Democrats never miss a chance to lecture Republicans about “protecting democracy,” but when you actually listen to them behind the CNN desk, their hypocrisy practically writes itself.
On Thursday, Dana Bash sat down with David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel—two veterans of the Obama machine—and the conversation quickly revealed that Democrats have no problem with gerrymandering. They just prefer to cloak their own partisan map-drawing in moral superiority while accusing Donald Trump of “stealing” elections.
Bash opened by quoting Dan Pfeiffer's recent article “Trump’s Quiet Coup,” which claimed the president is bent on seizing the House through redistricting, manipulating the census, and eliminating the Voting Rights Act. Predictably, Axelrod jumped right in, declaring, “Donald Trump believes that rules and laws and norms and institutions are for suckers. And you do whatever is to your advantage, however you need to do it. He desperately wants to keep control of the House because he doesn’t want any oversight.”
Rahm Emanuel admitted Democrats fear Trump’s ability to reframe the midterms and acknowledged that Republicans might have the upper hand. But then came the moment Bash put her finger on the Democrats’ biggest weakness: their laughable double standard on gerrymandering.
“As an Illinois boy, we should just set the record that their gerrymandering has been two-plated that game,” Bash reminded the panel. Emanuel didn’t deny it — in fact, he boasted, “A hundred — I have participated in.”
When Dana Bash interjected that Illinois is “probably the most gerrymandered state” in the country, Emanuel didn’t even deny it, but of course, that’s “different.”
“The question is, it was done exactly when the Census data was done, not mid-cycle, not mid-game.”
Axelrod then doubled down on the spin, insisting Democrats actually “believe in rules and laws and norms and institutions,” which supposedly puts them at a disadvantage against Republicans who will “do anything.” This is laughable.
The most gerrymandered states in the union—Illinois, New York, Maryland—are run by Democrats, with maps redrawn to crush GOP districts and cement one-party rule. Meanwhile, the 2020 census has been proven to contain serious errors, skewing representation in ways that favored Democrats. And now, efforts in Texas to redraw congressional lines are not some partisan power grab—they’re actually correcting and overwhelming the decades of Democrat bias baked into the redistricting process nationwide.
The arrogance of the Democratic establishment really comes through here. They know they’ve played this game for years, yet they act as if any Republican attempt at redistricting is illegitimate. Emanuel’s casual admission that he personally “participated” in gerrymandering Illinois exposes just how unserious their moralizing really is.
For years, Democrats have lectured Americans about Republicans “rigging the system” while quietly rigging it themselves in the states they control. When Republicans try to correct maps or respond to flawed census data, it’s called a “coup.” When Democrats do the exact same thing, it’s hailed as “fair representation.” No wonder Americans don’t take the left’s warnings about Trump and democracy seriously.
For Democrats, rules are for Republicans—while they pursue every advantage, congratulate themselves for their supposed virtue, and cloak self-interest in moral righteousness. This is the pattern: no matter how blatant the corruption or hypocrisy, Democrats see themselves as justified. They’ve mastered the art of wearing a halo while playing for keeps, convinced their ends excuse any means. Every gerrymandered map, every manipulated census, every procedural loophole is framed as necessary or noble, because for Democrats, hypocrisy isn’t a flaw—it’s a feature.
