Driven to desperation by their fury at President Trump’s election, his presidency, and Robert Mueller’s failure  to substantiate the bogus Russia conspiracy fantasy, progressives are escalating their rhetoric, and in the process, unmasking their true beliefs. For decades, they have obscured their real goals, and pretended to be interested in moderate, incremental measures that they believe would be acceptable to mainstream Americans. Using terms like “compassion” and “fairness,” they have sought to justify handing more and more power to the state, and the importation of a population amenable to state control of all aspects of life.

But in reaction to President Trump’s in-your-face persona and use of the mechanisms of state power for goals they oppose, they have escalated their rhetoric, and in the process exposed their real beliefs that long have been kept hidden from the broader public.

Consider the events of the past few days:

 o Former Justice John Paul Stevens, once upon a time a Republican but now a long term beltway establishmentarian, openly called for repeal of the Second Amendment.  Not “common sense gun control measures” anymore, the mask that gun grabbers formerly wore.  It used to be taboo to mention confiscation of guns or repeal of any part of the Bill of Rights, but in their fury, those restraints on candor are being forgotten. The NRA, already experiencing a spike in its membership, now has an even stronger appeal to civil libertarians. “Hands off the Bill of Rights!” is a powerful appeal beyond the ranks of gun owners.

 o Planned Parenthood of Pennsylvania tweeted – and then deleted – its wish list for using Disney’s princesses to propagandize little girls:

Here is the deleted tweet from the organization the GOP funds. pic.twitter.com/ltj0e1o2aY

— Alex Pfeiffer (@PfeifferDC) March 27, 2018

 o California’s attorney general, Xavier Bacerra, announced his intention to sue – on unspecified grounds – to prevent the federal government from inquiring about citizenship status in the 2020 census. Citizenship is being declared irrelevant, which has been a long term goal of the Left, but one that they have been hesitant to publicly embrace. The notion that someone who violates the border and enters the United States has the same status as people who are citizens is repellant to most Americans, because they value the rights and respect the responsibilities of citizenship, and take pride in being citizens.

 o  Celebrity and Hollywood insider Felicity Huffman openly declared a double standard when it comes to the sin of emitting tons of carbon dioxide. James Delingpole noticed:

It doesn’t matter how many air miles eco-crusader Leonardo DiCaprio racks up in his private jet on his mission to save the planet. All that matters is that his intentions are good, one of his fellow celebrities, actress, Felicity Huffman has explained.

“I think Leonardo DiCaprio has probably done more for the environment than anyone. Does he fly privately? Probably but who cares? But he is doing amazing work, and really getting the message out there,” Huffman told the Daily Mail. 

These four examples are drawn from today’s headlines. They illustrate the broader process of unmasking, driven by frustration.

I think that long before he even dreamed of entering politics, Donald Trump realized that by outraging his opponents, he could provoke them into saying and doing things that would prove harmful to their goals by exposing their motives, assumptions, and real intentions.

  Trump Derangement Syndrome is turning out to be very useful for conservatives.