社会保障的计划发表了看法。
“与共和党人最大的不同是，极右的特朗普，他们想去国会。拜登警告说:“国会中的这些共和党人也会为你的社会保障而来。
拜登从密尔沃基前往匹兹堡外的西米夫林，在那里他向美国钢铁工人联合会当地工会2227的人数少得多的人群发表了讲话，这是总统一周内第三次访问英联邦。
他与宾夕法尼亚州民主党副州长约翰·费特曼(John Fetterman)一起出现，后者正在与特朗普支持的穆罕默德·奥兹(Mehmet Oz)博士争夺即将退休的共和党参议员帕特·图米(Pat Toomey)的参议员席位。
在一个自录音再现装置发出的高音费特曼的通讯主任说，候选人将与拜登一起出现，这是候选人在为期一周的州内首次与总统一起讨论大麻合法化的计划。
“如果我必须呆在狐狸洞里，我希望约翰·费特曼和我在一起。我告诉你，我想让约翰和我在一起。我是真心的，”拜登在掌声中说道。
他再次喊出“共和党人”
“特朗普和MAGA共和党人做出了他们的选择。我们可以选择建设一个更好的美国，或者我们可以继续沿着这条被遗忘的道路滑向我们不想去的地方。“当你只接受选举的两种结果——要么你赢了，要么你被骗了，你就不能爱这个国家，说你有多爱它。事情不是这样的。”
民主党司法部长乔希·夏皮罗(Josh Shapiro)也面临着与特朗普支持的共和党州长道格·马斯特里亚诺(Doug Mastriano)的激烈竞争。
在2007年的星期四费城拜登在一次激烈的演讲中警告说，他称之为对美国民主的威胁，在中期选举前将自己和民主党人与特朗普和马加共和党人形成鲜明对比。
他痛击了参加1月6日起义的共和党人，这些人拒绝接受2020年的选举结果，并希望剥夺堕胎权。
“我们国家今天发生的太多事情都是不正常的，”他说。“唐纳德·特朗普和MAGA共和党人代表了一种威胁我们共和国根基的极端主义。”
副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯周一在大波士顿劳工委员会(Greater Boston Labor Council)年度早餐会上发表讲话，回应了拜登周四在费城的讲话，批评“极端主义者、所谓的领导人”试图“让时光倒流……回到工人没有组织自由的时代”。在女性能够自由决定自己的身体之前。回到所有美国人都没有投票权的时代。”
Biden, ahead of midterms, marks Labor Day in election battleground states
President Joe Biden, who prides himself as being a pro-union president, on Labor Day kicked off the the unofficial start of the fall campaign season ahead of the midterm elections with two cross-country stops in battleground states.
Biden made what the White House called official remarks "celebrating Labor Day and the dignity of American workers" in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania after a string of legislative victories and aslight bumpin approval ratings.
In both swing states, Democrats are facing high-stakes, heavily-funded midterm races.
In heading to those states for Labor Day, Biden mirrored the strategy of his DemocraticpredecessorsBarack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Biden traveled first to Milwaukee for its Labor Day celebration, Laborfest, with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers -- up for reelection in November against Republican Tim Michels.
Biden spent most of his nearly half-hour speech focused not only on worker contributions and touting his legislative achievements but also repeating his recent criticism of "MAGA Republicans" and former President Donald Trump.
He said voters had a moral responsibility to uphold American democracy during the coming midterm elections.
"Extreme MAGA Republicans don't just threaten our personal rights and our economic security, they embrace political violence," he said.
"As I said last week, we remain in the battle for the soul of America," he said.
In doing so, Biden resurrected his 2020 "battle for soul of the nation" message that he said inspired his bid for the White House after white nationalists clashed with counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. He also used the messaging during a prime-time speech Thursday in Philadelphia.
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes -- a Democratic Senate hopeful in a tight race against incumbent GOP Sen. Ron Johnson -- did not accompany Biden at the Milwaukee event, despite attending the city's earlier Labor Day parade with Evers. Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin was also did not attend, even though she is not up for reelection until 2024.
"I want to thank Tammy. She couldn't be here today, who is a champion of work and people and always there. You know, and the same goes for lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes who couldn't be here. He's gonna be your next United States senator," Biden said.
Biden painted a stark divide between the recent legislative achievements of Democrats over his term and Republican efforts to undermine their efforts. He became noticeably fired up talking about the Inflation Reduction Act and the measures included to bring down prescription drug prices.
"For decades Big Pharma won year in and year out because they own chunks of the Congress. Because they had the help, like your senior senator, Ron Johnson," Biden said, drawing boos from the crowd.
"Not this year! We beat Pharma this year! We beat Pharma this year and it mattered! We are gonna change people's lives," Biden said, outright shouting "We beat Pharma!"
Ahead of Biden's visit, Republican National Committee and the Wisconsin Republican Party hosted a Zoom call, slamming the president's Thursday primetime speech in Philadelphia and his recent moves to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt.
Johnson was on the Zoom call, calling the president "no moderate" and that he has become a "divider-in-chief." Johnson noted that his Democratic opponent has been "in hiding" and that Barnes has not been doing any recent press conferences. One of Barnes' most recent events was a meet and greet with seniors on Aug. 29 on the subject of Social Security and Medicare, in response to recent Johnson comments on potentially cutting those programs.
But Biden also cleared the distinction between establishment Republicans and "MAGA Republicans," noting that the latter's "extreme ideology" has moved to create political violence and disenfranchisement within the party and an inability to work across the aisle.
"I want to be very clear up front. Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican. Not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology. I know because I've been able to work with mainstream Republicans my whole career. But the extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress have chosen to go backwards full of anger, violence, hate and division, but together we can and we must choose a different path, forward," Biden said.
Biden also notably embraced a new term during his Milwaukee speech, calling MAGA Republicans "Trumpies," when making a point about GOP Sen. Rick Scott's plan to reauthorize Social Security every five years.
"The biggest contrast from what MAGA Republicans, the extreme right, the Trumpies, they want to go to Congress. These MAGA Republicans in Congress are coming for your social security as well," Biden warned.
From Milwaukee, Biden traveled to West Mifflin outside Pittsburgh where he delivered remarks to a much smaller crowd at United Steelworkers of America Local Union 2227 -- the third time the president has visited the commonwealth in one week.
He appeared with Pennsylvania's Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman who is in a battle for retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's Senate seat against Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz.
In atweet, Fetterman's director of communications said that the candidate would appear with Biden -- the first time the candidate has joined the president during his weeklong span of the state -- with plans to discuss marijuana decriminalization.
“If I have to be in a fox hole, I want John Fetterman in there with me. I’ll tell you what, I want John in there with me. I mean that sincerely,” Biden said to applause.
He again called out "MAGA Republicans."
“Trump and the MAGA Republicans made their choice. We can choose to build a better America or we can continue down this sliding path oblivion to where we don't want to go,” Biden said. "You can't love the country and say how much you love it when you only accept two outcomes from the election -- either you won or you were cheated. It doesn’t work that way."
Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro is also facing a tight race against Trump-endorsed Republican Doug Mastriano for governor.
On Thursday inPhiladelphia, Biden, in a fiery speech, warned about what he called threats to American democracy, presenting himself and Democrats ahead of the midterms as a clear contrast to Trump and MAGA Republicans.
He pummeled Republicans participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, those who refuse to accept the 2020 election results and want to strip away abortion rights.
"Too much of what's happening in our country today is not normal," he said. "Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic."
Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking at the Greater Boston Labor Council Annual Breakfast on Monday, echoed Biden's remarks Thursday in Philadelphia, criticizing "extremist, so-called leaders" for their attempts to "turn back the clock …To a time before workers had the freedom to organize. To a time before women had the freedom to make decisions about their own bodies. To a time before all Americans had the freedom to vote."
