Retribution

In an political environment in which context and past history mean nothing, the the Democrats and their trained hamsters in the media have amazingly short memories. Way back during the first term of the Obama administration, Republican leaders were rightly castigated for admitting publicly that they would work to defeat Barack Obama in 2012. The Dems and their media hamsters hyperventilated, suggesting that investigations into the weaponization of government agencies (think: the IRS scandal) or the debacle that is now known as Benghazi (think: lies about the reasons for four American deaths) were unjustified. They screamed about the intransigence of the GOP to move forward Obama's agenda; they bridled at any suggestion of government corruption (think Hillary's pay for play charity operation—The Clinton Foundation) or criminality (think: 30,000 deleted emails) was anything but politically motivated.

Fast forward to 2019. The Dems now proudly say their primary objective is the utter destruction of a sitting president, the investigation of not only real or perceived government wrong doing, but also of him and his family. They don't see the irony of their current position and never, ever would admit that they're doing exactly what the GOP did, but have elevated it in both viciousness and intensity.

The editors of the Wall Street Journal give us what I believe are reasonably accurate prediction for the next few years:

The 2018 Democrats ran on no discernible agenda beyond rejecting Donald Trump and all his works. The animating purpose of Congress will be investigations to damage, and perhaps impeach, the President to tee up total Democratic control after 2020.

Mr. Trump’s tax returns and foreign business dealings will get frequent star turns. Democrats think they can prove Mr. Trump has exploited his office for personal enrichment, or in some way that matters to Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. If not, at least they’ll embarrass the Trump family. Ivanka and Jared should prepare for subpoenas and dives into their email habits and security clearances.

Democrats will also run investigations into payments to Stormy Daniels; the Administration’s policy of separating children at the border; and every consultation with a business about a deregulatory decision. House Democrats will trail every cabinet officer down to whether he ordered a cocktail on a commercial flight. This will present even greater problems in staffing federal agencies.

On policy, Mrs. Pelosi owes her speakership to the left and she will tilt that way. She is already facing a revolt on the left over a rules change to impose pay-as-you-go budgeting. Liberals think it will hamstring their spending plans. That’s fine with us since Paygo, as it’s known, was always more political eyewash than genuine fiscal restraint.

The real House tension will be between the new socialist vanguard and the 30 or so Democrats who won in GOP-leaning districts. It will be instructive to see how many defect from the Green New Deal or Medicare for All if Mrs. Pelosi dares to bring those to the floor.

One certainty is the end of pro-growth legislation. The trend will be toward higher taxes, more regulation and more harassment of business. The new House rules have already cashiered “dynamic scoring” that forced the Congressional Budget Office to think about how a proposal affects the economy. Dynamic scoring isn’t some GOP effort to prove taxes “pay for themselves” but a tool that informs lawmakers of economic costs and trade-offs and can improve policy.

What the Dems can't seem to process is what goes around comes around. They will establish a truly toxic political atmosphere in which the politics of destruction predominates. They may even succeed in the short term, but in the long run, they'll pay a very significant price. They think they'll establish a socialist "wall" (excuse the term) by creating a leftist utopia in which government controls every aspect of our lives (think: "medicare for all" or the "new green deal"). Because the Dems believe that all citizens (and non-citizens) will love the utopia they create, they will lock out those of us in the center or on the right from power in perpetuity. That's magical thinking, but then again, that's the stock in trade among many on the Left.

And when they lose power as their utopia crumbles—and that is certain to happen—there will be retribution. It won't be pretty, and it certainly won't be good for the country the Dems keep telling us is their primary concern.