In the United States, what ultimately stopped the growth of power was the realization that through elections, one side would eventually hand over what they had built to their political opponents. This seemed like a reasonable way to prevent tyrannical abuse. The problem is that America's founders did not foresee the emergence of a clear ruling class that could maintain power by controlling the system.
Elections come and go, but institutions remain. Progressives realized that by controlling the professional ranks of permanent bureaucracies, they could give them great power without worrying about fluctuations in democratic politics. A weak and complacent Republican Party, content to simply be included, became invested in the survival of these institutions. This allowed progressives to sprinkle some “bipartisan” appointments into the mix while ensuring these agencies remained under progressive control.
Progressives know, perhaps subconsciously, that they have crossed a line of no return, and fear that given the opportunity, conservatives will become just as ruthless.
The state could continue to grow, and until Donald Trump arrives, Democrats will be able to give these agencies nearly unlimited power without fear of retaliation.
Even though President Trump is deeply flawed and has failed to deliver on many of the changes he promised, he was treated as a mortal threat by the establishment for good reason. As an outsider, he was not heavily invested in the authority of the governing structures and institutions that progressives relied on to maintain control. At times, especially in moments of crisis like the pandemic, Trump has defied the authority of these institutions, leading to some failures. But the mere fact that he was willing to question the establishment shook the ruling elite to its core.
Someone like Mitt Romney will dutifully maintain the status quo until the left regains public power. But a leader like Trump should never have been near the levers of that machine. The administrative state has been given incredible powers, but those powers were never meant to be handed over to real political opponents.
Once President Trump took office, agencies declared all-out war against the Trump administration, breaking rules and ignoring norms that limit billionaires' influence in the system. The media, already hostile to the Republican Party, unleashed an unprecedented vitriol against Trump. The perfect storm of pandemic-induced lockdowns, riots and election-related changes forced the real estate mogul to resign, and the establishment vowed never to bring a populist candidate like Trump to power again.
With a Democrat back in the White House, agencies were quick to retaliate. The January 6 protesters faced severe prosecution from the federal government. Anti-abortion activists similarly faced politically motivated charges and sentencing. Those who served in the Trump administration had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars defending themselves in court, and even Trump's lawyers feared facing prison time.
Mr. Trump faced numerous legal challenges aimed at first bankrupting him, then removing him from the ballot, and finally imprisoning him. When these efforts failed, some Democrats resorted to assassination attempts. The FBI acted increasingly like the SS in the interests of the Democratic Party, and the weaponization of the Justice Department escalated. Under the Biden administration, it has become increasingly illegal to oppose the organized power of the left.
Progressives, horrified by the idea that social media might break the hegemonic control over information the left has enjoyed, have launched a vast censorship industry under the banner of fighting “misinformation and disinformation.” Ta. Democratic politicians, worried that they would be unable to persuade existing American citizens, accelerated ongoing replacement immigration projects. The immigration numbers were so exorbitant and the process so indiscriminate that even the leaders of major blue cities began to complain.
President Trump probably didn't deserve to inflict that level of fear on the heart of the system, but he did, and the immune response nearly decimated the system itself.
current journalist Regularly draft out of breath screeds Trump warned that if he is allowed back into office, he could use the Justice Department as a weapon to prosecute his political opponents. This looks like class hypocrisy to conservatives who have watched Democrats treat the rule of law like a battered housewife.
But the left does more than just project its own actions. The Democratic Party has created an incredibly powerful Leviathan and unleashed it against their political opponents. Intelligence services monitor regime critics, secret police harass and arrest them, and media incite their audiences to violence and sometimes even encourage the killing of political opponents. Progressives know, perhaps subconsciously, that they have crossed a line of no return, and fear that given the opportunity, conservatives will become just as ruthless.
Unfortunately, many conservatives still do not understand the current reality. They continue to act as if American politics follows a strict set of rules in which the most persuasive arguments take precedence and power is transferred peacefully. Their calls for civility and compromise have fallen on deaf ears in a political movement that knows it has passed the point of no return.
The Democratic Party has taken the American people hostage. It built a leviathan of great power and recklessly turned it against its enemies, shattered norms and undermined the rule of law. Progressives know they have broken the rules and are afraid of facing the consequences of their actions if they lose control. This concern may be misplaced. Many on the right lack the desire to retaliate, and Trump has alternated between calls for retribution and offering the FBI a shiny new building.
Nevertheless, the possibility that the right will try to stand firm remains a nightmare for Democrats. Like the other hostage takers, the regime is becoming more paranoid by the day, and its desperation to maintain control is bringing the country closer and closer to ruin.
