YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday condemned the attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue that killed 11 people over the weekend and urged Americans of all political stripes to unite, saying it’s up to leaders to “dial down the tone and to restore some dignity to the national dialogue.”
Describing the Nov. 6 election as a “battle for the soul of America,” Mr. Biden delivered his remarks at a rally to boost Richard Cordray in his bid for governor and other Democrats at Youngstown State University, an event also designed to galvanize young voters who often don’t turn out for the midterms.
“The forces of hate and terror have worked on the psyche of our fellow Americans, and targets have been people with different political beliefs or different colors of their skin or different religions,” the former vice president said, referencing the explosive devices sent to prominent Democrats, including Mr. Biden, as well as CNN’s New York office last week.
In telling the crowd “words matter, words from our leaders matter,” Mr. Biden was speaking about President Donald Trump but not by name. “Our political opponents are not our enemies. The press is not the enemy of the people.”
He added, “When hatred is given a space to fester it encourages the seedier side of society to come out ... and the President of the United States assigns moral equivalence to these dark forces.”
The remarks from Mr. Biden and Democrats on the state ticket punctuated a rally that touched on health care, Republican gerrymandering, and the continuing struggles of the middle class. Democrats are hoping to spur a blue wave that will win them statewide executive offices, all five of which are held by Republicans.
Mr. Biden’s visit kicks off a parade of surrogates from both parties making the rounds in Ohio a week from Election Day.
President Donald Trump will cap off his midterm blitz on election eve in Cleveland.
Leading up to then are appearances by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) in Cincinnati on Tuesday and Vice President Mike Pence in Mansfield on Wednesday.
In urging voters to the polls — early voting has been ongoing since Oct. 6 — Mr. Biden said: “We all know there’s something in our gut that’s bigger than the election, something that’s bigger than politics as usual. It’s about more than issues. It’s about who we are as Americans.”
Speakers before Mr. Biden offered their thoughts on last week’s events.
“I don’t blame Donald Trump for these attacks, but we do need the President to unify us, not divide us. We need the President to lift us up,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running against northeast Ohio Rep. Jim Renacci (R., Wadsworth).
Mr. Cordray, whose opponent is Attorney General Mike DeWine, a Republican, and who was the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under President Obama, said Americans “need to do the hard work to make sure we never have to face another week like this again.”
“They could have been here, they could be here tomorrow, next week, next month, we know that,” Mr. Cordray said, referencing also the fatal shooting of two black grocery store patrons in Kentucky on Wednesday. “This week we mourn the lives lost and we pray for their families.”
In a statement on the rally, the Ohio arm of the Republican National Committee said Ohio is on the right track despite what Democrat speakers described as a hollowing out of the middle class.
“Our state is on the right track thanks to strong Republican leadership that has lowered taxes, cut regulations and created hundreds of thousands of jobs for Ohioans. Joe Biden is nothing but a reminder of the past, and Ohio isn’t interested in taking our economy backward,” RNC spokesman Mandi Merritt said.
First Published October 30, 2018, 12:13 a.m.
