Remember when Democrats called for peace and unity in the days following the 2016 election of Donald Trump? Neither do I.
In fact, I remember my congressional office being inundated with angry calls from people alleging voter fraud, demanding investigations, and insisting Donald Trump could not be allowed to assume the presidency.
Back then, they wanted a special prosecutor, criminal investigations, lawsuits, and congressional hearings to ensure there would be no peaceful transition of power.
In the months following, the “Resistance” was born. Clinton voters, many from outside my district, packed my town hall in the days following the presidential inauguration.
BIDEN PREACHES UNITY, PROMISES TO ADDRESS CORONAVIRUS CRISIS IN FIRST SPEECH AS PRESIDENT-ELECT
They carried out a well-documented plan to disrupt the meeting, displace many actual constituents, and shout me down. Similar acts of sabotage were replicated around the country, all following a script developed by Resistance activists.
Back then, we were assured protests were the American way. As I recall, when Donald Trump won Joe Biden was the vice president. Never heard a peep from him about unity.
When Democrats hold power, we must be unified and our opposition must be silent. Not to be confused with the rules when Republicans hold power – which are that Resistance is as American as apple pie.
But now in 2020, as Joe Biden proclaims himself the president-elect, it's a "time to heal." Convenient.
"The better angels of America are back," Biden proclaimed to a parking lot of cars and a smattering of people in Delaware Saturday night.
And just like that, “Resistance” is no longer in fashion. The rules have been rewritten.
When Democrats hold power, we must be unified, and our opposition must be silent. Not to be confused with the rules when Republicans hold power – which are that Resistance is as American as apple pie.
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In reality, it's highly unlikely Trump supporters will replicate the violence, the hate, and the looting that characterized so many leftist protests over the last four years. But if Democrats believe Americans are obligated to passively stand by while they pursue an agenda that hurts American workers and limits their fundamental rights, they will be disappointed.
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Former first lady Michelle Obama said Saturday on Twitter, “Let’s remember that tens of millions of people voted for the status quo, even when it meant supporting lies, hate, chaos, and division.”
In other words, Trump voters, more than 70 million of them, are idiots. Doesn’t sound like a move for unity to me.
Americans will not be silent. Instead, we will take the wins President Trump left us and use them to defend against a leftist agenda we believe undermines the very core of American values.
The irony of Saturday's night of celebration for Democrats is that Election Day was actually quite devastating down-ballot. Though they believe they have claimed the presidency, Democrats failed at every other level. And it shocked them.
In the Senate, bad polling told them to expect to flip the chamber. They failed. In the House, Speaker Pelosi last August had projected "double-digit" gains for Democrats. Instead, their majority narrowed. With only some two dozen races left to call, Democrats have failed to defeat a single Republican incumbent and have seen one race after another flip red.
More importantly, the blue wave Democrats hoped would flood state legislatures in the election before the post-census redrawing of Congressional maps never materialized. Republicans control 28 state legislatures and picked up one more governor race to hold 27 state governorships. With redistricting on the horizon, this does not bode well for the future of Pelosi's House majority.
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On top of all of this bad news for Democrats is the reality that they can no longer depend on activist courts to enforce unpopular legislative priorities they are unable to pass in Congress. President Trump's herculean efforts to rebalance America's courts will pay dividends for decades to come.
Whatever happens over the next three months, Republicans will move forward with optimism and confidence. The 2020 election brought new constituencies to the tent, with Trump's share of votes among traditional Democrat constituencies increasing across the board. Latinos, Muslims, LGBT voters, blue collar workers, union members and many others aligned with an emerging coalition that will shape American politics far beyond the 2020 election.