The dissonance was real and profound. I had just got done perusing my social media feed filled with concern trolling over Republican "election denial" that included this masterpiece from embattled Princeton history professor and exposed plagiarist Kevin Kruse:
Besides the obvious, nagging question of whether it was really Kruse that said that or if he pirated the quote off someone else and passed it off as his own, it's flabbergasting that anyone on the political left would be making a "vote-Democrat-to-save-democracy-from-election-deniers" pitch when their anointed one, former President Barack Obama, is out stumping for the queen bee of election denial, Stacey Abrams:
Just stop and piece together how audacious this is. It's no secret that Obama and the entire political left believes that Donald Trump peddled outrageous and conspiratorial lies about election integrity in multiple states following the 2020 presidential election. They continue to boisterously complain that those lies represent a deep and deadly threat to the preservation of our republic. To save our democratic institutions, progressives are begging the public to set aside politics as usual (meaning legitimate concerns over gas prices, gender mutilation of children, inflation, and a cognitively questionable chief executive) and put "country over party."
I can't be the only one who recognizes that the phrase only ever cuts one way. When was the last time you heard anyone advocate "country over party" when it would involve rejecting a Democrat Party candidate? Seriously.
Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, The Lincoln Project, The Bulwark – they all have created an entire political existence out of rejecting Republican candidates in the name of saving democracy. Cheney just de facto endorsed Nancy Pelosi to remain Speaker of the House because electing a Republican to the position wouldn't be "good for the country."
"Democracy matters more than party!" these voices collectively shriek. The Bulwark, for example, has been publishing virtually the same article for months. One of their most recent pretends Democrat Evan McMullin, "agrees with [Sen. Mike Lee] on policy but not on subverting democracy."
Longwell, the publisher of The Bulwark, has a Twitter feed that promotes the election of Democrat congressional candidate Abigail Spanberger, whose campaign slogan – get ready for it – is "Country First." Longwell discusses what Democrats need to do to win the Pennsylvania senate race even with a cognitively impaired John Fetterman, blasts the "violence" of Trump, and "bad, immoral, corrupt behavior" of Republican tribalism as evidenced in the candidacy of Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. Longwell is a Democrat.
Therefore, it's all a one-way street: Election denial is serious, undermining faith in our democratic process, conspiracy mongering about fraud and suppression can cause our institutions to crumble around us, so every patriotic Republican is expected to disavow Trump and prefer Democrats for public office. If they don't, they're an enemy of democracy.
Meanwhile:
Spare me the hand wringing over Trump supporters' "election denial."
Go back to Obama for a moment. The former president rails against the dangers of Trump's election lies that he posits could have destroyed the republic if enough states would have supported Trump's treachery. One of those states he's talking about was Georgia. But there, both Republican Governor Brian Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sided against Trump, despite the personal and political toll it took on them. In other words, they embodied the very kind of "country over party" mentality that Obama and company claim to care about.
And what did it get them? How did Obama and the left reward their patriotism? By campaigning for a notorious election denier to defeat them. It was all empty words spoken by frauds who are every bit the tribalists and threats to democracy themselves. This isn't about election integrity or the preservation of our institutions to them – it's about power for the political left.
Barack Obama doesn't care about the sanctity of the vote. The Bulwark doesn't care about election denial. The Lincoln Project doesn't care about safeguarding democracy. They all care about getting Democrats elected to office, and this whole "country over party" charade is just a means to that end. Don't be played.
