Those on the left like to smirk and with a knowing smile accuse those of us on the right of delusional paranoia when we voice concerns of a leftist coup of government.  Who leads it?  Obama?  Soros?  Hardly likely!  A cabal of faceless, global revolutionaries who hold secret meetings in Bulgaria?  Ha, ha!  Without definable leadership, there can't be an insurgency.  The only insurgency threat is from Trump and MAGA.  We are conspiracy theorists.

Does it take a Lenin, a Mao, a Hitler to spearhead an insurrection?

The Center for Responsive Politics reports that in the 2020 election cycle, employees of federal agencies blessed the Democrat party with 72.6% of its political donations, 24.5% going to Republicans.  Among the most generous were Health and Human Services at 93%, DOJ at 87%, Dept. Of Energy at 93%, Dept. Of Education at 97%, the FCC at 99%, Dept. Of Interior at 91%, Dept. Of Labor at 92%, the EPA at 90%.

The Hill reported that “Federal government employees are opening their wallets to help Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump on Nov. 8.”  Of the ~$2m given by 14 federal agencies, 95% went to Clinton, with the Dept. of State, the DOJ, and the IRS overwhelmingly supporting Hillary.

Gallup found that 46% of state government employees identify as Democrat and 24% as Republican, the rest as independent (most likely to conceal partisanship).

Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter employees and leadership donate almost exclusively to Democrats.  In the 2022 midterms, Twitter employees donated 99% to Democrats.

The NEA teachers' union in 2020–2021 donated $374m. to political — i.e., Democrat — causes, making 32% of its expenditures.  Nine percent of its support went to direct assistance for its members.

It is quite apparent that the left comprises half the electorate, progressive politicians, the federal bureaucracy, the media, and the education system.  A 2021 report from U. of C. Berkeley found a higher proclivity for public service among Democrats and a tendency to stay in government careers longer.  One can only speculate as to the psychic motivations that drive those on the left into government service, the media, and education.  But the goal is clear: it puts them in a position to manipulate and control the thoughts and actions of others, a role that does not appeal to most conservatives.  As Jonathan Gruber explained regarding the passage of the ACA, "lack of transparency" and "the stupidity of the American voter" are a huge political advantage.

Its political support history and its predominantly progressive composition make it quite clear that the federal bureaucracy is an instrument of the left — the "Deep State," "permanent Washington" — to the empowerment of the progressive Democrat party.  Overt politicization of their operations is a natural extension of their agenda.  Before leaving office in his attempt to "drain the swamp," Trump issued an executive order, Schedule F, which would enable a sitting president to fire designated members of the bureaucracy.  Schedule F was rescinded by Biden immediately upon assuming office.

Any element in the echo chamber of commonly purposed progressive politicians, civil servants, educators, and media pundits is quite capable of waging war on free speech and creating cultural chaos by fabricating injustices, perpetrated by an evil, immoral "system," that must be fundamentally changed.  The M.O. is simple.  Divide society into oppressor and oppressed factions via identity politics.  Vilify the oppressors and exalt the oppressed.  Incite rebellion against the oppressors.  Anyone having an axe to grind about anything has his anger channeled against "the system."  That does not require the sinister plotting of an occult cabal in Bulgaria — just persistent pressure and manipulation by a nidus of those positioned to and intent upon bringing down a society they want to control.

It is not necessary to be able to identify individuals or a clearly defined group as the force behind a social or political movement.  No single person or group stands out as perpetrator of the counterculture movement of the sixties.  Who started the American Revolution?

From a leftist perspective, insurgencies and insurrections can be perpetrated only by far-right fascists with clearly identifiable leaders.  What we are seeing now is nothing more than an anonymous, groundswell, grassroots quest of long overdue social reform — democracy in action!

So which is it?  Are conservatives paranoid conspiracy theorists, or are liberals in denial of a predictably devastating outcome of a movement they find presently gratifying?

Image: Chris Dodds via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.