Victor Davis Hanson // American Greatness
Victimizers quickly becoming victims is a recurrent theme of Thucydides’ history. In his commentary on the so-called stasis at Corcyra, he offers his most explicit warning about the long-term dangers of destroying legal institutions, customs, and traditions that serve the common good for short-term gain.
The historian notes that in the inevitable yin and yang of politics, the destroyers inevitably will seek, but do so in vain, refuge in what they have destroyed. Between 2017 and 2021 the Left has done exactly that.
What was common to the media’s deification of the criminally minded Michael Avenatti, and the promotion of a series of abject hoaxes? Do we remember the Steele “dossier,” the supposed authority of Fusion-GPS, the Schiff “report,” and the entire Russian “collusion” yarn?
“Trump Winds and Biden Whirlwinds” is one of the best of the many David Hansen posts I have read. Thank You!
I find myself becoming more & more open to a little good old fashioned retribution. The Democrat Party clearly does not fear any consequences and acts accordingly. More than anything I want them to start looking over their shoulders. There have certainly been sufficient abuses to justify penalties and we know without penalties human nature is selfish. We should act accordingly. The time for forgive & forget is over.
Today the Professor heavily uses the interrogatory about what the ruling class is doing to its own populace and then wonders what it might mean if the right turns the tables — thus proving the Professor has no grasp of either history or the nature of ruling class power, which is far more than that which is acquired by some dudes after a mid-term election.
Even as VDH sketches out his possible Republican tit-for-tats the reality of what he is contemplating sneaks up on him. That reality is defeat. His side has already lost and is impotent.
But not the ruling class. They don’t need his stinkin’ metrics! They do what they like and the Professor, the Republicans and everybody else better get used to it.
A GOP Congress not only won’t reciprocate for the stunts the Democrats pulled, it can’t. Precedent, schmecedent— It doesn’t have the institutional muscle, let alone the will, to make anyone lose his professorship, her committee assignments or their livelihood. That is the domain of real power. Only the people who have conquered a country and who now rule it as true sovereigns can do that.
Professor, remember what a sovereign is.
It is he who makes the exceptions to the rules.
I am a follower of VDH. Logical, intelligent and courageous.
I have been around too long. I am 81 and remember that this country used to be at least somewhat fair and democratic. It is hard to believe that in less than 2 years all that has been taken away from us and we have let it happen by not standing up to those who think they have the right rule the world. They act like the spoiled children who are so used to getting their way by whining and crying and stamping their feet. People like AOC dumb as a doorknob as they used to say or the worst, Ilhan Omar who was allowed to come here from an oppressed country and now even with all she has been given, disrespects this country that allowed her the voice to trash it. She should be sent back where she came from so she can remember why she wanted to come here in the first place.
Like so many, Dr. Hanson is missing the obvious. These people are amoral, unmitigated thieves.
In NYC, deBlasio’s wife has accumulated tens of millions through her “minority outreach” company that will never be audited and has reached no one. Omar’s third husband, her second was her brother in a fraud scheme, has received millions in unstated ‘services’. Peter Schweizer has written books using public records on the thievery. Pelosi used her position on the Transportation Committee to option (steal) land from citizens where & when she knew in advance, ie insider trading, interstates were going or were expanding, Univ of Chicago created a special position for Michelle Obama, and ‘reorg-ed’ it, ie deleted it, when she moved to DC, and her competence was so exceptional that she ‘increased’ the programs efficacy from 3% all the way up to 2.4% when the goal was 4.5% – and she was disbarred for insurance fraud – the Clinton Crime Family has accumulated hundreds of millions in pay for play schemes – and let’s not forget the ‘white privilege’ of Chelsea- Maxine Waters’ husband, as a banker & financial consultant, received millions in ‘bail-out’ money, and Michelle Malkin has documented billions more in corrupt deals, remember Michelle Obama’s Princeton buddy getting $1,000,000,000 for the non-working Obama-Care website that Microsoft said that they weren’t allowed to bid on, and would have cost about $400M, and that it have actually worked?
It’s about the easy theft of tax-dollars.
Solindra, anyone?
Them chickens will soon come home to roost.
Long I have wondered when the slimy criminal tactics of the left will be foisted back upon the authors of this debasement. Will Comey, Clapper et al. be charged with perjury? Us deplorable stiffs have lost trust in the federal government and the alphabet soup of unaccountable bureaucrats scheming in the dark. We can now see the radical left feels free to express their true agenda and it scares any reasonable person. I can only hope the Trump constituents will recognize that turnabout may be the solvent to sanitize our systemic rot.
How sad that we must resort to rolling in the very dirt we detest.