I gotta hand it to Washington Post “token conservative” Jennifer Rubin: she always seems to be a step ahead of whatever unfolding drama is about to break in political circles and is able to take the reigns of any narrative and lead it in one direction or another.

I’m legitimately in awe of that skill.

It’s unfortunate that Rubin all too often chooses a direction that involves a hard left with a yell of “racist!” out the window at any passing Republicans. Odd for a conservative, but she’s found a niche. And she’s good at it.

This morning’s example comes in the form of a story that, distilled to its essence, basically says “because I, J. Rubin, believe Trump to be a racist, all Republicans are therefore also racists.”

Not sure who awarded Ms. Rubin the royal power of determining hate in the hearts of man, but she believes she has it.

Trump and this iteration of the Republican party have made aversion to diversity such a vital principle, it cannot be considered trivial. This is how Rs have chosen to define themselves these days — and why many are leaving the GOP https://t.co/HXuAD3S2d4

— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) January 22, 2018

That aside, her piece is indicative of something at once more interesting, less silly. Her attempt to define the Republican party by assigning it the blame of whatever sin she believes Trump guilty of is a skill Democrats have perfected over the years and used to inflict heavy damage in the past. But this time it seems more projection than anything else. Because if there’s a party that deserves to be shackled together as a single unit and brought before the judge to answer en masse for its crimes, it’s the Democrats.

There is, after all, evidence that at the highest levels of the Obama administration, there may have been efforts afoot to abuse the FISA court using a corrupt and weaponized FBI to damage candidate Donald Trump to help Hillary Clinton in her campaign against him. That would be one Democrat already in office using the power of that office to help the next Democrat in line win that same office.

There’s also word, to hear Donna Brazile tell it, that Hillary Clinton took over the Democratic National Committee (DNC) as her unofficial fundraising and campaign apparatus, and that using that apparatus, paid for dubious opposition research on her opponent in the 2016 election.

And now this ridiculous shutdown that Democrats orchestrated as a stand to get something they already had (DACA doesn’t expire till March). Their shutdown tantrum worked back in 2013 when they successfully convinced the world that Harry Reid’s reticence and decision to vote against funding the government was the fault of Sen. Ted Cruz.

Sen. Chuck Schumer tried to resurrect the same narrative last week, but failed miserably at it. He finally caved and accepted a new continuing resolution to fund the government.

Schumer shut down the government then backstabbed the liberal base, getting nothing in exchange for total surrender. Dems in disarray doesn't begin to describe it.

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) January 22, 2018

As if taking a lesson from Jennifer Rubin, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan posted this tweet as the drama of a shutdown rolled over into the weekend:

→Half of @DeptofDefense's civilian workforce has to be furloughed.
→Training for Reserves has to stop & Guardsmen have to be sent home.
→States are running out of money for children's health insurance.

Senate Dems believe none of it is too high a price to appease their base.

— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) January 22, 2018

The Democrat base. This, Schumer seemed to be saying through his actions, is what the average Democrat wants (although many Democrats, the ones who liked Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton for example, may disagree with that). But leave it disgraced former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to remind those apostates they are a party, dammit. And the party has their back. Whether they like it or not.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: This shutdown gave us, um … the “potential for momentum” https://t.co/QuSyFhCroM pic.twitter.com/G0gmW1qG1j

— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) January 22, 2018

To any outside, casual observer, it looks a lot like the Democrats are the party where the sins run downhill and affect all who wear the vagina hat. They are a political party in the old-school, World War II style, where you you can check in anytime you like, but you can never leave (with apologies to the Eagles).

And they’re fracturing. And the tricks that worked in 2013 aren’t working anymore. And they’re running out of ideas.

But at least they still have the Jennifer Rubins of the media, assigning their troubles to the GOP for them. Maybe that’ll keep them afloat while they figure out what dead weight they’re going to have to throw overboard if they’re going to survive.