COMMENTARY: The Democrats' victories caused their defeat

"You could drive from Key West to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and never cross a state carried by Hillary Clinton." Geoffrey Norman in the Weekly Standard

It's the same from Del Rio, Texas, to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Take both trips, and you'll cross no state where Democrats control the legislature and only three with Democratic governors.

Democrats are blaming James Comey, messaging failure, Russian mischief, fake news, the stupidity of the uneducated, sexism, etc.

In fact, they've sown the seeds of this defeat for decades, fertilizing and watering heavily under Obama. The crop has been liberal victories that roused voters in 84 percent of U.S. counties to elect a party and president to reverse them.

Some were achieved in the democratic, constitutional way. Many were not. They became law or policy against the will of the people.

Some democratically achieved victories:

Federal aid to education

Passed in 1965, this seemed a good way to equalize education funding. Conservatives warned that when local districts were addicted to the money, regulators would also dictate policy, practices, even curricula. That's happened, and the people now feel unable to direct and improve public education.

The Great Society 

These welfare programs had broad appeal in the 1960s. Conservatives warned they'd create dependency, a giant wealth redistribution program, and a huge national debt, arguing for simpler, lower risk ways to help the distressed. Voters now know they were right.

Progressive tax policy

This has varied by president, but we've built a very complicated system where half the people pay no federal income tax, business taxes are the highest in the world, and the option to add special interest credits and deductions creates undue influence on Congress. The people see this as corruption. They also know all business taxes are in the prices they pay, so they're a high, hidden tax on everyone.

The people's representatives have refused to enact other parts of the liberal agenda, especially the social goals, so other victories have come from judicial lawmaking, bureaucratic regulations, executive orders, non-treaty foreign accords, refusal to enforce laws, and actions outside government. The people understand these either violate the constitution or wrongly go around it.

Some undemocratically achieved victories:

Judicial lawmaking

Federal Judges, against the public desire, have given us school busing, abortion on demand, same-sex marriage, and others, often striking down democratically made laws on grounds not found in the constitution. Those who like these "laws" accept the way they were made, but a tipping point has been reached, and millions voted primarily to return the courts to their constitution role.

Obamacare

This most damaging victory was democratically enacted — technically. But everyone knew it passed through a Senate procedural loophole without public support. Long before the election, its unworkable design and damage to our healthcare system were undeniable. Democratic voters accept how it came to be and want it "fixed." The rest reject both its origin and its content, and voted for repeal.

Bureaucratic regulation

Federal control over the details of American life has been a progressive goal since Wilson. It's hard to miss the burden regulations by unelected bureaucrats place on businesses, professions, financial institutions, and local governments. We see it in personal transactions of all kinds. Most voters don't see the cost of compliance or the one-size-fits-all inaptness of many, but they suffer the nuisance and feel the resulting drag on the economy and employment.

Executive orders

President Obama has achieved many objectives by fiat, some unconstitutional, many just skirting it: non-treaty agreements evading congressional dissent (Iran, Cuba, Paris Climate), leaving Iraq too early, releasing Gitmo terrorists, killing the Keystone Pipeline, and transgender bathroom visits — progressive victories all.

Illegal immigration

By refusing to enforce the law, Democrats (and some Republicans) have won the votes of Hispanics and liberals who favor paths to citizenship, sanctuary cities, and other easing of immigration controls — plus contributions from employers of illegals. Voters see the downside.

Control of the media and academia

These seemed progressivism's greatest long-term victories. Controlling information and shaping the minds of the young promised future dominance. But people no longer trust most of the press or network news. Students come home hating America, talking postmodern nonsense, and rejecting parents' values. Victory has become a huge disadvantage.

We could expand on more — political correctness, silencing dissent on campus, disparaging police, politicizing the IRS and Justice Department — but we need not. Except in the far West, Northeast, and Chicago, Americans showed their distaste for the goals of the Left, regret for allowing its victories, and determination to reclaim its ground.

Donald Trump didn't create this reaction. He just voiced it and promised action. The Democrats snatched their defeats from the jaws of their victories.

Bob Smith is a retired IT executive living in Greer. He can be reached at BobSmith864@gmail.com.