Former Vice President Joe Biden took a page out of Rep. Eric Swalwell's defunct presidential campaign this weekend, surrendering at long last the mantle of centrism.

The idea that the Second Amendment could be used to keep the federal government in check is ludicrous, scoffed Biden during a Sunday campaign event in New Hampshire, adding that it would take nothing for the U.S. government to massacre its dissenting citizenry.

The art of persuasion is a thing of the past, apparently.

Biden’s total embrace of authoritarian rhetoric began with him bemoaning the fact that children today are taught active shooter drills in school, claiming it is “because we’re unwilling to have a rational policy that says you cannot have 20, 30, 40, 50 clips in a weapon.”

There is no such thing as a weapon that takes 20, 30, 40, or 50 “clips.” An AR-15-style rifle takes a single magazine, which normally holds up to 30 rounds of ammunition. Though some may object to such clarifications as "gunsplaining," it is not too much to ask that those who would take away or limit others' Second Amendment rights at least understand the basics of firearms.

Biden’s remarks then took a decidedly darker turn.

“Those who say, ‘The tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots’ — a great line. Well, guess what: The fact is, if you’re going to take on the government, you need an F-15 with Hellfire missiles,” he told a crowd at a campaign event in New Hampshire. “There's no way an AK-47 is going to take care of you if you’re worried about the government knocking down your door.”

Biden: "Those who say 'the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots' -- a great line, well, guess what: The fact is, if you’re going to take on the government you need an F-15 with Hellfire Missiles. There is no way an AK-47 is going to take care of you." pic.twitter.com/npmW40DHS2 — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 9, 2020

First, what Biden said is a threat. Resistance is futile because the federal government can have you all killed at any time it wants. How inspiring. How presidential.

This is the sort of rhetoric that propelled Swalwell to — well, back to obscurity. Recall that Swalwell argued that gun ownership is pointless because the federal government can just use nuclear weapons against its citizens. As with Biden's remarks, I am totally shocked that this has not inspired gun owners to surrender their firearms.

At least Swalwell had a House seat to go back to — what is Biden going to do after he washes out of the 2020 Democratic primary?

Further, the former vice president’s comments reveal a general ignorance of one of the most brilliant aspects of the Second Amendment. It creates a careful (albeit admittedly lopsided) balancing act between ruler and ruled. A well-armed militia will obviously be outgunned by a professional military, but that is not the point. The point is that the people can make themselves very hard to govern when the intentions of those in power are evil. When all other checks and balances fail, politicians tempted to subvert the Constitution (Democrats seem to be discussing one politician in particular a lot lately) still feel themselves limited by the friction they know they could encounter in the form of an enraged, well-armed citizenry.

It is also embarrassing to see a man who lived through the Vietnam War, the Soviets’ unsuccessful campaign in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War laugh off the idea of an armed insurrection rebuffing the world’s most advanced and best-equipped military.

Lastly, it should not be lost on anyone that Biden downplayed the importance and efficacy of well-armed militias by quoting Thomas Jefferson, who played a rather large role in the defeat of one of the world's greatest military forces by a ragtag army consisting of regulars and militiamen.