Democrats: The Party of Misgovernment

Not long ago the Democrats flattered themselves as “the party of government.” The implication was that Democrats, because they believed in using the government, were naturally more capable of manning the actual beast itself. Although it was never implied directly, you could add the fact that because most of the many millions who work for the executive branch are themselves Democrats in sentiment and orientation, Democrats would be more natural leaders. And, to be perfectly honest, there was at least a little credibility to the claim, once we saw Donald Trump in office and saw how elected and unelected Democrats were able to work with their friends in the intelligence community and other parts of the government to frustrate and even outright block Trump. His secretary of energy, for instance, once vowed to abolish the Department of Energy. Or, at least he tried to vow as much.

So now that Democrats are in charge, are things running smoothly? Well, not exactly. Let’s consider Afghanistan and our southern border. It’s here that we begin to understand what they mean by government.

About the Author

Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is a senior writer at National Review Online.

Featured Tags

Not long ago the Democrats flattered themselves as “the party of government.” The implication was that Democrats, because they believed in using the government, were naturally more capable of manning the actual beast itself. Although it was never implied directly, you could add the fact that because most of the many millions who work for the executive branch are themselves Democrats in sentiment and orientation, Democrats would be more natural leaders. And, to be perfectly honest, there was at least a little credibility to the claim, once we saw Donald Trump in office and saw how elected and unelected Democrats were able to work with their friends in the intelligence community and other parts of the government to frustrate and even outright block Trump. His secretary of energy, for instance, once vowed to abolish the Department of Energy. Or, at least he tried to vow as much.

So now that Democrats are in charge, are things running smoothly? Well, not exactly. Let’s consider Afghanistan and our southern border. It’s here that we begin to understand what they mean by government.