OPINION:
Republicans, MAGA nation and other pro-freedom Americans are still celebrating President-elect Donald Trump’s romp over Vice President Kamala Harris, the mainstream media, Big Tech, public employee unions and the left-wing education complex.
The last couple of weeks have brought with it a lot of back-slapping. Nothing should diminish Mr. Trump’s historic political comeback against such formidable odds.
Let’s not be so deluded, however, as to think that Democrats and socialists didn’t know they were likely to lose. Ms. Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were expendable politicians. The Democrats knew that.
Once President Biden dug in his heels and refused to bail out of the presidential race in time for an open primary cycle, the men behind the curtain of the Democratic Party knew they had a problem.
How could they jettison a Black-Indian woman from the ticket when they made her the queen of intersectionality and diversity, equity and inclusion ideology not four years earlier?
Former President Barack Obama, billionaire liberal donor George Soros and others must have weighed the risks. They knew turning the most underwhelming and unpopular vice president in history into a credible standard-bearer on a dime would be next to impossible.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, one of Mr. Obama’s closest confidants, led the selection of Ms. Harris’ running mate. He chose Mr. Walz, a man so controversial he could probably get elected only in the one state that went for Walter Mondale in 1984.
But it didn’t matter much to them. The last nearly four years of “woke” chaos were worth a possible loss. Mr. Biden’s basement campaign and the cover-up of his diminished capacity gave them one term to accomplish an extraordinary amount for the liberals.
Just as they knew the Affordable Care Act would be a failure and would likely cost Democrats control of Congress in 2010, liberals play the long game. They collapsed the southern border, leading to crime and death but getting millions into the country to start their journey to the polls as a new, reliable Democratic constituency.
If true, this theory should give us all a glimpse into the minds of those who seek to remake American society, to paraphrase Mr. Obama. It shows us that the blood sport of politics is their stock and trade.
Socialists’ approach to obtaining power has always been less Lincoln-Douglas and more “Game of Thrones.”
Sure, winning would have been nice for the Democrats, especially given the time and money they’ve spent to vilify Mr. Trump and Republicans over the last eight years. The advance of the agenda, however, is always more important.
The ladies on “The View” and MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough may have thought that Americans would care more about mean tweets than crime, unchecked illegal immigration, drag queens in schools and nonsensical COVID-19 mandates.
It is reasonable, however, to suspect that Mr. Obama and company would squeeze as much out of the Biden years as possible no matter the cost and then, if necessary, put up two dispensable party apparatchiks to have a go at beating Mr. Trump again. It’s the perfect reason why Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wasn’t selected for the ticket. They wanted to protect him.
There is a culture within the Democratic Party that many find unexplainable but is clearly rooted in this kamikaze approach to driving the nation to the left. It is rooted in an intolerance so strong that it forces formerly rational members of Congress to oppose commonsense legislation.
Democrats have not only vilified Republicans successfully through their friends in the media and Big Tech, but they’ve also created a culture of fear among their own officials. How many moderate Democrats who privately believe the party has become too extreme have received a phone call or knock at the door with a threat? How many have been told they’d never receive another dime of funding if they vote for a Republican bill?
We will never know. What we do know is that it’s working.
A party that believes its politicians are expendable, disposable automatons likely believes the same about the people it purports to serve.
Republicans shouldn’t forget that glory is fleeting. They need to get past their petty squabbles and start singing from the same sheet of music. Democrats will strike back with a vengeance if Mr. Trump doesn’t deliver on tax reform, free speech, border security and global stability.
Liberals play the long game, and Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz were two expendable tools. Democrats are already gearing up to strike back. Don’t believe that Mr. Obama and Mr. Soros really thought this was a winning team or that they’re crying in their Cheerios.
• Tom Basile is the host of “America Right Now” on Newsmax TV and a columnist with The Washington Times.
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