Sometimes it's hard to reason or even to rationalize politicians' behavior. Humans have a tendency to follow a leader. When there is the appearance of qualities and virtue in a leader, from small groups to masses, people tend to gravitate to leadership and to support it. There is the shared idealism or at least the perception of shared idealism that gives a movement momentum. Unfortunately, the perceived qualities and virtues in the leader don't always align with reality. You know, the old axiom, 'people see what they want to see.' The Democratic Party had a shared idealism and an identity. They had a revered leader in Joe Biden. They went into the election confidant that their ideals and identity would prevail. Then all of a sudden around July 2024 the wind died and the sailboat wasn't going anywhere. The stiff breeze that Kamala Harris was presumed to provide after the party decided Joe didn't know how to steer the boat anymore turned into an extended doldrum. Dead in the water while Trump cruised past them in a Destroyer class battleship.
Is it the Republican's fault this happened? No. It was the arrogance, the nihilistic behavior, the refusal to recognize a course of self-destruction the Dems had set themselves on. Let's take a look at some of the behavior that contributed to this outcome and is still taking place.
The Biden administration went to court to defend its refusal to enforce immigration law. Yes, went to court. In August 2021 it abrogated the rights of property owners by halting evictions nationwide. They illegally attempted to transfer the debt burdens of student-loan borrowers to taxpayers. Democrats of the last decade have advocated for lawbreakers, rioters, illegal imigrants, loiters, vagrants and squatters all the while calling it "social justice". Calling it social justice is merely a way of avoiding calling it what it actually is, an avoidance of actual justice.
Now, back to the point of the post. Why? Not only did such behavior ultimately cause the implosion of the party (Dems lost control of the executive branch and both houses of Congress) but the party itself is in disarray. I cant think of the right word for it, but it's broken. Like a fine ceramic vase colliding with a tile floor. What happened to planning and strategic thinking? Sustainability? This was like 'let's shoot ourselves in the foot and if that doesn't hurt enough let's shoot ourselves in the head'. Why would any political party engage in such behavior?
I've already offered the only plausible explanation I can conjure. Colossal arrogance. Which is still taking place. Biden has just pardoned his son from his convictions of the past year. Probably the greatest abuse of the presidential pardon in the history of the US. He has betrayed all those in the party that believed theirs was the party of rectitude and propriety. He subverted the very meaning of justice and yet again proved he really doesn't believe in the 'rule of law'. And never did... Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois has vowed "I am going to do everything that I can to protect our undocumented immigrants." Denver's mayor has suggested there'll be a 'Tiananmen Square moment' with the Denver police and the civilian population confronting federal immigration authorities. He says he's willing to go to jail to oppose anything that is illegal or immoral or un-American.
Why? What happened? Did their leadership fail them? Were their ideals misplaced to begin with? Was their identity based on the wrong values? Yes, yes, and yes. But don't take my word for it. Just take a look at the smoldering, self-inflicted ruins of the Democratic Party.
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