The democratic subversion of democracy

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

We have heard repeatedly throughout this election cycle that Donald Trump is a deep and permanent threat to democracy. This threat allegedly stems from Trump's belief that he won the 2020 election, as well as his promotion of the misleading legal theory that the vice president has the unilateral power to invalidate certified state electoral votes.

It can be stipulated that Trump has not presented any sufficient evidence to support the claim that he lost the 2020 election due to voter fraud; Furthermore, it can be stipulated that Trump's pressure on Mike Pence to delay election certification was rooted in a baseless misinterpretation of the Constitution. In reality, however, the truest threat to American democracy is not stubborn reluctance to concede elections or a baseless legal dispute. It is the continuing attempt to create a series of institutions impervious to public disapproval or electoral accountability, staffed by pseudo-experts who act as “authorities” on a wide range of issues affecting Americans.

It is the creation and maintenance of a permanent bureaucracy, organized by the political left and catering to its whims.

This was the goal of Woodrow Wilson, who wrote in 1887 that the political sphere—the responsibility of elected officials—should be circumscribed in favor of expert “administration”: “Administrative questions are not political questions. Although politics marks the tasks of the administration, it should not be suffered to manipulate its offices”. The power of the administrative state, Wilson wrote, should be free and discretionary.

And that is the goal of today's so-called Deep State. In preparation for Joe Biden's possible defeat, the Biden administration is promoting new Office of Personnel Management regulations to prevent career officials from being reclassified as political appointees from at-will workers, effectively giving them a taxpayer funded tenure. The administration has spent the past few months revising the regulations to try to avoid the fallout from the Congressional Review Act, a law that allows Congress to repeal regulations by passing a joint resolution immune from filibuster. However, the CRA can only be used on regulations introduced during the 60 days prior to the adjournment of a session of Congress. Hence the rush.

All this is designed to isolate the government from the elected powers. And that's a good thing, according to our legacy media and the Democratic Party, because the elected branches can be run by Donald Trump. That's why The New York Times published an article in March titled “Turns Out The 'Deep State' Is Really Cool.” According to the Times, “When we hear 'deep state,' instead of retreating, we should rally. We should think of the workers known as our public servants, the everyday superheroes who wake up ready to dedicate their careers and his life to serve us.”

Those who postulate that bureaucrats installed in regulatory positions can pursue anti-democratic ends are labeled “conspiracy theorists”. But no conspiracy theory is needed when the purpose of bureaucratic administration is out in the open and has been for 150 years. Our constitutional republic was rooted in checks and balances between elected branches, and an unelected judiciary delegated the power only to interpret the law rather than make it. There is no independent fourth branch of government that presides over politics, free from the judgment of the electorate.

Yet this is precisely what the Biden administration continues to promote. I this it is a threat to American democracy, a threat that has already materialized over decades, turning our government into an elephantine, sclerotic, Byzantine architecture shielded from public accountability. According to Democrats, that's a good thing. At least it protects us from the truth “threat to democracy,” a Republican president-elect.

Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How the Left Weaponized American Institutions Against Dissent.” To learn more about Ben Shapiro and read features from other Creators Syndicate writers and artists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Ben Shapiro, 36, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers “How to Destroy America in Three Easy Steps”, “The Right Side of History” and “Bullies”.

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