In 2013, former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal challenged the GOP to “stop being the stupid party.” Bizarre remarks and behaviors from party leaders damaged the brand and kept it in the political wilderness, he believed: Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment, Christine O’Donnell’s “I’m not a witch” campaign ad, Michele Bachmann, an early front-runner in the 2012 primary, claiming Sept. 11 and Benghazi came as the result of God’s judgment, etc.
It isn’t hard to see that he had a point. Indeed, Republicans didn’t lose a pair of landslide elections to Barack Obama because they didn’t fight hard enough — or curse enough. They lost because they were stupid; they believed stupid things, said stupid things, and raised up stupid leaders. And the public rejected them for it.
This is the state in which Democrats find themselves today.
Let’s stipulate, as many Democrats suggest, that President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., is primarily a political stunt intended to drive the media narrative away from poor economic data and the Jeffrey Epstein saga.
Why would they continue to play his puppets, chasing every provocation with knee-jerk outrage? Why would they spout such operatic nonsense as Sen. Chris Von Hollen did this week, saying of Trump’s move, “He’s playing dictator in our nation’s capital as a dress rehearsal as he pushes democracy to the brink,” or as Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) did, saying Trump is, “rolling out the dictator playbook.”
Political commentators have spilled oceans of ink teasing out the reasons Democrats keep losing, from economic dissatisfaction to shifting voter coalitions to cultural backlash. But it isn’t as complicated as all that. They’re just stupid.
No one beyond the establishment bubble believes that democracy is at stake because Trump exercised his Constitutional duty to provide Congress a safe area to conduct the nation’s business. Pretending this amounts to a fascist takeover only adds to the perception that Democrats and their media allies are unstable. We’ve heard the same thing for a decade, after all. America has maxed out on doomsday fervor.
Democrats must know that dying on this hill feeds the perception that they are not only soft on crime but content with the safety and security of cities such as D.C. They must know this will all pass from the news cycle in a matter of days and that these perceptions are all that will linger in the public consciousness. They must, right?
But apparently they don’t. I guess it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. These are, after all, the same people who believe things that are so stupid that any earnest four-year-old could point them out. Boys have boy parts, and girls have girl parts. Countries have borders. Police officers keep cities safe.
DARK CUOMO IS THE HERO GOTHAM NEEDS AND DESERVES
I’m personally less of a “crush the Democrats” kind of conservative than most on the Right today. I think the total collapse of one party in a two-party system is bad for the nation, as strong competition breeds innovation and responsiveness, while unchecked power breeds arrogance and corruption. I’d prefer to see Democrats take an off-ramp from their insanity every now and again, if only to keep the system working.
But this current iteration of the Democratic Party serves no one’s interests, least of all Democrats themselves. They need to prune their ranks of the weak and the stupid, much as Trump did for the GOP in 2016. Until then, they’ll remain in the wilderness, swaying like marionettes under Trump’s pull.
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