Democrats Sacrifice Their Own to Play the Long Game

In our post-Harvey Weinstein environment, the Democratic Party is suddenly the moral compass of the nation.

This is the party that heralded the late Sen. Edward (Ted) Kennedy as the “Lion of the Senate” despite Chappaquiddick; it ignored the Monica Lewinsky affair to overwhelmingly support former President Bill Clinton; and, most recently was silent to the underage sexting habits of former Rep. Anthony Weiner.

But that was then; this is now.

What’s changed is that now they have President Donald Trump to impeach, a man so apolitical that he actually keeps his campaign promises.

Teflon Donald

The Democratic Party thought they had the 2016 election in the bag, but they took the votes of the Rust Belt’s blue collar union workers for granted, and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin went to the red column.

So they demanded recounts in key states and failed again.

They then implored the electors to vote contrary to their state’s voters and failed again.

When they cried that the Electoral College was unfair, no one listened and again they failed.

Hillary Clinton inaugurated her “resist” movement, which turned out to be as big a failure as she was as a candidate — another failure.

When the party of Jefferson and Jackson claimed Trump colluded with the Kremlin, the only evidence of collusion involved the DNC and the Clinton campaign — another failure.

So media outlets came to their rescue and reported “smoking guns” indicating corruption.

ABC News claimed candidate Trump ordered his pick for national security advisor to contact Russians. That failed — fake news — leaving Democrats feeling as empty as they did on November 8, 2016, when hopes for a Clinton presidency were dashed.

CNN’s report that Trump colluded with WikiLeaks was another failure — more fake news.

A New Strategy

And then along came Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) — each accused of sexual misconduct. They became the party’s sacrificial lambs. Although the men were sacrificed, their seats were not — both are safely Democratic.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi initially referred to Conyers as an icon and was reluctant to ask for his resignation, citing due process. But after reconsidering, she decided that constitutional niceties took a back seat to politics and led the chorus calling for his removal.

There were no false starts when it came to Franken. Not only did New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand call for Franken’s head, but she took it a step further. Gillibrand, a long-time Clinton supporter, said that former President Bill Clinton should have resigned after the Lewinsky scandal.

That cracked open the door revealing the Democratic game plan.

The door was opened further when Franken announced he was stepping down. Speaking in the Senate chamber, where members enjoy immunity from libel suits, he took a shot at both Trump and GOP senatorial candidate Roy Moore of Alabama.

"I, of all people, am aware that there is some irony in the fact that I am leaving while a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault sits in the Oval Office and a man who has repeatedly preyed on young girls campaigns for the Senate with the full support of his party," he told the members.

Bring on the Aggrieved

Right on cue, Trump’s accusers were paraded on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today.” They each recited encounters with Trump that took place long before he entered politics. They made the same claims during the election. Trump denied them then and the voters discounted them. The White House denied them again.

"These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year's campaign, and the American people voiced their judgment by delivering a decisive victory," a White House spokesperson said. "The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only forth confirms the political motives behind them."

But due process, including presumption of innocence, has little meaning in this new age. After all, Conyers and Franken were denied it.

Denial of basic due process rights worked to keep a Republican in the deep red state of Alabama off the U.S. Senate Tuesday night. As a result, Doug Jones became the first Democrat the Yellowhammer State sent to that body in a generation.

Why shouldn’t it work to oust a president in a deeply divided United States? That’s the scary part. Trump is, after all, the Big Kahuna.

Although the will of the people matters little to the Democratic Party, I’m betting that the “Teflon Donald” magic will continue to hold.

Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He’s also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.