Psychological projection is the act of attributing one’s unpleasant traits to someone else. Psychological deflection is a way of shifting attention away from one’s poor behavior to another person. Both are used expertly by Democrats, who don’t want the voters to catch on to their act.
We could start with any of the Democrats’ many examples of projection and deflection, but let’s focus on one of the most recent instances of a Democratic pot calling a kettle black: California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Florida television ad.
“Freedom is under attack in your state,” Newsom said in a voice a bit less croaky than his usual raspy delivery. “Your Republican leaders, they’re banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors.
“I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate, and the freedom to love. Don’t let them take your freedom,” he finishes with a faux flourish that included a pointed finger meant to underline the sincerity the factory-made man sorely lacks.
The ad is a truly stomach-turning performance (typical of Newsom) for those who truly cherish freedom, and understand what it is – and isn’t. (It’s also filled with lies. Read this master Fisking of the governor’s tales.)
The California of Newsom, who many hope will save the Democratic Party from sinking under the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris millstones, is ranked 48th in the Cato Institute’s Freedom In The 50 States report. It’s where new prohibitions, such as bans on multiple plastic consumer goods, including single-use bags customarily given out by retailers, pop up on a regular basis, and food waste must be composted rather than thrown in garbage cans.
Under Newsom, California lawmakers:
Have literally robbed workers of their livelihoods through Assembly Bill 5, which virtually outlawed gig work (though exceptions have been granted for some of the more politically connected independent contract workers).
Are in the process of criminalizing speech about COVID-19 that is considered by the political powers to be “disinformation” or “misinformation.”
And are also trying to dodge the Second Amendment and the U.S Supreme Court’s recent Bruen ruling.
The single-party state on America’s Left Coast has also forbidden consumers, via Newsom’s pen, from buying the cars of their choice; engaged in a war on all cars; and created an environment of intolerance for opinions and voices that don’t march in step with the Democrats.
That’s the way it is in California, and that’s the way it is with Democrats across the country.
They no longer support free speech – they’re wholly committed to political correctness, the soul-crushing rigidity of a woke existence, and shutting down political speech they don’t want to be heard.
They don’t believe in economic freedom – their objective is to redistribute wealth, wildly spend other peoples’ money, and set limits on the earnings of those they don’t like and/or are easy to scapegoat.
The Democrats have been the worst violators of personal liberty since the beginning of the pandemic, decreeing criminal lockdowns (which were deadly), issuing mask mandates (which are useless), and mandating vaccinations (which violates the “my body, my choice” principle the Democrats swear they support).
At the same time they don’t believe in property rights, they do believe in government regulation, no matter how encumbering it is; the application of government power to render their definition of equity; and restricting health care choices, which they believe should be fully in government’s hands.
We challenge readers to come up with even a single freedom that Democrats support, and abortion doesn’t count unless a convincing case can be made that abortion is not the taking of an innocent human life, and that the aborted have no rights of their own to be respected.
Freedom for Democrats is the contrived Rooseveltian “freedom from,” not the Lockean “freedom to.” The former carves out a vast role for government to take over lives. Americans today regularly fall for this. As soon as Democrats say “we’re going to give you something,” they’ve already made it clear they’re taking that “something” from someone else, who then loses their freedom. Democrats’ freedoms are in fact shackles. If this nation is truly one of liberty, they should be nowhere near the levers of political power.
Thank you to the Issues & Insights Team for sharing this original editorial. For all of Issues & Insight's original editorials, please visit Issuesinsights.com.
