THE COLUMN: The Specter That Haunts America

Michael Walsh14 Mar, 2022 6 Min Read
How long must our national nightmare continue?

A specter is haunting America—the specter of the Democrat Party. Like an evil spirit that cannot be exorcised, the Democrats have been plaguing the United States since Aaron Burr shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in 1804. Ferociously pro-slavery, the Democrats divided the country practically from its inception, blocked the path to abolition and eventually took up arms against the nation after the election of the first Republican president, firing on Fort Sumter and seceding en masse from the Union. And, a week after they had lost that war, one of them assassinated Abraham Lincoln, elevating a Democrat from a Confederate state to the presidency, and plunging the country into more needless turmoil.

With a track record like this (read all about it) it's a wonder the party is even still legal. And yet, after the bloodiest war in our history—and with a sizable component of "peace Democrats" in the North actively rooting and voting against Lincoln in the election of 1864 while supporting his opponent: the failed Union general George McClellan—they're still around to plague us. It wasn't until the arrival of Ulysses S. Grant as commander of all the Union armies in 1864 that Honest Abe found the right man for the job: someone who would mercilessly crush the life out of the Democrats and their armies, destroy slavery, and reunite the states.

Come back, Ulysses, your country needs you.

Then, as now, the media was the enemy of the Republicans. The southern newspapers were rabidly supportive of the rebel cause, but the northern press was rife with naysayers, crybabies, and bedwetters for whom no victory was good enough, and every defeat proof positive that Lincoln was an ape and Grant was a drunk. Nonetheless, Grant shook off fierce media criticism of his bloody but critical victory at Shiloh in 1862 and a few years later accepted Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Va.

Who is our Grant today? Rather than being ashamed of their explicit anti-Americanism, the modern Democrats have doubled down on betting against the U.S.A. Their shambolic, cognitively crippled president shuffles through one executive order after another, signing anything his handlers in the exiled Obama administration up in Kalorama shove under his nose. The domestic energy industry has been at least temporarily hobbled, our woke armed forces are an international joke, career criminals like George Floyd are elevated to secular sainthood, and behavior that not long ago would have gotten you arrested for child abuse, such as "transgender"  hormone blockers for toddlers, or for contributing to the delinquency of a minor with explicit homosexual propaganda in grade school. Democrats hail these "advances" with their usual blather about "breaking barriers" and "pushing boundaries" but anyone with an ounce of common sense knows what they're really up to

The midterms are still eight months away but Real America is crying out for succor right now. Gasoline, home heating oil, electricity, natural gas—the prices continue to soar, already past the point of recent plausibility and heading into economic terra incognita. Millions of illegal aliens pour across the nearly erased southern border. A befuddled Joe Biden threatens to sleepwalk us into an armed conflict with the ghost of the old Soviet Union in the form of Vladimir Putin's Russia, and disinformation is rife on both sides of the conflict in the Ukraine. In a parliamentary system, Biden's government would have fallen right after the debacle in Afghanistan—but barring a miracle we've got another three years to suffer.

For just over a year, Americans have watched with admirable patience as their economy collapsed, their legal system was perverted to serve the interests of a few, their nation's military degraded, and their freedom of speech subverted via the government's fascistic and unconstitutional co-opting of the social media sites. Meanwhile, woke corporations and a thoroughly compromised media crack down on the commercial and personal privacy of anybody that runs afoul of the New Normal while manic Greens demand a return to the days of three-masted schooners and windmills. Such relentless cultural and economic sabotage would be considered an act of war if done by anyone else—but here it goes by the fellow-traveler names of "dissent," "patriotism," and "progressivism."

Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

For a time, it seemed as if Donald Trump might be the answer. Deeply flawed personally, Trump had everything break his way in 2016, including the good fortune of running against the most repellant figure in the Democrat Party at that time, Hillary Clinton. But with Covid-19 weaponized against him, first in a Chinese lab, then by the CDC and a bona fide madman named Anthony Fauci, Trump was unable to overcome his provoked overreaction to the phantom Covid menace, the unconstitutional changes made to swing state electoral systems, a senescent Biden, and his own inability to control his mouth, and shamefully lost in 2020.

As we learned in the back alleys of Berlin and Moscow during the Cold War, the way to fight shadows is with other shadows; America could do worse if we had some semblance of the British shadow-cabinet system. British election campaigns are short, and the transition time between governments brief, because the voters already know who would take over if and when the current government falls. Instead, we prolong our nominating processes for a year or eighteen months before getting to the endless campaign itself. After which we waste two months "transitioning" and then suffering through a honeymoon period (except in the case of Republicans) during which the new Man of the Hour can do no wrong, but much damage can be done to the nation. The first thing Biden did, for example, was trash the Keystone XL pipeline from the oil fields of Canada to refineries in and around the Texas Gulf Coast—which is one of the principal reasons gas is now pushing five bucks a gallon.

We don't have shadow cabinets, but we do have two shadow presidents. One is Trump, who is making noises about running again, largely on a platform of grievance and revenge for his loss in 2020. Whether this would be enough to boost him back into the White House is questionable; while he may have received more than 70 million votes, the fact still remains that even more people voted against him. He lost the 2020 election as he had won the 2016 election: narrowly. But Trump will be 78 years old in 2024, one year younger than the tottering Biden is now. 

The other is Florida governor Ron DeSantis. Smart, pugnacious, and unflappable, DeSantis has emerged as the chief thorn in Joe Biden and the Left's side. After his narrow win over a guy who was later found dead drunk in a Miami Beach hotel room he was sharing with a gay porn producer who had overdosed on crystal meth, DeSantis has cemented his hold on the former swing state, turning it solid red. Unlike Trump, who at the moment is powerless, the squeaky-clean DeSantis upstages Biden and the Democrats on a regular basis; his canny and unflappable handling of the "pandemic" has given rise to a new nickname for the Sunshine State: the Free State of Florida.

Message to China: up yours.

DeSantis, 43, can make no public noises about seeking the presidency at this point. He must get past his re-election for governor in the fall first and hope the voters rally to take back control of Congress from the narrowest-of-narrow Democrat majorities. With his wife, Casey, now seemingly recovered from a bout with cancer, he is sitting pretty.

It's widely thought that if Trump declares, DeSantis will wait his turn in 2028. But why should he spend four years on ice behind a lightning rod with no further political future? Polls already show him creeping up on Trump and a smashing re-election victory will only gain him more prominence. Lots can happen in three years, especially when his possible primary opponent is getting on in years. After Biden, will America want another geriatric president? Or will the voters prefer a guy 32 years younger, with nothing but upside?

The chances of Biden's running again are next to nil. If the Democrats could figure out a way to get rid of him without elevating the albatross known as Kamala in his place, they'd have already done it. Further, there's no apparent successor to Biden on the donkeys' side; should Biden somehow stumble toward a second term, a Biden-DeSantis matchup would be worth putting on pay-per-view. We could retire the national debt on the debates alone.

Meanwhile the shadows cast by DeSantis are lengthening, the clock is ticking, and all he has to do is wait. Now, a specter is haunting the Democrats. It's about time.

Listen to the author speak about this article and other things at the CutJib Newsletter podcast with CBD and JJ Sefton from Ace of Spades.

Michael Walsh is a journalist, author, and screenwriter. He was for 16 years the music critic and a foreign correspondent for Time Magazine. His works include the novels As Time Goes By, And All the Saints, and the bestselling “Devlin” series of NSA thrillers; as well as the nonfiction bestseller, The Devil’s Pleasure Palace and its sequel, The Fiery Angel. Last Stands, a study of military history from the Greeks to the present, was published by St. Martin's Press in December 2019. He is also the editor of Against the Great Reset: 18 Theses Contra the New World Order, published on Oct. 18, 2022. Follow him on Twitter: @theAmanuensis

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26 comments on “THE COLUMN: The Specter That Haunts America”

  1. Desantis for POTUS in 2024 with Trump in a cabinet position to do one thing to do.... get a solid, continous, tall, physical fence at the Mexican border. Ideally with automated machine guns that cover a no-mans-zone.

  2. Because we deserve to demonstrate to the American people that their choice cannot be cheated out of office; our candidate can and will come back to defy them. THEN Gov Desantis can follow up with the support of a vindicated electorate and substantial GOP congressional support. This battle can't be won by finding the right Champion, it will take multiple Presidents, Governors, Senators and Reps in the Capitol and State houses across the country. Conceding a stolen election as permanent is a poor start for a long strugle.

    1. True, but irrelevant to the fact that Biden is sitting in the Oval Office. Sometimes the refs cheat.

  3. Love DeSantis. He's a culture warrior par excellance.
    But Trump has the bigger picture: Europe, energy, treaties, border, MAGA...that's his strength.

  4. This not an either/or proposition. Biden is sitting in the White House (watching Matlock marathons, no doubt) AND the election was stolen from Trump. Both of those statements are true and significant. The Dems cannot be forgiven of their election sins. The next election will be more closely monitored and Dem treachery will be much more difficult to accomplish.

  5. I disagree regarding legislative chops. It wasn't him not working with them as much as them not working with him. First he had Paul Ryan and John McCain torpedoing his agenda (friends like these, right?). Its because of them being weasels we got Nancy back.

  6. I'm late to the party on this, but excellent read. My dream scenario would be for Trump to become Speaker of the House and DeSantis in 2024/2028. Can you imagine the cajoling and vote whipping? That would be pay per view quality entertainment.

    1. Speaker of the House is the last thing Donald Trump should be. He has no legislative acumen, as illustrated by his relations with Congress during his term. Far better would for him to run as Vice-President, bring his base with him, and be turned loose on the Dems like Godzilla with no actual governing responsibility.

  7. Sorry, you did lose your credibility with those false election claims. The bloody shirt sticks in the craw of everyone who matters.

  8. Though I think the case against Trump here is adequate, my chief objection to him running again is that he'll be a lame duck in two years, max. If he runs and if he gets the nom again, I'll grit my teeth again and vote for him, but my reluctance will be for this new reason.

    Trump had his shot, and he did some good, but the most good he did was drawing fire and exposing just how deep the rot was.

  9. I am well beyond sick and tired of writers such as Mr Walsh - with whom I am in apparent agreement and with whom I share the same general objectives - stipulating right out of the box that Trump is "deeply flawed" and "can't control his mouth." With all due respect to Mr Walsh, that's bollocks.

    Trump is the only -- and I repeat, ONLY -- figure who in 2016 properly addressed illegal immigration for the problem it is. His unpredictability was a feature, not a bug, and it not only drew supporters to him but it kept the rest of the world guessing.

    The likes of "The Atlantic" or "Rolling Stone" or the major networks or the NYT would never -- and I repeat, NEVER -- call 0bama "flawed," despite being an avowed Marxist with no identifiable past, or tell us Biden "couldn't control his mouth," despite a decades-long history of saying ridiculous and stupid things in public and being in the pay of hostile and corrupt nations. Why must we keep firing live ammo inside our own tent?!

  10. Taylor is absolutely right. The number of people who know they were screwed at the polls in 2020 and understand that none of this need to happen as much, much larger than you think.

    Not only does Trump deserve his revenge, but we deserve it; for we got screwed just as badly as he.

    Trump DeSantis ‘24, DeSantis ‘28 and ‘32. DeSantis is a young man. No need to get him term limited so young.

  11. Trump, with all the good he brought about for our country, will be past his 'use by' date in 2024. DeSantis is our go-to guy at this point. Some think Pence, phooey, an absolutely worthless politician will get nowhere. The rest? Non-starters.
    Pray for our Republic.

  12. If Trump could not overcome the deep state's manipulation of the election while he was president of the United States, what makes you think he would be more successful now on the outside, after four years of the Democrats being in charge of the White House? The tech oligarchs who helped the Democrats are if anything more powerful and brazen than ever before. You can argue he was wronged by the system, but what makes you think he would do better next time?

    Maybe it's time to give new blood a chance, someone who doesn't have all of Trump's immense baggage and drama. In addition, Trump will be a lame duck from day 1 (constitutionally can only win twice), while someone fresh can serve two terms. When was the last time any president had a more successful second term than their first?

  13. I don’t think Booth was a Democrat, although he clearly hated the Union and Lincoln. He had been in the Know Nothing party earlier. Is there evidence he changed his party affiliation?

    1. He was indeed a Know Nothing, or had been, but was clearly a Southern partisan acting on the South's and the slaveholders' behalf, and thus in the interests of clarity for those who know nothing about the Know Nothings, effectively a Democrat.

  14. I like Ron DeSantis as much as the next guy. But what stood out as I read this article were some statements that reflect credulity if not naïveté.

    "…while he may have received more than 70 million votes, the fact still remains that even more people voted against him."

    If you really believe that Biden got 81 million votes – if you believe that Biden got more legitimate votes than Trump did – then it's hard to put much credence in anything else you believe.

    "The chances of Biden's running again are next to nil."

    No, the chance of Joe the Ventriloquist Dummy making it to the end of his term is the same as the chance that he legitimately got elected in 2020: Zero. He's too far gone to make it to 2024, anyone who spends a little time paying attention to him knows that.

    "Trump was unable to overcome his provoked overreaction to the phantom Covid menace, the unconstitutional changes made to swing state electoral systems, a senescent Biden, and his own inability to control his mouth, and shamefully lost in 2020."

    Donald Trump did not lose "shamefully." He had a legitimate reelection stolen out from under him. What is shameful is to blame the victim for reacting to the crime.

    The article makes in good points about the donkeys and about DeSantis. But in parroting donkey received wisdom to tear down Trump to build up DeSantis, the only things I remember are the anti-Trump pettiness.

    1. Who is sitting in the White House right now? That's all that matters for the purposes of this discussion. Waving the bloody shirt will get us nowhere in 2024.

  15. I was expecting more parodying of the Communist Manifesto. "Czar and Carpenter", wait, that's an obscure opera..

  16. I live in Florida; DeSantis is tremendous. Not many people knew who he was when he ran for governor but they know now; particularly in Florida

  17. The most accurate appellation of the current party in political power in this country is the Marxist/Democrat/Hate America Party. DeSantis is an articulate non boorish Trump who as a successful governor is perfectly qualified to rescue us from the ant-American Democrat Party.

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