https://www.theepochtimes.com/liberalism-as-we-knew-it-is-extinct_5045940.htmlLiberalism as We Knew It Is Extinctby Jeffrey A. Tucker
Feb. 9, 2023
There were two simultaneous hearings yesterday in the House now ruled by Republicans. The first concerned Big Tech censorship and featured Twitter ex-employees being grilled on their role in controlling the public mind in ways that were politically biased.
It was mostly boring of course but I was struck by how many times the people under oath claimed that they couldn’t hear the question, couldn’t read the chart, couldn’t follow the line of thinking, or, even when all else failed, simply could not remember anything. Then there was the former attorney who refused to answer anything on grounds that he must maintain attorney/client privilege even though Twitter is no longer his client.
The second hearing was on the COVID response and featured various public officials including the head of the CDC, who must hold that position based on her Ph.D. in Dissembling. Sadly, nothing much came of the hearing unless I missed something. The questioning was all over the place and imprecise. Too many Republicans wasted time, almost as if they don’t really want to know the truth.
What stands out to me most—and which I almost could not believe—was the absolute unity among the Democrats. I saw no exception. They all agreed that 1) the COVID response was great and only undermined by non-compliance, 2) censorship is necessary and well done by all these ex-Twitter employees and there really needs to be much more of it to protect the public against dangerous disinformation, and 3) these hearings are completely unnecessary.
Something truly terrible has happened to the Democrat Party. Something wicked. This is not the party of John F. Kennedy. Nor Jimmy Carter. Not even Bill Clinton would fit into this gang. I’m not even sure Obama is a good fit here. They are careening toward a consistent position that society should be controlled in all respects by wise government run by aggressive partisans and other experts of their choosing.
Gone completely is affection for free speech, freedom of association, minority rights, trial by jury, public accountability, free expression, and all that stuff. It’s like it’s been wiped out of the liberal brain. There is simply no suspicion of power left in them, unless it is power exercised by someone not part of their team. Really, there is a screw loose here. They seem to have abandoned all the main pillars of civilized life and become full-on champions of the bad guys in every dystopian novel.
What’s more, this entire political party seems to have decided that its best hope is to sign up as the public face of the entire administrative state, not only its biomedical arm but even its police-state arm at the FBI and CIA. It’s truly hard to understand. Even five years ago, such a reality seemed impossible. But it is here now.
...The Democrats have become the party of the Total State.
There is a path out of this morass. Republicans need to get smart. They need to get courageous. They need focus. And they need to get ferocious. Time is wasting and there may not be that much of it.
More at URL above...(excellent piece)
