OPINION:
It’s not true, as has been reported, that Democrats don’t have a message, that Democrats don’t have a “coherent message” and are wallowing in confusion. They do have a message. Unfortunately for them, it’s the same one that caused the party to lose the White House, the Senate and the House in November’s elections. Democrats suffer from a cultural and economic addiction that is stronger than some of the drugs we have allowed to come over our borders.
The latest example that proves Democrats have learned nothing from voters who are tired of the same old, same old was visible in last week’s meeting of party leaders in Maryland.
Outgoing Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison explained the party’s new rules for electing officers. He sounded like he was doing a skit on “Saturday Night Live” or a parody of the satirical Babylon Bee.
Here’s the verbatim quote from Mr. Harrison: “Rules specify that when we have a gender nonbinary candidate or officer, the nonbinary individual is counted as neither male nor female, and the remaining six officers must be gender-balanced. With the results of the previous four elections, our elected officers are currently two male and two female.”
Question: If all these people hold the same beliefs, what’s the difference? For Democrats, it’s not about character or workable ideas but externals like race and gender.
Mr. Harrison continued: “In order to be gender balanced, we must elect one male, one female and one person of any gender.” Confused? He further explained: “The order of balloting is designed to ensure equal access to the ballot regardless of gender identity.”
If that’s not enough to make you shake your head, consider what Democrats have been saying about the Trump administration’s goal of cutting spending, along with the size of the federal workforce. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which does some good work in especially poorer countries, was revealed to have been spending tax money on ludicrous projects.
The White House gave a few of many examples: $1.5 to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities; $70,000 to produce a “DEI musical in Ireland” (don’t look for any tune equal to “Danny Boy”), $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam (did 55,000 Americans die in that war so the Vietnamese could drive electric cars?), $47,000 for a transgender opera in Cambodia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru (Superman and Batman comics aren’t enough?) and on it goes.
USAID defenders say these amounts are only a “small” portion of the budget, but that’s what they say when other outrageous spending is exposed. Small portions quickly add up to big portions and deepen our debt. Clearly, cultural activists are pushing these agendas. Mr. Trump and Elon Musk are right to root them out.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, tried visual messaging about what he considers the downside of President Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on countries that don’t help with border control and have refused to address the trade imbalance. Mr. Schumer claimed the costs of a popular Mexican beer and avocados — the key ingredient in guacamole — would cost more at Sunday’s Super Bowl in New Orleans if tariffs against Mexico are enforced. He awkwardly held up the two items before cameras, looking like a food station worker at Costco.
Mr. Trump offered a 30-day reprieve on tariffs to Mexico and Canada when President Claudia Sheinbaum and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to commit more resources to border security and fighting fentanyl trafficking. Thus, Mexican beer and guacamole will be sold at the Super Bowl at the normally inflated prices.
Let’s see if Democrats go beyond gender identity to support another USAID gift: “Hundreds of thousands of meals to fighters affiliated with al Qaeda in Syria.”
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
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