OPINION:
Merriam Webster defines the word Stalker as “a person who pursues someone obsessively and aggressively to the point of harassment.” Stalkers have often experienced unrequited love, that is, having feelings of affection, real or imagined, for another that are not returned. Often the stalker begins with gentle, loving gestures such as flowers and sweet words, but when the object of their affection isn’t open to his or her advances, the stalker is stunned and hurt.
Somewhere along the way, the stalker loses track of love and affection and instead simply wants to impose his or her will. The stalker will threaten, cajole, intimidate and in some instances even kill, rather than allow his or her prey to move on and live their chosen path without him.
That seems to be where the Democrat Party has fallen in its alleged love for America. Many of the left’s advances are being rejected by the American public, so rather than work within the existing framework that is our democratic republic, they have lost track of the greater good, and are instead opting to intimidate and threaten a nation. Some progressives would sooner burn America to the ground rather than give up on their left-wing agenda.
This past week, for the first time in 233 years, someone leaked a draft opinion of a major Supreme Court opinion while the case is still under consideration. The intent was clearly to try and alter the outcome of the decision. The Supreme Court, the highest court in the third co-equal branch of government, throughout its storied history has largely remained above politics, giving it credibility and stability found nowhere else. The leaker would rather burn that stability to the ground than have a decision she disagrees with.
The left’s attacks on the high court aren’t new, just intensified. Last month some liberals called for the impeachment or removal of Justice Clarence Thomas, essentially because his wife was a big Trump supporter. The irony of the left blaming a man for the actions of his spouse can’t be overstated. The fact his wife did nothing illegal only makes it more absurd. Remove a sitting Justice on the Supreme Court simply because we don’t like his rulings.
When Justice Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court he suffered attacks like no other in American history. He was accused repeatedly of sexual assault and drunken misconduct. The left-leaning media reported accusations breathlessly without vetting any of the claims. They seemed markedly disinterested as one by one, the accusers admitted they had never met then-Judge Kavanaugh and they had fabricated their stories. The truth be damned. The credibility of the Court be damned. A lifetime of hard work by the Judge himself be damned. The left would sooner burn the Supreme Court to the ground than accept a Justice they disagreed with.
As the potential to overturn Roe v Wade comes closer to reality, the left is hoping to implement another strategy. Pack the Court. Expand the number of Supreme Court Justices, not because there is any logical or legitimate reason to, but because five or more Biden appointees would give the radical left control of the Court for years to come. Never mind that there have been nine Justices since 1869. Never mind that politicizing the high court will render its credibility non-existent. Simply impose the will of the left at any cost.
The Supreme Court isn’t the only government body or function under attack either. The United States Senate has had the filibuster since being introduced as part of a rule change in 1806. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and nearly all leading voices among the Democrats are shouting to get rid of the filibuster, allowing them to impose their will on anything and everything with a simple majority. 216 years of Senate tradition mean nothing to them if instead, they can get their way.
If Special Prosecutor John Durham’s work is to be believed, one Presidential candidate completely fabricated a connection between the opposing candidate and a foreign enemy, Russia. That campaign was the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign. Clinton’s team then fed the media and the FBI the fictional account. The fact a political campaign was allowed to plant the great lie should be the biggest story of a generation, but politicos and media types alike remain willing to let the false narrative continue to this day because it serves their purposes.
What makes the Russia hoax even worse is that then-CIA Director John Brennan sat down with then-President Obama and told him the Clinton campaign was responsible for the story, but neither man felt compelled to tell the American public. In fact, after Trump became President, Brennan took a position with CNN where he perpetuated the Russia story that his own CIA notes indicate he knew was false.
You may recall the FBI got involved. Fusion GPS, which assembled and distributed the false Trump information, had an employee who was married to a high-ranking FBI official. She apparently made sure the file was delivered to the top brass at the FBI. FBI agent Peter Strzok then utilized the information at his disposal as, in his own words, “an insurance policy” against what he perceived to be an extremely unlikely chance of Hillary Clinton losing the election. The FBI used its resources to birth what would become a two-year, $30 million investigation of a Trump-Russia connection.
The result threw a wet blanket on the Trump agenda from day one. The cost was that more Americans now mistrust (47%) the FBI than trust (46%), according to an April 2022 Golden/TIPP Poll. Burning the credibility of America’s top law enforcement agency is just the price of admission for liberal activists.
Of course, we can’t forget the damage the left has done to the sacred ballot box itself. Hillary still complains in public speeches that her election was “stolen” from her in 2016. Stacy Abrams lost the 2018 Georgia Governor’s race but to this day hasn’t conceded defeat. Instead, she has pushed for national policies that voters shouldn’t have identification and that public collection boxes with no chain of custody should be the norm. Then-candidate Biden was quoted in 2020 as saying a variety of election question comments including, “the only way we lose this is by chicanery going on relative to polling places.” When Trump claimed voter fraud the left scoffed, yet in 2022 some leading voices in Congress are preemptively saying if Democrats lose control of the House in November it will be due to election fraud. Sow the seeds of doubt in the election system itself if it suits your purposes.
Coming full circle to the Supreme Court, liberal groups are calling for disruptions at Catholic Masses this weekend, ignoring the First Amendment, and have published the home addresses for Supreme Court Justices, essentially inviting terror to haunt their families. The Biden White House has refused to condemn the action. In the ultimate irony, organizers of the group publishing the Justices’ personal information, calling it public, have remained anonymous.
Let’s summarize the threatening activity of our stalker, the progressive left. Our stalker is willing to destroy the stability of the deliberative process of the Supreme Court in order to impose its will. Our stalker is willing to push out a sitting Justice without cause and to try and stop a nominated Justice from being seated via ruthless lies, all in an effort to impose its will. Liberals will put the lives of Justices and their families at risk, with the apparent blessing of the White House, in order to further their agenda.
They are willing to abandon a 216-year practice in the United States Senate in hopes of short-term gain. They are willing to let the leadership of the US Intelligence community lie to the American public and stand silent as America is torn apart by baseless accusations about its Commander in Chief. A sitting President was informed the Russia/Trump story was a hoax, but didn’t think it necessary to share that with the public at any time in the ensuing two years of turmoil.
The FBI became nothing more than a political tool and the election process itself has been questioned and challenged to the point of endless doubt in any outcome.
Burn down the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House, the CIA, the FBI and the most democratic practice itself, voting, and what happens? America’s stalker, the Democratic left, finding itself unable to impose its will, is killing its victim instead.
- Tim Constantine is a columnist with the Washington Times.
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