The Making Of A Manchurian Party
Just as a fictional U.S. soldier was brainwashed into becoming an enemy of the U.S., so too has the Democrat party made that transition over the last 25 years.
Allan J. Feifer | July 15, 2026
Richard Condon’s The Manchurian Candidate was published in 1959 during the Cold War. The novel told the story of an American soldier whom the Chinese and North Koreans brainwashed into becoming a political assassin as part of their attempt to overthrow America. Its power came from a simple but frightening idea: the greatest threat to a nation doesn’t necessarily come from outside its borders; sometimes a country can be manipulated into tearing itself apart.
In 2026, America may not be facing a single Manchurian Candidate but, instead, something more consequential: the metamorphosis of the Democrat party into a Manchurian Party.
The Democrat party shows no signs of disappearing. Instead, I’m concerned that it is becoming something fundamentally different from the institution Americans have known—and many respect and are loyal to—for generations.
That matters because America’s political system has always depended on constructive competition between parties that, despite deep disagreements, accepted the legitimacy of our constitutional underpinnings and at times even worked collegially with one another. Republicans and Democrats frequently argued over the proper role of government, even as they generally agreed on our constitutional framework.
It’s an open question whether that agreement still exists.
The Democrat party is undergoing a sharp break from its traditional platform. Leadership has stopped acting as the institution’s steward and now chases tactical wins, distorting the party’s long-term identity. Formerly fringe factions have been absorbed, supplying energy, money, and turnout. What started as Big Tent tolerance has morphed into reliance, and that reliance is now allowing those factions to consume the old party.
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https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/07/the-making-of-a-manchurian-party/
