Nationally, Democrats are just out of touch – despite controlling the White House, Senate, and nearly the US House. In states, similar tone deafness abounds. In Maine, for example, Democrats control the legislature and governorship, attorney general, and secretary of state. Objectively, this has been disastrous. Why? Arrogance of power, no accountability.
In Maine, and federally, when power is concentrated by those content to disrespect individual rights for personal or political reasons, the ambit of liberty necessarily shrinks. Spending, taxes, interest, costs, regulations, and mandates all go up. One-party power means no accountability – no exceptions.
Worse, as concentrated power becomes comfortable with its position, like Democrats in the Maine legislature and senate, the sense grows that those in power are untouchable. They cultivate this idea, and project it. They need not listen to constituents, since they have each other’s backs.
Whatever the label, Democrat, Social Democrat, Marxist Socialist (i.e. Soviet Union), National Socialist (i.e., Brownshirts), Maoist-Socialist, or some other disguise for “we will tell you what to do” ism – concentrated power is not complicated. It reduces to arrogance, thinking they are above it.
With disrespect for the average, hard-working citizen, content to push fear, no qualms about unfairness (like disregarding majority positions in hearings), and a sense of righteous coercion – since the government, after all, is about righteous coercion – things can get worse.
Those who rule in one-party nations or states begin to assume things, their own intelligence, a right to put others down, reshape the world, eroded respect for longstanding laws and institutions. Soon after comes the tide, a tide of soft, undeterred, uncommented corruption. I have seen it worldwide.
They begin to believe that they can do anything, and get away with it – push laws that ruin personal rights, in Maine, hurt children late in pregnancy, hurt girls, parents, and businesses, and endanger public safety, which they redefine to meet their whims.
Worse, they begin to think they can change how we think, cleverly use their power to redefine words – like one Maine Democrat decided to outlaw the words “prisoner,” “inmate” and “drug user,” apparently sure this will make us all equal, residential substance users, I suppose.
As Orwell so well predicted, they start to use language as a weapon, punishing those who do not agree with their redefinitions, of a girl, boy, biology, DNA, threat to privacy, safety, dignity, illegal aliens, and legal guns.
They try to reduce our expectations and reprogram us to think we do not have rights – free speech, worship, self-defense, defense of others, and home safety. They think no one is watching. But we are.
The longer those in power stay there, the more convinced they are they belong there, sure their insider moves, omissions, self-dealing, failures, and impact on liberty will be overlooked.
Nor are they wrong. As Lord Acton observed, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Unchecked, concentrated power becomes dangerous, and jumps the rail. The powerful, if not thrown out of office, feel protected by their corrupt tribe, herd, or mob. They get despotic.
They start to cancel opponents – as Maine’s secretary of state so glibly tried to do, as the Maine legislature did when disenfranchising the majority who overwhelmingly oppose “abortion at birth,” confiscation-minded “red flag laws,” and “transgender tourism,” legalized child abuse.
Where is the conscience of a legislature or governor who presumes to lead a People – that they ignore? Yes, they are mostly traditional and honest, hard-working, and Right respectful. And so?
Nationally and in places like the Maine legislature, rights that were long respected, buttressed by common sense, common law, tradition, family, faith, and decency – are being eroded, and taken.
So, how bad is it? Look at Maine again. Democrats have controlled the legislature since 2012, and governorship since 2019. And in that time? The number of Maine kids dying from drug overdoses skyrocketed, low ten years ago, with 417 dead kids in 2017, and 723 in 2022.
Why? Maine’s Democrat activists fell in with drug legalization and police defunding, let riots go, and are slowly bankrupting – through poor recruiting, retention, and respect – local police, towns like Van Buren and Limestone, putting new pressure on others.
Crime? Incomplete data offers the rosy picture, but drug abuse and trafficking are out of control – ask anyone. Chinese fentanyl to Chinese high potency marijuana grow houses, and property crime up 50 percent (i.e. more drugs, fewer police).
Thank the Democrat-controlled Maine legislature and governor. Yes, fewer arsons, but murder, rape, robbery, and assault were up in 2019, before COVID restrictions compounded it. Only 27 percent of females and 13.5 percent of males file crime reports, and 50 percent of violent crimes are never reported. Feel good?
How about Maine’s economy – under the Democrat legislature? Household costs are higher with subsidies, mandates, and overregulation, and who pays for all that? Consumers, you and me. Where? Gas, health care, groceries, heating oil, cars, and stoves… if we are allowed to buy them.
They spend on things we do not want, cannot afford, think we can pay for with money we do not have, and then pass the costs for things like residential drug treatment to locals. Thank you, Democrats.
Inflation which was 1.2 percent under Trump, went to 9 percent, is still high. Maine’s Democrats fell right in with Biden – closures, energy shutdowns and mandates, whole mess. We now have the highest interest in 22 years, no affordable housing, and crazy high credit card and car loan debt.
We are all in a world of hurt. Face it. Might be time for arrogant power … to be gone. You think?
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
