Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
The Left has gone mad over Donald J. Trump—past, present, and future.
The current Democratic Party and NeverTrump “conservatives” assumed that Trump was and remains so obviously toxic that they do not have to define exactly what his evil entails.
Accordingly, they believe that any means necessary are justified to stop him. And furthermore, these zealots, when out of power, insist such extraordinary measures should not be emulated and institutionalized by their opponents, much less ever boomeranged back upon their creators.
In this context, the Republicans retaking control of the House of Representatives once again raises the question whether they should reply in kind.
Given the current investigation following the Mar-a-Lago raid, should there also be a mirror-image special prosecutor to examine President Biden’s lost stash of classified documents in his insecure office following his vice presidency?
Can House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ever be considered too inflammatory, given that his predecessor, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tore up the president’s State of the Union address on national television?
How many Democratic House members should be denied committee assignments to remind the Congress that Pelosi’s rejection of Republican nominees was a terrible precedent?
How many congressional subpoenas with threats of criminal prosecution and performance-art arrests should be issued to Democratic politicos to stop the criminalization of political differences?
In our current age, will all former president’s private homes, closets, and drawers now be subject to FBI raids to ensure that “classified” documents were not wrongly stored there?
Are Joe Biden’s current homes also a logical target, given his sloppy handling of classified foreign policy papers—eerily reminiscent of an abandoned laptop belonging to son Hunter Biden and daughter Ashley Biden’s lost diary?
Was it ever a good idea to impeach a first-term president the moment he lost his party’s majority in the House—but without any hope of a conviction in the Senate? Would such a similar impeachment send a warning to Biden to honor his oath of office and start enforcing U.S. immigration law?
Does a phone call now an impeachment make, on the grounds that Trump mixed domestic politics with foreign policy?
But was Trump’s Ukrainian call that much different from Barack Obama’s 2012 quid pro quo in Seoul, South Korea, where he asked the Russian president to convey a deal to Vladmir Putin: stay calm and give Obama space during his reelection bid while Obama in turn would be flexible on missile defense.
Putin did just that and put off invading Ukraine until Obama was reelected. And Obama made sure there was no joint missile defense projects in Eastern Europe. Was that deal in America’s interest, or Obama’s own and thus similarly impeachable?
Or consider Joe Biden mixing foreign policy and politics on the eve of the midterm elections. For example, he kept draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to dangerously low levels while begging hostile foreign dictators to pump more oil.
Thereby Biden sought to win votes from angry commuters buffeted by high fuel prices. And he also appeased the Left by not ordering more drilling for gas and oil. Was that gambit in the nation’s—or Joe Biden’s—best interest?
What is wrong with the House investigating whether the FBI infiltrated and contracted social media companies to warp news coverage and suppress free expression of American citizens?
The Left certainly thought it was necessary in 1975 for the Church Committee to investigate the CIA. That committee found the agency was contracting new organizations to front for its covert operations, while partnering with telecommunications corporations to monitor the data of citizens on CIA watch lists. Sound familiar to today’s FBI?
Was it a good idea for the Democratic House to release Trump’s tax returns?
If the Republican House were to do the same with the Biden consortium’s tax records, would the result be far more incriminating?
There was much talk once in Congress of evoking the 25th Amendment to remove a supposedly mentally impaired Trump. A Yale psychiatrist was even paraded before Congress to attest the president was dangerously unbalanced. Calls for aptitude testing resulted in Trump acing the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
Should the House now follow the Democrats’ precedent? Should medical professionals review all of Biden’s incoherent utterances, his fantasy biographic tales, and his often physical fragility and determine whether he is non compos mentis? Is that a precedent we wish to follow?
When a defeated first-term president leaves office and vows to return in four years, is it wise to impeach and try him as a private citizen?
Did not the House impeach Trump in part because he warned the Ukrainians that Joe Biden, a possible opponent in 2020, was likely corrupt? Do the endless Democratic efforts to go after Trump, a possible Biden opponent in 2024, constitute far more than a Trump single phone call to the president of Ukraine?
Somehow supposedly worldly and sophisticated partisans in their self-righteousness ignored ancient laws of what goes around comes around, of Karma, of Nemesis, of payback’s a bit—h, and all that stuff.
We are living in “The Twilight Zone”. I find great comfort in knowing God is in charge. I also find great comfort in Mr. Hanson’s truth. Thank you.
There is a big difference between the Trump Mar-A-Lago classified documents and Biden’s classified documents recently discovered.
Trump’s classified documents were stored at Mar-A-Lago, a site under 24 hour per day Secret Service control….one of the most secure structures in the Country. Biden’s were in one or more unguarded offices, readily available to anyone with 3rd degree burglary skills.
Hey! My elf had to kill a LOT of dire rats to get her 3rd degree burglary skills!
The PTSD of the Left (Post Trump Stress Disorder) is a manifestation of the Estrogen Nation the United States has become in the past 22 years. Anything male related gives the Left a case of the vapors, and the only individuals who can be allowed to be masculine are lesbians.
I don’t know for what to wish! Vengeance ? Yes! But then God has told us that vengeance belongs to Him. So, I pray that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. …and then I vote and write to my representative and the senators from my state and turn them over to God… but I’m only human, and their behavior rankles. I live in Washington State.. and thank God it’s not California or Oregon…yet.
All very valid points, however, if your singular focus isn’t election integrity, then whatever else you are pursuing is a distraction.
Victor David Hanson , American greatness. It’s amazing how well he illustrated the craziness goes with the power, and the incompetence goes with the losers.
I firmly believe the only way to backtrack to excellence is the constitutional convention to restore term limits for every single government position.
The most dastardly products of this government was performed by the FDA. They in collusion with crooked doctors and pharmaceuticals decided a new pain. Medicine was better than what we had. Darvon and Darvon component. .FENTANYL what is put it on the market at the removal of the other drugs that were safe and not addicting fentanyl is a killer and proven
No there should be no “performance-art” arrests of democrats, or rejecting democrats strictly for political purposes but…..
Removing Schiff and Swallwell from Intel committee is entirely appropriate due to their compromised positions, Schiff for his lying and Swallwell for his China-doll affair. Omar’s removal from foreign affairs is likewise appropriate. All 3 individuals can be appointed to other committees, unlike Pelosi’s removal of MTG from all committees.
We no longer need FBI raids on home of individuals commiting misdemeanor offenses and unless any person is a threat there is no need for ‘guns and sirens’ when a simple phone call will get cooperation. Most of these FBI raid arrests were strictly DOJ power trips and totally unnecessary as well as costly to the taxpayers.
Although none of this will be corrected until the Executive and the DOJ are replaced.
Any consequenses for FBI thugs “just following orders”?
Elections have consequences. Especially STOLEN ELECTIONS SUCH AS 2020 AND NOW 2022!!!
How about asking a few of these questions:
1. Why were election counts stopped on November 3, 2020 when Trump had a substantial lead?
2. Why do all state and federal courts refuse to give the whislteblower election crime cases standing?
3. Why do you not review 2000 Mules and ask why no charges made and people arrested?
I could go on but WHEN WILL YOU ADMIT 2020 POTUS ELECTION WAS STOLEN FROM TRUMP AND THAT IS THE SOURCE OF ALL OUR CURRENT PROBLEMS AND ANSWERS ALL THE QUESTIONS YOU POSED IN YOUR POST?
Have a nice day.
Not to be too gross but it would be fun if a SWAT team raided Biden’s residence and searched through Jill’s underwear drawer like they did to somebody else?… provided this time they’re all masked and double gloved.
Melania’s so hot they thought there might be uranium in her’s.
Yes, “what goes around comes around”, is unfortunately necessary in this case. If Congress doesn’t act to investigate, counter and make public the recent excesses of the Left, then mainstream media will continue their cover-up of Democrats’ abuse of the entire American population, solely for benefit of democrat politicians. Zero interest in the common good.
The lesson for America is NOT clear. 2016 Media moderators’ cynical positioning of expected-loser Trump vs. Clinton in 2016 POTUS debates backfired in their faces. They deliberately blocked several good D & R candidates. America lost. It’s been all Trump Derangement Syndrome since then. Caused by Ds and media. And suffered by the polite, quiet 60+% in the middle.
Thoughts on two recent VDH posts…
Re: “What Caused the Political Hysteria of the Left?”
and “The Coup We Never Knew”
Is poor quality of our elections a ROOT CAUSE of our ineffective political discourse? And should ELECTORAL PROCESSES REFORM be a priority for election of QUALITY OFFICIALS focused on collaborating for the COMMON GOOD, not for their personal interests?
To get QUALITY Elected Officials:
1. Open primary; candidates from all parties @Pol_Innovation
2. Disciplined debates; quality moderators, not self-serving #Media
3. FCC license should require all media to carry all debates
4. 4 to 8 debates; drop a candidate after each;
5. Final 5 candidates in election @Pol_Innovation
6. #RankedChoiceVoting or #ApprovalVoting to elect winner > 50% of votes
7. Efficient, standardized auditing of ballots
8. Term limits for legislators; max 4 terms?
I’ve done deep analysis of RCV. Respectfully, you are wrong about the fairness of this voting scheme. It is easily manipulated by the left to elect a person who is NOT the popular choice. Either you are a plant or you are misinformed. Sorry. The Alaska elections are a perfect example of how the RCV idea produces less than optimal results. If you want to elect a person who is NOT the popular choice then RCV is your weapon. The lie that is RCV is hidden in the complexity. Few can fully understand how it works. That’s why shysters promote it. Have you done a deep dive on how it really works? Or are you just accepting the normal blather that it is inherently “fair”. I could explain it to all readers here but it would take more than this little box to do so. RCV is a terrible idea.
What is really scary is the way the lib dem commie elites have gone all in. It seems they have pushed ALL their chips to the center of the table, as if they somehow KNOW there won’t be a 2024.
I’ve noticed that, too.
Still don’t know why the left, and many other seemingly rational people, are so foaming at the mouth mad at Donald Trump. Of course he has baggage, but so do many other popular politicians, many with more egregious faults and deeds than he. One can only conclude it’s because he is not their guy and refuses to be bought.
At any rate, I believe we were better off under his leadership, mean tweets and all.
Retaliation enough to sting, make the point . . . 80-90%?
I recommend rifling Joe’s lingerie drawer for any evidence of… Eulalie…
Maybe retaliate enough to sting and make a point.
Victor, our bureaucracy may well be Charles 1’s Court of the Star Chamber, without Charles. Could it be that the people pulling Garland’s strings are not the politicos in the White House, but his nominal subordinates in the super grades of the civil service? Biden said that he did not order the raid on Trump’s house, for example. I wonder how many people are hoping that the bureaucracy hunts down Biden, just as they have tormented Trump? Too many people surrendered their health care, and even the right to informed consent, out of unreasoning fear coupled with an equally irrational trust in “civll servants”. Has our bureaucracy metastasized into the Borg? This is pretty far out, but it does conform to our recent history.
Sure payback is warrented.Biden certainly needs to to take a cognitive exam.Anyone who says otherwise is a liar.
I’ll add to the last bit: turnabout is fair play. However, while the new Congress is breathing fire at the moment, we’ll see how it unfolds as some skittish Republicans might fear getting caught in the net of retribution.
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
The problem here is that Professor Davis is only preaching to this own ready-made audience. Who else would be reading his commentary? Implicit in his questions is the notion of symmetry. There is no symmetry within the Beltway. Biden got 93% of the vote in D.C. in 2020, and the surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia, among the wealthier per capita in the whole country, were not that much fewer. Professor Davis’s comments are always cogent and incisive, but even in this column he has failed to address the real issue: Why do so many people vote to keep the Democrats in power? What is the actual composition of the coalition the Democrats have managed to stitch together to achieve and maintain their power?
Simple answer to “Why do so many people vote to keep Democrats in power?” – They get more money rather than keep some of what they already have.
I had a great response yesterday. Somehow it went “poof!” when I posted. Condensed version follows.
I played competitive basketball “down at the park” or local gym for decades. At times the contests of 3-on-3 half-court ball would become spirited. Despite a strong desire from all players to win (and keep the court), the normal course was to play hard but not get overly physical. But once in a while that type of basketball etiquette would completely break down. Voices got louder, threats would commence, and hard fouls would accompany every jump shot and/or drive to the basket. The players abandoned all the regular rules of park basketball and replaced them with one goal: win. Interestingly, the rate of self-called ticky-tack fouls also increased.
When the “fun time at the park” was replaced by “I’m going to beat you into submission”, you had to make a decision. The smart vote went to “I’ve had enough. I’m going home. These people are animals.”
The problem is: you can’t win if you just leave the field and go home.
We have no choice. We must stay and fight. We need payback and we need vengeance.
I believe that our elected officials should apply the rule of law fairly and uniformly to all; regardless of elected office, political affiliation, race, sex, or any other unique qualifier. If done so now, under a Republican majority in the House of Representatives, it will indeed look like retribution. I’m ok with that, so long as we also investigate the politically corrupt and compromised government agencies that have been weaponized against the American people.
Yes, another Church Committee is necessary. I would go even further and say that the only current remedy to these poisonous government agencies is the total dissolution of them all. There is no need for the FBI, which has a long and storied history of being weaponized at the whims of the President, the CIA, which has violated its charter and targeted United States citizens, the ATF, whose current job is to enforce unconstitutional gun control laws, and the IRS, who likewise has been weaponized against the people. However, none of the things mentioned above will matter one iota unless we retake control of our nation’s borders and most of all secure our nation’s elections.
Without secure borders and tamper-proof elections, our country has no hope of returning from the brink of destruction upon which we currently sit.
I am in blood / Stepped in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er (Macbeth III. 4.136–8).
Time to start naming the individuals who do not conspire together but only work together as a coincidence.
The Democrats have declared war on Republicans. If Republicans don’t immediately respond in kind — absent the illegality — we will lose. It’s time to fight for what we believe in. Frankly, I think the Republican Party doesn’t have what it takes to play in this sandbox. The next few years will prove that conservatives need a new party, if it isn’t already too late.
Did President Trump “…have what it takes to play in this sandbox..” ?
Trump has been the only true fighter. So many weak republicans and never- Trumpers standing in the way.
👍
Honestly if we roll over we’re done. They’ve given us no choice use the same tactics they use on us. Fight fire with fire. The days of gentility are over