Apparently, you can’t teach an old dog a new trick. This is why, in every era of history, the elites who run the Democratic Party have always promoted and exploited lynch mob “justice” for political gain.

No matter how many times Republicans have stressed the importance of due process, the rule of law, and not rushing to condemn people based on their skin color or gender (e.g., by abolishing slavery, championing women’s right to vote and terminating the Democrats’ reign of racial segregation and terror known as Jim Crow), Democratic elites always find new ways to manipulate voters by appealing to their emotions and playing the race (or gender) card. The recent, cynical maneuvering of Democratic politicians in response to unproven allegations of “groping” or sexual misconduct provide yet another example of how Democrats rush to make judgments based on emotions — and the race and/or gender of the accused — instead of respecting the hallowed principle that everyone should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

Last week, Democrats forced two of their own (Senator Al Franken and Rep. John Conyers) to walk the plank in response to mere allegations of wrongdoing, in a transparent attempt to position their party to try to score political points against President Trump and the GOP. In neither case did a court of law determine that the two politicians had engaged in wrongdoing. Nor did a congressional ethics panel take testimony, gather evidence or make findings. Instead, to appease the appetites of a rabid liberal mob (and out of political expediency), Democrats stripped two of their colleagues of their right to a fair hearing and forced them to resign under a cloud of shame.

Now, I admit to enjoying a feeling of schadenfreude while watching the pretentious Al Franken get knifed in the back by fellow Democrats given his dishonest hit job on the character of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. What goes around, comes around.

But farsighted Americans must ask ourselves: If cynical and power-hungry Democratic elites are willing to sacrifice their own colleagues to satiate the liberal mob’s thirst for blood, how will they treat normal, non-privileged Americans if it becomes politically expedient for them to sacrifice our rights to due process and to smear our reputations? (We can glimpse an ominous answer to this question by observing how Democrats have politicized the FBI to attack and bankrupt those people whose political views they disagree with.)

At present, a liberal lynch mob wants to incite us all to believe that any man accused of sexual assault or impropriety is a monster and a villain who must be immediately punished and ostracized. Even if the alleged assault occurred 40 years ago and involves an accuser who

manufactured and/or altered evidence and is represented by Gloria Allred, a brazen self-promoter who has a track record of bringing provocative, but never proven accusations to derail the campaigns of Republican politicians (e.g., President Donald Trump, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Herman Cain, etc.) And even if the allegations have never been vetted or ruled upon by any court or tribunal. This is a dangerous development. The rush to judgment encouraged by liberals today in situations involving alleged sexual impropriety constitutes a major threat to due process and the rule of law, two bedrock principles which have made our country a beacon of light and liberty in the eyes of millions of people around the world.

Sadly, there is nothing new about the Democratic Party encouraging people to bypass reasoned investigation in favor of lynch mob justice. Democrats like Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson had a long track record of opposing anti-lynching laws which were championed by Republicans. Nor is there anything new about Democrats masquerading as the “champions of women” (or “female virtue”) by insisting that a woman’s allegations of sexual wrongdoing have to be believed and demanding punishment without waiting for an objective fact-finder to evaluate the truth or falsity of the accusations. Just ask the families of the “Scottsboro Boys,” Emmett Till, and countless other victims of Democrats’ lynch mob mentality who faced accusations that were later recanted by their supposed victims — but only after great damage had already been done.

For these reasons, it is gut-wrenching to hear self-congratulatory liberals blithely admit that they are “not at all concerned” about the damage inflicted on innocent men from false accusations. Their cavalier attitude towards victims of false allegations makes one wonder whether the lynch mob mentality of Democratic elites has really changed or whether they have simply become more adept at hiding their true, ugly feelings?

Our nation is better off when Americans follow the rule of law and not the passions of the mob. Hopefully, the people of Alabama remember this when deciding whether to elect yet another race-baiting Democrat to the Senate who will support lynch mob injustice.

Nick James is the nom de plume of a trial attorney in the D.C. area who formerly worked for the United States Department of Justice as an award-winning federal prosecutor.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.