It is now the end of day three of the Democrat party's national convention, beamed straight from the heart of the capital of thuggery. Chicago was the perfect backdrop for the Dems who always seem to be able to ignore the harsh realities of life and play make-believe in an American city that was built on graft and corruption. I am sure that now-deceased Mayor Richard Daly, was watching the goings-on in his town and was celebrating Chicago’s return to what passes for grace after the disastrous Democrat convention in 1968 when his police beat back anti-war protestors in the streets.

It was hard to sell peace in the middle of a national cultural civil war then, and the Dems paid the price for escalating the Vietnam conflict by losing the political advantage to another Richard, Richard Milhous Nixon. Daly helped seal the Dems’ doom by showing the true face of his party, the one that stacked the deck against Nixon by playing footsie with the Kennedys back in 1960.

The Dems always seem to look for love in all the wrong places and their return to the windy city proves it. They and Chicago are not only linked by history, but also by a shared political neurosis — an uncanny ability to believe their own PR.  Their convention, like their eleventh hour Pygmalion play to turn an unremarkable candidate into a superstar, was like a reprise of "Mad Men" where Don Draper waves his magic advertising wand and presto! the party of DEI and CRT gives birth to an all-American girl. She’s not the girl-next-door, though. She's the girl who wants to replace the girl-next-door and with her, all that that girl represents. In case you’re not following my metaphors, I’m speaking of our country. You know the one we’re losing to a bankrupt philosophy of moral turpitude and financial recklessness.

One of America's great street-wise philosophers, New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra, may have coined the perfect phrase to describe the Democrats’ ninth-inning play of the political world series of 2024: “It was déjà vu all over again.”

Hope is on the menu and it’s back to the future.

Like the tightly choreographed Democrat-led Congressional January 6th hearings, the Chicago DNC was a Hollywood production, complete with a cast of A-listers, featuring the silver-tongued hope-and-change kid, Barack Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle. The Dems were ecstatic. Obama descended from Mount Olympus for a cameo, and to remind them that hope was on the ballot and that a vote for the dynamic duo of Harris and Walz would make all their dreams come true. The crowd was collectively salivating in a quintessential Pavlovian response; Barack rang the bell.

This election wasn’t about border insecurity, a precarious economy, high inflation, energy instability or world tensions. It was about believing that all of America’s problems were the Republicans’ fault (read: Donald Trump and his band of MAGA miscreants). If they should be concerned about any issues there were only two worth fighting for: unfettered abortion rights and racial diversity, equity, and inclusion. It was time to pass the torch to Kami and Tim. Together, they would see to it that once those two items were addressed, all of America’s other problems would automatically be solved.

The seas would part, the sun would shine in the darkest regions of America’s soul, and the time of miracles would be upon us. The Age of Aquarius would make a triumphant return. All would be well. The world would respect us for relieving the burden of unwanted pregnancies and replacing merit with racial quotas. After all, America wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in Hell of surviving if Donald Trump were reelected. Everyone in Chicago and across the fruited plain knew that. All the Dems needed to do now was sell the shiny object of hope to the hopeless and make sure that every black American, woman, and university student in all the battleground states voted for these intrepid warriors for change. Do not look at their record. Do not judge them by their merits or accomplishments. Vote for them because they represent an idea whose time has come.

Stalwart Dem elites like the Obamas and the Clintons believe that America is like an interstate highway that is in sore need of ideological repaving. In order to do so they are willing to totally stop the flow of traffic while they reengineer new routes to the promised land of big government that is built on the asphalt of equity, laid over equality. If the economy has to suffer and traditional American values be left by the roadside like an abandoned vehicle, so be it. For them, this is just a detour and every crash is just collateral damage. Tearing up the road to save the road is the strategy, no matter the consequences to America’s safety, security, and personal liberty. 

As long as they control the levers of power with people like Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the elite will profess benevolence and use them to reassure the citizenry that everything that flows from their decisions will add an additional mile to the improved American cultural superhighway and help the country move one step closer to achieving their new, Democrat, manifest destiny.

It is anyone’s guess as to their chances for success after the crowd has left the convention center and hits the streets of the swing states. The big question is: Will the American electorate wake up in time to realize that the White House should never be occupied by amateurs and vote accordingly? Or will the “Mad Men” have succeeded in selling the sizzle instead of the steak to a crowd hungry enough to eat anything?

Stephen Helgesen is a retired career U.S. diplomat who lived and worked in 30 countries for 25 years during the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush Administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of which are on American politics and has written over 1,400 articles on politics, economics and social trends. He can be reached at: stephenhelgesen@gmail.com

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