An “in-kind” political donation is defined as a non-cash gift made to a nonprofit organization, including goods, services, time, and expertise. I submit that, under this definition, Dr. Anthony Fauci is quite possibly the largest in-kind donor to the Democratic National Committee.

Fauci, however, has been clever in the manner of his assistance to the Democrats. After all, when you criticize the good doctor, he reminds you that you are criticizing science itself.

Although Fauci has repeatedly insisted that he is not a political person, the evidence clearly indicates otherwise. In 2020, he strongly opposed the Trump campaign’s use of a video clip showing him praising the administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic; yet he allowed the DNC to use his photo in political ads online without a word of protest or opposition. In fact, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (a fundraising organization for Democrat congressional candidates) ran online ads reading “Thank you, Dr. Fauci!”

But what were they thanking him for? In January 2021, I argued that they were slyly thanking him for his push for a near-total shutdown of the American economy in 2020 (which coincidentally happened to be a presidential election year).

Image: Anthony Fauci (edited). YouTube screen grab.

American Thinker was among the first to publish pieces that pointed this out. Other news/opinion outlets followed with similar stories. Here’s one from Just the News and another one from Axios. Oh, well. I suppose imitation of American Thinker pieces is the sincerest of flattery.

Moving on to 2022, you’ll find that the DCCC is continuing to run the same “Thank you, Dr. Fauci” online ad that was run in the 2020 presidential election cycle. Perhaps they hope that Fauci could pull some more lockdown shenanigans to enable another mail-in election.

Unfortunately for them, time is now short. The Monkeypox “emergency” has fizzled, as has the latest COVID variant BA.2.75. Despite the attempted alarmism in Nature’s online headline, the subtext admits that “hospitalization rates are low so far.”

Marc Elias must be disappointed. In 2020, Elias was the election law attorney who effectively used Fauci’s recommended lockdown to persuade elected officials in several swing states to mail out unrequested ballots to all registered voters.

Fortunately for our democracy, these election-rigging shenanigans aren’t panning out for Democrats in 2022. Voters who were alarmed by the shady tactics that the Dems used to circumvent voting rules in 2020 are far more vigilant. The ballot drop boxes that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg funded in the last election will be heavily monitored, and several states have severely restricted their use.

Conservative voters have, in effect, said, “Fool us once, shame on you; Fool us twice, shame on us.” In the words of The Who’s classic song, let’s hope we won’t get fooled again.

Michael A. Bertolone, M.S. is a freelance writer in Rochester, NY.  His other articles can be found at American Thinker and Substack.