In 2020, the Democratic Party applied three strategies with one single objective: to win. These three strategies were hugely — if not irrecoverably — damaging to American society, and were applied with a full understanding of their consequences.
In the end, the Democrats succeeded. Joe Biden will be the president, and the Democratic Party will control the entirety of Congress.
How can we ever expect them to change their tactics when they are clearly so effective?
COVID-19 Lockdowns
When COVID-19 appeared on the international scene in 2020, the Democrat’s quickly recognized it as a political opportunity. “Never waste a crisis,” as the saying goes. Criticism of China’s regime was dismissed as xenophobic, Trump and other Republicans were blamed for every case or death, and Democrat-run cities and states forced businesses to close under draconian lockdowns. Almost overnight, the American economy was intentionally placed on life support and much needed relief was intentionally delayed in Congress, all while Democrat politicians flaunted their own “rules.”
Flash forward to post-election America, and the narrative has changed, again seemingly overnight. The same politicians who warned us of the terrors of life outside of lockdown are now lauding the importance of “opening up.” China’s communist dictatorship was suddenly a target for criticism again, with China’s inaction — alongside the World Health Organization — described as “breaking news” almost 12 months after the fact.
The COVID-19 virus did not change on November 4th. Indeed, its impact is arguably worse, with multiple countries across the world experiencing record numbers of related deaths.
So, what changed?
Black Lives Matter Riots
The threat and reality of government-mandated economic lockdowns was — unfortunately — not the Left’s only exhibition of political blackmail last year. As protests morphed into violent riots after the death of George Floyd while in police custody, the Left spotted another political opportunity: divide the United States into “good” and “bad” over the false narrative of systemic racism.
As the months passed, buoyed by hypocritical acceptance or encouragement of mass protests and riots which defied the supposedly “crucial” lockdown mandates, riots broke out across the country as the Left fanned the flames of anger. Facts and evidence were ignored in favor of skin color alone, arguing that Jacob Blake and Rayshard Brooks were further victims of “police brutality.” Cities burned as Democrat politicians refused to protect their own constituents, and the media asked viewers to ignore their own lying eyes as they described riots and destruction as “mostly peaceful.” While violence was allowed to explode in Democrat-run cities and states, the message was simple. “This is Trump’s America. Want the violence to end? Vote for Joe Biden.”
And what do you know? After Biden won the election, the attitude towards law enforcement suddenly changed. Riots became bad again. The notion of deploying the National Guard to defend against rioters which seemed so unpalatable during the months of violence prior to the election was suddenly far more acceptable to Democrat politicians — particularly so when they found themselves at risk of physical threat.
So, what changed?
Free Speech
Finally, the Left’s attitude towards free speech was one of political opportunism and ideological disrespect as they sought to place Joe Biden in the White House. While Trump was criticized for describing the press as the “enemy of the people,” the Left’s media apparatus mobilized against reality in favor of their chosen candidate.
While the examples are numerous, the most disgusting of all was the coordinated effort to suppress a true story reported by the New York Post titled “Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad.” The story was dismissed by the legacy media and scrubbed from social media platforms, effectively erasing it from the political conversation.
It was only after the election when the legacy media decided that Hunter Biden was a person of interest. Not only that, the legacy media and their social media comrades engaged in an immediate vendetta against President Donald Trump and other conservatives, removing their accounts and even driving Parler from the internet itself. All while media personalities and pundits — after spending months intentionally spreading misinformation — pontificated on what must be done to fight the conservative “disinformation” machine.
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So, what changed? The answer is obvious to anyone who is willing to accept that not only was the Democratic Party willing to hold Americans hostage to gain power, but they succeeded.
Not only that, to some extent, we let it happen. As we face the unfortunate reality of unfettered Democratic Party control, we must ask ourselves one question.
Yes, the Democrats set the country on fire to win. But, in response, we gave them the keys to the castle. When we, the population, reward them for their moral crimes, how can we possibly expect them to change?
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.