Opinion

ROOKE: Will Joe Biden’s Election Strategy Work? The Answer Lies In One Maryland Primary

OPINION
President Biden Holds First Campaign Event In His Re-Election Bid

(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Mary Rooke Commentary and Analysis Writer
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President Joe Biden hoped to convince voters that former President Donald Trump and his supporters are a scary force of evil looking to overthrow our government. Still, this approach is not resonating with Americans, who’ve seen it for what it is: an election strategy.

Democrats, with help from some Republicans, spent the last four years trying to paint Jan. 6 as an insurrection and assault on American democracy. They hope that if they can successfully label half the country as MAGA extremists whose only concern is overthrowing big “D” Democracy, then hopefully, the electorate will forget about the terrible economy, wide open U.S. border and far-left policies like changes to Title IX that allow men into women’s locker rooms.

The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, or simply the January 6 Committee, brought in “key” witnesses to push the narrative that the aggression worse than anything the U.S. has ever seen. Democrats likened the riot to Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, where more than 2,300 American sailors and soldiers died and the terrorist attacks on 9/11 that claimed almost 3,000 lives. (ROOKE: Biden Paints Morbid Picture Of Black College Grads’ Future In Speech Meant To Uplift Them)

The politicized investigations had unlimited backing from the federal government. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) posted pictures of grandmas parading through the Capitol and fathers holding American flags, hoping their fellow citizens would rat them out. When they were done hunting grandmas, the FBI and Biden’s Department of Justice even went after journalists covering the events.

The term “January 6 gulag” became a notable phrase to describe the prison housing inmates captured and awaiting trial. These prisoners’ treatment was well-documented as inhumane; being reportedly denied access to attorneys, kept in solitary confinement and some were refused medication.

Every subsequent arrest was supposed to be another victory in the fight against domestic terrorists. Still, after two years of Biden’s federal government dragging Americans through politicized raids, investigations and convictions to push their coup d’état narrative, it came up short. Their work didn’t convince anyone that this was a terrorist attack.

The major flaw in their plan was that no one, except a Trump supporter, died because of the riot, despite elite media painting the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick as a casualty of the events. He died of natural causes after suffering two strokes. (ROOKE: The Left Wants Strong Christians Like Harrison Butker Out Of Sight And Out Of Mind)

One of their star witnesses, Capitol Police Office Harry Dunn, went on a circuit of left-wing media shows to push the Democrat narrative that Jan. 6 was an insurrection. He was hailed as a force of good fighting back against the rise of MAGA extremism and became a Presidential Citizens Medal recipient. He even wrote a book, “Standing My Ground: A Capitol Police Officer’s Fight for Accountability and Good Trouble After January 6th,” that became a New York Times Bestseller. 

“Standing My Ground is ‘a powerful, patriotic tale – told with striking moral clarity’ (Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi) that provides a crucial, definitive firsthand account of what happened on that day our country was shocked to its core. But it will also share the story of a man who refused to stay quiet when he learned that some of the men and women he had risked his life protecting, who knew him by name, would deny the horrors they faced,” the book’s description says.

Dunn used his testimony and media fame to bolster a run as a Democrat for U.S. Congress in Maryland. Dunn likely saw retiring Rep. John Sarbanes’ open seat in Maryland’s 3rd District as an easy win due to far-left celebrities and media personalities fawning over his so-called bravery.

Dunn announced his decision to run on Twitter, writing, “I’m running for Congress to stop Trump’s MAGA extremists & ensure it never happens again.” He told the MSNBC hosts of “Morning Joe” that his campaign would focus on protecting American democracy.

“It may sound scary, but we are one election away from the extinction of democracy as we know it,” Dunn stated.

But, despite his crown of approval from Democrat California Reps. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, voters didn’t see it this way. Dunn lost to Democrat Maryland state Sen. Sarah Elfreth. Before election day, Dunn tried to blame outside funding to Elfreth from a super PAC, United Democracy Project, for his campaign’s downfall.

“You look at the people that are funding UDP. There are a lot of big prominent MAGA donors, especially to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Lauren Boebert and several others. … And those are just the facts,” Dunn said. “I’ve been very outspoken about how I feel against the MAGA faction of the Republican Party, including their leader, and I don’t have any regrets.” (ROOKE: One GOP Lawmaker Called A Decades-Old Liberal Bluff, And The Left Is Losing Its Mind)

Voters supporting Elfreth were more interested in whether “they feel like they can turn to [her] when they need help,” according to an interview before the election.

“We’ve had tornadoes in this district. We’ve had gun violence. We’ve had flooding. We’ve had a whole bunch of issues that I’ve been able to be there for folks on their hardest days,” Elfreth said. “And that’s a really important part of the job, that at the end of the day, folks really don’t care how I vote as long as they feel like they can turn to me when they need help.”

She was right. It seems even Democrat voters couldn’t care less about the bloviating Capitol cop parading his so-called accomplishments, beating back MAGA. Elfreth won over 35% of the primary vote in a field of 22 candidates to become the Democrat nominee for District 3.

Dunn is proof that Democrats’ plan is failing. Biden’s campaign should be scared because these aren’t MAGA voters. Dunn’s race was in a district that housed predominately Democrat, white, well-educated middle-class voters. “The most common employment sectors for those who live in Congressional District 3, MD, are Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services (59,233 people), Health Care & Social Assistance (48,515 people), and Public Administration (46,146 people),” according to Data USA.

The Democrat play to demonize half of America is failing. Biden’s only option is to come up with a plan to address the economy, illegal immigration and its obsession with progressive social policies because putting all his baskets in the Jan. 6 insurrection narrative is a gamble that won’t pay off.