Democrats understand that once you’re atop a tiger, you can’t get off. They understand that because they’re living it via their prolonged lawfare campaign against Trump. By pulling out all the stops to stop him, they have raised November’s stakes — and the possibility that their misuse of government offices for political purposes will be investigated — beyond those of a normal presidential election.
How worried Democrats are about losing this November’s presidential election is clear from the unprecedented actions they have taken to win. Going back to last year, they unleashed four legal cases against Donald Trump in separate states. When these did not derail him with the public (his support grew), they turned against their candidate and forced their duly elected nominee out of the race against his will.
On July 21, when Joe Biden withdrew from the race, according to Real Clear Politics’ average of national polling he trailed Trump 39.2 percent to 43.49 percent in a five-way race. He also trailed in the all-important battleground states by 42.3 percent to 46.7 percent. In a head-to-head matchup, he trailed 44.8 percent to 47.9 percent. (READ MORE: Five Quick Things: Easy Predictions For 2024)
Yes, Biden trailed across the board but, (except in some battleground polls), his deficits were within the margin of error. And his polling percentage was hardly unprecedented: Trump had won in 2016 with just 46 percent of the popular vote and Clinton had in 1992 with just 43 percent. There was certainly nothing in Biden’s numbers that should have made Democrats subvert their own voting process — and undercut their election message that they were battling to save democracy — and depose their nominee less than four months before the election.
So, why did Democrats do what had never been done before by either party? They would have America believe that it was because of Trump, continuing their demonization that allows any means to justify their end of keeping him from the White House. Or they would tell you that their programs (such as their environmental extremism) are too vital to the nation to be sacrificed. Or that the economy would suffer from a curtailment of their extravagant spending.
However, what Democrats really fear is that the lawfare they unleashed on Trump will come back to bite them if they relinquish the reins of power. This is not the retribution that they sanctimoniously claim — some vindictive tit-for-tat — but the revelation of their misuse of government power for partisan political ends.
The direction Democrats intended to go with Trump was clear as early as 2019 when, following their midterm win of the House, they unveiled a barrage of over 80 investigation targets. However, even with control of the Senate after the 2020 election, congressional oversight paled in comparison to what the executive branch offered in terms of power.
Questions about how this power was used go back to Russia-gate and federal efforts’ reliance on material that officials should have at the least known to be spurious. Leap forward to the present and there are questions as to how much coordination there was between the four state prosecutions of Trump and the executive branch. In between, there is no shortage of actions (illegal immigration alone would warrant a herculean examination) that raise serious questions about the proper use of executive branch power. (READ MORE: The Manchurian by Way of Minnesota Candidate)
Nor are all the questions political targeting per se. There is a recent admission by Mark Zuckerberg that the administration pressured him to censure material during COVID-19. There should be questions from the same period as to how much influence teacher unions wielded —and how — in determining the continuation of national school closures.
What Democrats refused to properly investigate is as egregious as what they have questionably done. Hunter Biden’s influence peddling — and to what extent his family was involved — is clearly one. There’s also his plea deal, which was so blatantly biased that the judge threw it out. This is especially true after his guilty plea on all nine federal tax charges yesterday. How was such a deal agreed to in the first place? And then there’s the messy issue of cocaine being found in the White House — and the (likely) even messier one of what became of that investigation.
Overdosing on their own partisan rhetoric, Democrats allowed themselves the luxury of justifying any and all means of driving Trump from office and keeping him from returning to it. Having so determined, they did. And some of those means almost certainly included using government power in ways never constitutionally intended.
Democrats know that, if they retain the White House, there will be little serious examination of what they have done and who was involved. And another four more years should provide enough time for everyone to have forgotten or lost interest in what was done.
Yes, if Republicans hold one house — or even both houses — of Congress there can be investigations. But Republican committees would have to coordinate and make a compelling case, and the establishment media would have to cover them. None of these is likely. (READ MORE: The Spectacle Ep. 143: Americans Still Care About Illegal Immigration)
But if Democrats lose the White House, Republicans will have the tools to investigate — ultimately to the point of appointing special counsels should the facts warrant. Largely independent in scope and funding and with the ability to indict, subpoena, and issue search warrants, Democrats have learned through their own use of them that special counsel investigations can take on a life of their own—and these lives can lead to a judicial system that is far harder to extricate from than the press cycle: it was special counsel David Weiss’s investigation that has now caused Hunter Biden to plead guilty on all nine tax charges. Democrats also know that this is all the more likely with the wealth of questionable actions they have left behind.
Democrats climbed on the tiger. It promised quite a ride. It delivered. For years. But now, atop the tiger, they cannot get off because they fear it might turn on them.
J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987-2000, served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 2001-2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004-2023.
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