Can the Left Succeed in Gaslighting America?

Much like the convenient phrase "virtue signaling," describing those people intent on convincing others of their superior righteousness, "gaslighting" has quietly and helpfully slipped into our political lexicon in recent times. Put simply, this term means trying to convince people that what appears to be one thing is really another, that they are not really seeing what they are seeing, that they should not trust their lying eyes over the word of their superiors.

This is precisely what Democrats, starting with the leader of the band, President Joe Biden, have adopted as a midterm campaign strategy. From inflation to crime to a disappearing southern border, not to mention the recession already underway, they know their record since taking control in 2020 is all but indefensible. It is true they have, through no initiative of their own, benefited from the abortion issue post-Roe and done more of what they do best -- increase the size and scope of the central state with punishing tax hikes and voluminous new energy regulations, though far less than they would have liked thanks to Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). But abortion and climate change are what could be termed spring and summer issues, bound to attract considerable attention when they arise, but which are ultimately supplanted by the autumn issue always at top of mind leading up to Election Day: the economy.

History has consistently demonstrated that when push comes to shove and voters enter the sanctuary of the voting booth, they tend to care more about the state of the economy and the costs of their everyday needs than relatively esoteric issues like the constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy or hysterical claims of a climate Armageddon in the distant future. Simple logic dictates that inflated prices for, among other things, food, fuel and clothing, which voters are reminded of in their every financial transaction, and which require frequent, fast-rising, recession-triggering interest rates to tamp down, would be all but disqualifying for Democrats seeking to maintain power.

Gaslighting With Preposterous Arguments

And so, left with no other choice, Biden and company have undertaken a campaign of gaslighting the public, attempting to reset the narrative. The underlying assertion is that the country is in the grip of dark forces (Trump voters) and while their own record hasn’t been so good, at least they’re not fascists like today’s Republicans. But simply not being Trump has long since run out of currency.

This president has tried desperately to spin the inflation rate, even as it stubbornly holds above 8%. He first said inflation was no issue, then stated it was transitory, and now tries to convince us it is getting better because it only remains at the highest level in 40 years, more than five times as great as when he took office, instead of actually rising to even more unbearable levels over the last few months. That’s akin to saying a house flooded and waterlogged by Hurricane Ian is just fine now that the rain has stopped -- while the homeowner scrambles to repair untold damage.

Then there is the matter of the recession, until now almost universally defined as two straight quarters of negative economic growth, which we have just experienced. But the label has now been conveniently blurred and redefined by elite media protecting this administration. Biden first declared we were not headed for a recession, then said we might have one, then said if we do, it is essentially Trump’s fault but it will be mild -- as if it had not already started, in the estimation of most respected, non-ideological economists (meaning not Paul Krugman) like Liberty Nation’s own Andrew Moran.

With some four million illegal immigrants flooding the border since Biden took office, Democrat officials have ratcheted their gaslighting up a notch on their open border, which grows more threatening to their electability by the day. They tried to blame Trump -- of course -- but the numbers showing a dramatic increase in illegal crossings don’t lie. It took Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas to finally force see-no-evil media to cover the issue by shipping sanctuary-seeking illegals north and calling the bluff of hypocritical sanctuary cities. DHS Director Alejandro Mayorkas was embarrassingly unmasked for his phony indignation over the so-called whipping of migrants by border agents on horseback, which he knew at the time to be false. But he gaslighted the country by committing what some have considered an impeachable act: throwing his own agents under the bus with a false concocted narrative supporting the notion of systemic racism.

To further the idea of a racist country rotten to the core, Biden and his leftist cohorts termed the new election laws in Georgia “Jim Crow on steroids,” designed specifically to suppress the black vote. Instead, primary voting in the state in 2022 shattered records, including among minorities. And oh, you may remember this whopper: It’s actually Republicans who want to defund the police.

Then there is the granddaddy of all gaslighting: Biden labeling tens of millions of people who did not vote for him as violent Ultra-MAGA extremists who represent a “threat to the republic.” This is classic transference or projection. He knows Americans are wary of Democrats’ openly expressed radical agenda, their fiscal recklessness, and his own condition and performance, so he attempts to project or deflect those perceptions to the other side of the aisle, hoping gullible voters will bite.

There are many other examples of Democrats pretending they are not as socialist, not as fiscally irresponsible, not as anxious to reinterpret or discard the US Constitution as they appear. But their ultimate exercise in gaslighting America is blaming Republicans for everything wrong with the country right now -- even though it is Democrats who control the White House and both chambers of Congress. That is the underlying deflection that even voters influenced by scandalously uncritical major media will likely conclude is a bridge too far.