Vice President Joe Biden has engaged in the most disgraceful sort of hyperbole, claiming that “Republicans have changed the law so you get arrested if you do vote.”  As in other Biden gaffes, his press flunkies are tying to spin this as a joke.  But the context says otherwise.  The Weekly Standard:


“But the vice president pointed to states like Pennsylvania and Ohio to back up his point.

Here’s the context, via the pool report:

Recalling a story that Cantwell had told as she was introducing him about crying as a little girl because she thought one of her neighbors had said she wasn’t going to vote and Cantwell feared she would be arrested, Biden said it wasn’t much different today. ‘Republicans have changed the law so you get arrested if you do vote,’ he said, apparently joking. He cited efforts in Pennsylvania, Ohio and elsewhere ‘to essentially try to intimidate people, taking people off the roles [sic].'”

Firstly, Biden might have had PA Voter ID in the back of his mind. But the back of Biden’s mind has produced some pretty crazy things before.  The Ohio angle might refer to something from 4 years ago when Secretary of State Brunner fought to keep ineligible voters ON the rolls.  It turns out some counties in Ohio today have more registered voters than people alive eligible to vote.

But the bigger problem with Biden’s statement is that it is a lie.  Not long ago we were treated to lectures about civil discourse in politics from some of these same people.  Even worse, conjuring fear through lies is a tactic used through history in despicable ways.  Joe Biden keeps the tradition alive.