Trump Derangement Syndrome is real. We've seen it for almost a decade.
Moreover, TDS is progressive, with the proof being the left's absolute delusional rage against President-elect Donald Trump vs. the mere hatred in 2016. As the 2024 presidential election grew closer and closer, the left's rage against the former president became more and more unhinged.
The left warned that a second Trump presidency would end democracy, presidential elections, the rights of women, put his "enemies" in internment camps, force the dissolution of interracial marriages, and more.
By any reasonable measure, the above allegations are insane. Yet, there are untold numbers of Democrats across America who have been led to believe such ridiculousness -- indoctrinated, as it were.
As a result, continuing rage against Donald Trump was inevitable. And that rage has become nothing less than an addiction -- an addiction of rage against Trump and his followers. We all know the absurd names Trump and his supporters have been called -- so I won't repeat them -- throughout the most divisive election season I've witnessed.
Even worse, given that Trump trounced Vice President Kamala Harris in the election by virtually every metric, suggesting that rational Democrats (yes, they exist) would accept the results and move on, that didn't happen, as far as I can see. Here's the thing: acceptance isn't synonymous with liking.
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Democrats can't be blamed for their disappointment and dissatisfaction any more than Republicans could be blamed for their disappointment in 2020 when Trump lost. But the difference between 2020 Republicans and 2024 Democrats is that the rage on the left continues, and I suspect it's likely to continue in at least several factions on the left.
As is the case with any addiction, the first step to recovery is to admit one has a problem. The Democrat party is nowhere near admitting, much recognizing or accepting, its addiction to rage.
George Washington University law professor and political commentator Jonathan Turley offered his thoughts on the left's addiction to rage in a recent column. As Turley sees it, "the first step continues to elude the politicians and pundits who unsuccessfully pushed lawfare and panic politics for years."
That includes prosecutors like New York Attorney General Letitia James and politicians like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who affirmed this week that they will be redoubling, not reconsidering, their past positions.
For its part, The Washington Post quickly posted an editorial titled “The second resistance to Trump must start now.” They may, however, find the resistance more challenging both politically and legally this time around.
"Challenging both politically and legally this time around." How so?
It's my belief -- perhaps it's wishful thinking -- that at some point, rational Democrats will come to the conclusion that if their party continues to do what it did throughout the presidential campaign, it will continue to get what it got last Tuesday. They will come to accept that the American people began to see through Democrat pandering and exploitation of disparate demographic groups in an attempt to patch together a win for Harris. Resoundingly and historically, voters emphatically said, "No more."
The politics of division has, to an extent, finally caught up with the Democrat Party.
Turley continued to hit the Democrat nail on the head.
It is the collective fury and delirium of the post-election protests that was so disconcerting. Pundits lashed out at the majority of voters, insisting that the election established that half of the nation is composed of racists, misogynists or domination addicts who long to submit to tyranny.
Others blamed free speech and the fact that social media allows “disinformation” to be read by ignorant voters. In other words, the problem could not possibly be themselves. It was, rather, the public, which refused to listen.
That does not bode well for the Democratic Party. As someone raised in a liberal politically active family in Chicago, I had hoped for greater introspection after this election blowout.
While conservatives were elated by the election blowout, the Democrat Party has refused to accept the blowout's meaning. Until they do, if ever, they will continue to get what they got last Tuesday.
Reality is reality, and it might sometimes be difficult to accept, but lack of acceptance doesn't erase the facts. Meanwhile, the left's addiction to rage continues.
Part of me hopes the left's irrational rage continues, while part of me hopes a day will come when a degree of unity returns to America.
Naïveté? No. Wishful thinking? Perhaps.
