Trending
In 1920, the Republican Party won a landslide victory with Warren Harding crushing Democratic nominee James Cox. It was also a referendum on Woodrow Wilson, whose preachiness on everything from foreign policy to democracy wearied the American people. Harding, sensing this, stated that the nation needed "not nostrums but normalcy." Harding at least had the sense to know that enough was enough when it came to Wilson's crusades.
A trend toward "normalcy" is evident in this present campaign. Joe Biden rails against Donald Trump and seems eager to convict him prior to November. Also, Biden is pursuing a foreign policy akin to Wilson, in that he wants to "save the world for democracy" even if he forgets about it at home. Critics are hammered for being undemocratic simply because they do not agree with the administration.
Take the case of Katy Tur of MSNBC, who was accused by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of being pro-Trump because she simply noted that COVID-19 may have been less than the crisis depicted. Opponents of the Ukraine buildup are accordingly pandering to Vladimir Putin if they are prudent in their concerns. Murmurs of evoking the Espionage Act of 1918, a Wilson special, are heard. The Democratic National Committee actively attempts to keep RFK Jr. off the ballot, no doubt to save "democracy" from Trump. Ah, destroying the village in order to save it. Nothing's more Wilson or Bidenesque.
Although some of the Trump trials have some merit, they seem at this stage to be vengeful. Take Stormy Daniels for instance and the hush money. Again, Harding comes to mind. He had an amorous streak which cost the Republican National Committee dearly in paying off mistresses. The American people could care less, then or now. The outrage from the party of Bill Clinton is both delicious and ironic. If the trial continues, Trump might just win New York.
Biden is riding the last furlong of the new progressive era. It is a period of political correctness, humorless and predictable. Jerry Seinfeld's observation that comedy has been ruined by such trends is fully on the mark. Sensitivity has been weaponized to such a degree that having a forbidden thought is considered risky. Critical thinking, once touted by liberalism, is now distorted by censorship. Complexity -- note the dialogue of issues such as Ukraine and Israel have deteriorated to such a degree to sloganeering and militancy.
A warning to "progressives" who think threats to suppress old allies on the left might be expedient in the short run should contemplate the "Red Scare" of 1919-1920. It was Wilson who helped lay the foundation for the FBI. And tough immigrations which Wilson did not want had roots in heavy-handed patriotism. This helped accelerate the Ku Klux Klan's return. Simple-minded moralism was urged by people whose beliefs were more complex than advertised.
Trump seems to understand his support is not rooted in just adoring fans. Like Harding, he feels voters have had enough of turmoil and moralizing. Wilson threw the Socialist Eugene Debs into jail for opposing World War I. Harding pardoned him. Biden better hope the voters, for all their misgivings, don't give Trump a pardon on Nov. 5.