Sherman R. Frederick/Properly Subversive
When a long line of emigrants in covered wagons reached the Sandy River on July 19, 1846, a smaller group turned left off the regular route to try a new shortcut to California.
Most wagons stayed on the normal route and made it to Fort Sutter in California on schedule. The left turners — the Donner Party — took the Hastings Cutoff and, well, we all know what happened to them. They got snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains and resorted to cannibalism.
If you will please look beyond this horribly stretched analogy, I think you will find some truth in saying that the Democratic Party is having a Donner Party moment.
If Democrats turn left while the American people keep on the normal route, this party will never regain national status. It will be reserved for those curiosity clubs on college campuses, like eugenics, designed more to piss off parents than a viable political party.
There are four broad areas that tell the story
ECONOMY
The economy went into a tailspin on Joe Biden’s watch. Blame him or not, that’s a fact. It’s also a fact that Donald Trump is pulling us out of it. Tariffs are working without spiking the cost of goods. The cost of living is still high, but edging downward.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
The flow of illegal immigrants stopped on a dime under Trump. Biden presided over a massive surge. Now, Trump is aggressively deporting immigrants, starting with those who have committed crimes. Also, up to a million people have already self-deported. Americans solidly support the Trump approach.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Trump wants a safer District of Columbia. When Trump sent in federal forces, Democrats denied crime was a problem in D.C. and then called the law enforcement people “occupiers” and “fascists.” Some threw perfectly edible Subway sandwiches at them. Again, the party diverged in a crazy way from the path chosen by most. The federal government is an occupying force in D.C. C’mon, man!
CULTURE
Boys are boys and girls are girls. Gender “affirming” surgery on minors is abuse. A boy who identifies as a girl doesn’t make him a girl in any way, especially when it comes to sports. Yet despite taking a beating over these issues, there is not one leader in the Democratic Party today (at least that I can remember) who has said publicly that boys who identify as girls should not be allowed to undress and shower with the girls’ team. On kookie gender issues, Democrats have out-kooked themselves.
Look, I’m only saying that all signs point to the idea that turning even more left for Democrats in 2025 isn’t going to get them back into national status.
And so we bid farewell to our fellow left-turning travelers and say: Bon Appétit.
(Sherman R. Frederick is a longtime Nevada journalist. You can read more of his writing at shermanfrederick.substack.com.)
