Excerpts from E. J. Dionne's very readable op-ed in the Washington Post:
"When President Biden announced in a video last week that he was seeking reelection, he opened the possibility that the 2024 campaign will involve a genuine — perhaps even searching — philosophical debate over the meaning of freedom. [snip]
Biden’s video opened with the word 'freedom,' used it four more times and threw in a mention of 'bedrock freedoms' for good measure. During a 90-second campaign ad that followed, the word was mentioned six times. In addition, the video declared: 'Joe Biden has made defending our basic freedoms the cause of his presidency.' [snip]
But Biden is getting at a deep contradiction in the conservative view of freedom. Consider that DeSantis supports sharp restrictions on abortion, has backed a process through which books can be removed from school libraries, and signed laws narrowing what can be taught about the United States’ racial history and restricting teaching about LGBTQ issues.
He also used government power to retaliate against Disney for the company’s opposition to his policies on gay and lesbian rights. The move has split conservatives, many of whom are uneasy with the invocation of public authority against a corporation for resisting a politician’s preferences." (our emphasis)
