The undemocratic party
– By Howard Sierer –
We have heard literally hundreds of times over the past three years from Democratic Party leaders that only they can “save democracy” by defeating the evil of former President Donald Trump. Trump would become a dictator if elected to a second term.
In June of this year, President Biden posted on X: “Trump is a real threat to this nation. He is a threat to our freedom. He is a threat to our democracy. He is literally a threat to everything America stands for.” The New Republic magazine devoted its June issue to “American fascism” and compared Trump to Hitler.
While I’m not a Trump fan, look at how the people behind the scenes in the Democratic Party are undermining democracy within their party and ignoring their own voters.
While the rest of the nation, including members of both parties, watched Biden’s increasing senility with growing concern, his White House advisers, Democratic leaders in Congress, and their lapdogs in the left-wing media kept telling us how astute he was, how he had a command of the facts and was steering our ship of state. These lies, the cover-up, were exposed for all to see during Biden’s debate with Trump in late June.
Democratic leadership intervened to block Biden’s nomination, using excuses and pressure on state party officials to do everything they could to prevent Robert Kennedy and Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips from appearing on the party’s ballot. Kennedy repeatedly accused the DNC of “rigging” the party’s primaries against him. In campaign emails and videos, he criticized the DNC’s decision not to hold debates between Biden and other candidates. Phillips said Democrats who did not toe the party line on Biden would be punished.
Another telltale piece of evidence: The Democratic National Committee has assigned the Biden stronghold of South Carolina first place on the primary calendar this election cycle, rather than Iowa or New Hampshire, where Biden’s support has been weak.
After Biden’s withdrawal, Democratic voters might have expected debates among the contenders for his party’s nomination, or at least an “open” convention where Biden supporters would have the opportunity to hear the proposals of various candidates and select their own candidate from the plenary.
Instead, party leaders huddled out of sight and chose Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee. Then they flocked to state party leaders, announced their choice, and – as the Democratic Party has demonstrated time and again that it has a tight grip on its members of Congress – forced the convention delegates into a united front and threatened dissent with exile to the party’s Siberia.
Harris’ experience as a candidate for political office is limited to California, where a black woman is assured of victory in a state where identity politics trumps merit. In her only attempt at national office, she announced her candidacy for president in 2019, but received so little support that she withdrew her candidacy before the Iowa caucuses.
As vice president, Biden sent Harris on a futile mission to address the root causes of illegal immigration. It was clear where her sympathies lay on the issue. When she ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, she declared her intention to issue executive orders to end deportations and provide a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Her failure to explain what she was doing as vice president to address immigration issues led to her being heavily criticized by the media. Even liberal broadcaster CNN noted that Harris and her political supporters were far more concerned about her crumbling reputation than about solving the border crisis and implementing immigration legislation.
Harris did not receive a single vote from her party’s voters as a presidential candidate in 2024. Yet she is the standard-bearer of the undemocratic party in November. Compare that to the Republicans.
As always, Donald Trump remains a controversial figure. But his party held a series of debates and primaries in which Republican voters had a real choice, as he faced two experienced candidates: Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida and Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former UN ambassador. Haley in particular was exceptionally well qualified. The Republican primaries were tough and marked by debates with aggressive exchanges between the candidates.
I supported Haley but would have been happy with DeSantis and was disappointed that Trump prevailed. But he was elected by millions of Republican voters, not by some backroom conspiracy of party leaders foisted on us.
So who are the real Democrats with a small “d”? The Undemocratic Party conducted its nomination process in the same way that the former Soviet Union and present-day Russia conduct their backroom selections for the “people’s choice.”
Which party is the threat to democracy? For a short answer, pay attention to when a Democrat in Congress deviates from the almost always strict party alignment when voting on a bill. Don’t any of them have a mind of their own? I’m sure Democratic voters do.
