Victor Davis Hanson
American Greatness
“Destroying democracy”—the latest theme of the left—can be defined in many different ways.
How about attempting to destroy constitutional, ancient, and hallowed institutions simply to suit short-term political gains?
So, who in 2020, and now once again, has boasted about packing the 156-year-old, nine-justice Supreme Court?
Who talks frequently about destroying the 187-year-old Senate filibuster—though only when they hold a Senate majority?
Who wants to bring in an insolvent left-wing Puerto Rico and redefine the 235-year-old District of Columbia—by altering the Constitution—as two new states solely to obtain four additional liberal senators?
Who is trying to destroy the constitutionally mandated 235-year Electoral College by circumventing it with the surrogate “The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?”
Does destroying democracy also entail weaponizing federal bureaucracies, turning them into rogue partisan arms of a president?
So who ordered the CIA to concoct bogus charges of “collusion” to sabotage Trump’s 2016 campaign, the 2016-2017 transition, and the first 22 months of Trump’s first term?
Who prompted a cabal of “51 former intelligence officials” to lie to the American people on the eve of the last debate of the 2020 election that the FBI-authenticated Hunter Biden laptop was instead the work of a “Russian intelligence operation?”
Who ordered the FBI to connive and partner with social media conglomerates to censor accurate news deemed unhelpful to the 2020 Biden campaign?
Who pulled off the greatest presidential coup in history by using surrogates in the shadows to run the cognitively debilitated Biden presidency, then by fiat canceled his reelection effort, and finally anointed as his replacement the new nominee Kamala Harris, who had never won a single primary delegate?
Who ordered FBI SWAT teams to invade the home of a former president because of a classification dispute over 102 files out of some 13,000 stored there?
Who tried to remove an ex-president and leader of his party from at least 25 state ballots to deprive millions of Americans of the opportunity to vote for or against him?
Who coordinated four local, state, and federal prosecutors to destroy a former and future president by charging him with fantasy crimes that were never before, and will never again be, lodged against anyone else?
Who appointed a federal prosecutor to go after the ex-president, who arranged for a high-ranking Justice Department official to step down to join a New York prosecutor’s efforts to destroy an ex-president, and who met in the White House with a Georgia county prosecutor seeking to destroy an ex-president—all on the same day—a mere 72 hours after Trump announced his 2024 reelection bid?
Who but the current Democrats ever impeached a president twice?
Has any party ever tried an ex-president in the Senate when he was out of office and a mere private citizen?
When have there ever been two near-miss assassination attempts on a major party presidential candidate during a single presidential campaign?
Who destroyed the southern border and broke federal law to allow in, without criminal or health background audits, some 10–12 million illegal aliens?
Who created 600 “sanctuary jurisdictions” for the sole purpose of nullifying federal immigration law, in the eerie spirit of the renegade old Confederacy?
Who allowed tens of thousands of rioters, arsonists, and violent protestors over four months in 2020 to destroy over $2 billion in property, kill some 35 people, injure 1,500 police officers, and torch a federal courthouse, a police precinct, and a historic church—all with de facto legal impunity?
How do the purported destroyers of democracy find themselves winning 60–70 percent approval on most of the key issues of our times, while the supposed saviors of democracy are on the losing side of popular opinion?
How does a president “destroy democracy” by his party winning the White House by both the popular and Electoral College vote, winning majorities in both the Senate and House by popular votes, and enjoying a 6–3 edge in the Supreme Court through judges appointed by popularly elected presidents?
So what is behind these absurd charges?
Three catalysts: one, the new anguished elitist Democrat Party alienated the middle classes through its Jacobin agenda and therefore lost the Congress, the Presidency, and the Supreme Court, and now has no federal political power.
Two, the Democrat Party is polling at record lows and yet remains hellbent on alienating the traditional sources of its power—minorities, youth, and Independents.
Three, Democrats cannot find any issues that the people support, nor any leaders to convince the people to embrace them.
So it is no surprise that the panicked Democrats bark at the shadows—given that they know their revolutionary, neo-socialist agenda is destroying them. And yet, like all addicts, they choose destruction over abandoning their self-destructive fixations.
Ron Nixon what I’m prattling about is the fact that the United States citizens who reside in DC do NOT have any federal representation in the form of voting Senators or Congressional Reps. They are therefore taxed WITHOUT representation.
Victor claims the Dems are destroying democracy by advocating that DC be a state. I say that he has forgotten why our glorious nation rebelled against British tyranny: NO TAXATION without REPRESENTATION.
If DC were a Republican stronghold I would feel the same. Where do you STAND on PRINCIPLE?
THank you, Victor Davis Hanson, for your clear thinking and for sharing.
Be well.
Peggy Wegerif
All true, well presented & receipts provided. Why is there any level of uncertainty about the results of the mid terms? Shouldn’t the discussion be limited to whether the Rs pick up more ( or less than) 35 seats in the House? Something is missing & until I know what it is I cannot but wonder if things have past the point of n return
I listened to your recent U-tube podcast and I heard Jack Fowler mention Mount Sinai, but he left it at that. To complete the task, I would like to share what Moses said to the people as they gathered below. With the two stone tablets in hand, still smoking form the finger of God, Moses announced to them, “I have decided to self publish!” And you know the rest of the story… Dr. Stan
Robert,
With all due respect, what on earth are you prattling on about?
This is very important and concise – print it and hand it out to everyone you know and don’t know. Post it up where you can, digitally and physically. VDH is right – we are coming up on violent upheaval from the Left. We need to try to talk down who we can.
21 Bills of Particular.
Well done Dr. Hanson!
I firmly believe that in the English speaking world, President Trump is the only person standing between freedom and tyranny.
Victor Davis Hanson winges and complains about Democrats being upset that DC’s citizens get taxed WITHOUT federal representation.
You’d think a so-called “HISTORIAN” would remember what the revolutionary war was about?
Having grown up in the yellow “Smile” button 1970s U.S.A, I’ve been a lifelong apologetic for my dark viewpoints. But at 62 my age has finally matched my personality. So, Yeah, get off my lawn; yeah, go back where you came from; yeah, the Democrats are the ones busy destroying Democracy and will still win the midterms. And guess what — nothing is going to happen to Schiff, Comey, Brennan, Clapper, McCabe, Hillary, and toss in Fauci as the etcetera. Have a nice day.
Victor, I believe the Dems have been claiming Trump is destroying “our” democracy. Please note this. They don’t mean American democracy, but they do mean one party Democrat soviet style Marxist democracy. They are right. “We” are destroying “their” democracy. I think we’re doing a pretty good job of it, too!
Thank you Victor! It is so important that you repetitively summarize the transgressions of the marxist democratic party! People need to remember and be confronted with the litany of abuses these traitors have inflicted upon the American citizenry. You have correctly implied in recent podcasts that the leftists will attempt a rain of terror reminiscent of the Jacobins in 18th century France. Please believe me that their destructive actions will not go unnoticed by true American citizens. We will not disgrace the patriots who have given their lives so that we have true freedom! I hope this will not be viewed as a threat but as resolve of American values and freedom.
One big problem is that children are not taught to think for themselves, but instead think they way they are told to think by too many parents and now, even teachers. People grow up having someone spoon feed them thoughts and ideas. Independent decisions and critical thinking are not even considered in schools until college. Once in college, they are spurned or even punished for not proving themselves to be wholly indoctrinated.
It’s also no surprise, human nature being what it is, that people still vote for Democrats. Democrats promise people what they want, without delivering it. Democrats claim the mantle of righteousness, of being just, kind, empathetic, and so, voters can feel good about themselves by voting for them.