The Calculus of Crisis: The Evil of the Left, By Charles Taylor

Lying in the fevered trenches of American politics, few spectacles rival a government shutdown, a high-stakes poker game where the chips are federal paycheques, veterans' benefits, and national parks. At the time of writing the shutdown is set to end, but the morals of the story deserve discussion still, for general lessons on the evil of the Left.

Derek Hunter's blistering op-ed (see link below), nails the Democrats' playbook: a calculated "principled stance" on Obamacare subsidies that evaporates post-election, not from altruism, but electoral arithmetic. After 40+ days of brinkmanship in late 2025, eight strategically selected Democrats, none facing voters soon, flipped the script, ending the chaos with just enough cover for radicals to feign outrage. Hunter's verdict? "Democrats are evil, not stupid"— a ruthless machine prioritising power over people, shielded by media accomplices and voter amnesia. This isn't uniquely Yankee cynicism; it's a transatlantic template. From UK's Labour wielding fiscal gloom as a tax-hike smokescreen to Australia's Labor dangling pre-election lollipops then yanking the string, Leftist parties across the West mirror this tactic: Weaponise crises for narrative control, sacrifice short-term pain for long-game gains, and let the base bay for "fight" without ever risking the fortress. This post unmasks the pattern — cynical, competent, and corrosive — arguing that what Hunter calls "evil" is the shared DNA of progressive realpolitik: Voters as pawns, principles as props.

Hunter's dissection of the 2025 Schumer Shutdown (October 1–November 11) is forensic: Democrats held the line on ACA subsidies not for the "suffering" masses, after all, philosophies tied to 100 million 20th-century deaths don't sweat SNAP delays, but to galvanise turnout, of those voters getting "free stuff." Pre-election capitulation risked radical abstentions; post-vote, with wins secured, the dam broke. Eight "safe" senators (retirees or long-timers) provided the margin, sparing firebrands like AOC the taint of compromise. As PBS reports, even moderates embraced the impasse, shrugging off risks because "the fight is the victory." No starvation ensued, media "hunger" sob stories vanished when SNAP checks loomed, proving the pain performative.

This echoes the filibuster farce: Manchin and Sinema as lightning rods, absorbing Left-wing ire so the caucus could posture without peril. Hunter's "Nigerian prince" analogy fits: Voters fall for the grift, mistaking tactical feints for strategy. White House logs tally Democrats rejecting "clean CRs" ten times, extorting $1.5 trillion in Leftist largesse. The result? A polarised populace, where "fight" chants drown fiscal folly, and shutdowns become seasonal theatre, evil in execution, brilliant in branding.

Across the pond, Keir Starmer's Labour, fresh off a 2024 landslide, deploys Hunter's script with Westminster polish: Pre-election piety on taxes ("no rises for working people"), post-vote pivot to plunder. By November 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves stares down a £30 billion "black hole," blaming Tory "fiscal inheritance" while prepping hikes that shred the manifesto. As Reuters notes, honouring no-tax vows demands "deep investment cuts" — a non-starter for the spending-soaked Left, so expect NICs or income tax stealth raids, framed as "change" not betrayal.

No literal shutdown, parliamentary sovereignty precludes it, but the tactics transpose: Weaponise economic gloom (anaemic growth, sticky inflation) to justify austerity for foes, largesse for friends. The Institute for Government dubs 2025 Labour's "make-or-break" year, with Reeves's November 26 budget as the battlefield: Bond markets demand consolidation, but party rebels crave child benefit expansions (£3.5 billion hit). Echoing Hunter's "cover" crew, Starmer dispatches loyalists (e.g., Bridget Philipson floating two-child limit lifts at conference fringes) to test waters, while elders like Angela Rayner absorb backbench blasts. Polls? Labour trails Reform UK amid "division," yet the base cheers "fight," against Tories, not fiscal reality. It's shutdown-by-stealth: Delay reforms (social care to 2028?), scapegoat inheritance, and let amnesia heal the manifesto wounds. Evil? Competent enough to gamble on voter fatigue.

In Canberra, Anthony Albanese's Labor apes the archetype with Aussie flair: A 2025 budget bloated with $17.1 billion tax cuts, bracketing creep buster, Medicare boosts, to neuter Coalition attacks. Chalmers hails it as "resilience" against Trump's tariffs, but post-vote? The mask slips. Election costings boast $6.4 billion consultant culls, yet the PBO flags headline deficits ballooning despite "underlying" tweaks, classic accounting artistry. No shutdowns Down Under, but fiscal feints abound: Promise TAFE fee-frees and HECS wipes, then "administrative changes" cap migration without legislation, hiking student visas $400 to fund it.

Hunter's "strategic choosers" find kin in Albanese's crew: Pre-poll, Medicare revivals stir healthcare fears; post-win, defence spending lags to 2030s, Port of Darwin "reviews" dangle without deadlines. The Guardian charts the carousel: $760 million from student visa gouges offsets "Build Australia's Future," but critics cry bracket creep persistence. Base? Energised by "fight" against the "slash-and-burn," oblivious to the grift. As The Diplomat warns, Labor clings via hip-pocket hypnosis, promises galore, delivery deferred. Evil efficiency: Sacrifice fiscal purity for electoral lock-in.

The pattern proliferates: In Canada, Liberals dangled carbon rebates pre-2025 vote, then hiked them post-win amid "inherited" deficits, echoing Hunter's subsidy sham. France's Socialists under Hollande (2012–17) promised 60,000 jobs, delivered 300,000 losses, blaming "global headwinds" while shielding the base with "resistance" rhetoric. Germany's SPD, in coalition contortions, wields "Sozialstaat" as shutdown proxy: Delay reforms, scapegoat AfD, let Merkel ghosts take the heat. Even Scandinavia succumbs, Sweden's Social Democrats (2022–25) tout "fair growth," then impose stealth taxes post-election, per NordForsk fiscal audits. The thread? Leftist longevity via leveraged leverage: Amplify agony for applause, attenuate accountability with alibis.

Hunter's "sad" coda rings true: Bases buy the balm, mistaking manipulation for might. Polls affirm, 65% blame GOP for U.S. shutdowns, yet Democrats' "advantage" crumbles under scrutiny (NYT-Siena: 27% say shut down anyway). In UK, Labour's 2025 conference buzzes with "fight," but IfG warns of "settled revolt" over rules. Australia's Labor clings via cuts, but Diplomat divines a "retuned message" imperative, hip-pocket hypnosis has half-life. The evil endures because stupidity sells: "Fight" fills forums, facts flee.

Yet cracks form. X rants ("Shut them down!") and Reform UK's surge signal backlash; Labours property palaces plague their "everyman" myth. As Hunter implores, remember: They're not stupid. But voters awakening? That's the real reckoning.

US Democrats' shutdown sleight, evil, not inept, replicates in Labour's ledger and Labor's lures, a Western Leftist liturgy of calculated cruelty. From Schumer's stall to Starmer's stealth, it's the same sin: Power preserved at peril's edge, with "fight" as fig leaf. Hunter's reminder endures: Concern for suffering? Absent. But competence in conquest? Undeniable. The antidote? Amnesia-proof vigilance, call the bluff, demand the receipts. Else, the grift globalises, and the West falls down.

https://townhall.com/columnists/derekhunter/2025/11/11/democrats-are-evil-not-stupid-n2666237