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Not long ago, Democrats held a huge lead in the generic polls conducted to forecast the outcome of the 2018 midterm elections. By double digits, more voters were choosing Democratic candidates over Republican candidates to represent their respective congressional districts. Things have changed and at least one recent poll from Reuters now has Republicans with a slim lead in the generic ballot. Is this an epic Democrat collapse, however, or an ingenious plan to oust President Donald Trump right before the 2020 general election? For the sake of making this article an interesting read, we’re going with the latter.

The leadership of the Democratic Party, facing the prospect of huge gains in November, quickly realized that something had to be done. A year ago, they had rolled out their new “Better deal, better ingredients, Papa John’s” platform, touting a fresh and optimistic economic plan and, as lackluster as the launch was, it seemed to be just the ticket to win them control of Congress. Tom Perez, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer quickly realized their mistake and sprang into action to turn the incoming tide of victory. The blue wave, they realized, would wash away their ultimate dream of being rid of Trump. Against that accomplishment, taking the House of Representatives was small potatoes.

She’s So Unusual

When the Republicans passed their tax reform bill, Team Pelosi seized the opportunity. In one of her now-famous drug-addled ramblings, the House minority leader proclaimed the extra money destined for the paychecks of hard-working Americans was mere “crumbs.” Surely, she thought, such an insulting and insensitive response would sink any chance her party had of emerging victorious in November. But, no, it was not to be; the polls continued to show Democrats heading for a big win.

Money Changes Everything

Upping the ante, Pelosi adopted a new tone. Not only were the tax cuts an insult to Americans, she insisted, but, if her party became the majority, she would repeal those cuts. Repeal would not be enough, however; Democrats would then raise taxes! The masterminds of the minority party weren’t finished there, either; much like FBI officials who didn’t care for the incoming president, they needed an insurance policy. Knowing that border security and immigration reform was a major area of concern for most voters, the Democrats went all-in on no borders, no immigration control, and sanctuary for illegal aliens. Perfect! How could they possibly win now?

Time After Time

This still was not quite enough, though. Their lead in the generic ballot had shrunk but they might yet be victorious in the midterms. Then it hit them: gun control. This had always been a sure-fire loser at the ballot box and the Democratic Party embraced it once again.

All they needed now was one last way to demonstrate to the American people that they were too batcrap crazy to be put in charge of Congress. Trump handed them that opportunity on a silver platter when he referred to MS-13, the most vicious gang of murderers, drug dealers, and kidnappers in the Western Hemisphere, as “animals.” Pelosi spearheaded a campaign of sympathy for this tattooed band of downtrodden psychopaths. Defeat in November was now all but certain.

Do Cindi Lauper-Related Subheadings Work?

Raising taxes, taking the guns away and singing Kumbaya with MS-13. It was the recipe for electoral disaster – just what the Democrats had been searching for.

Why put so much effort into losing a midterm election? The answer is quite simple. If the Democrats found themselves in control of Congress, they would have to come up with ways of avoiding any form of cooperation with a president they hate and consider illegitimate while, at the same time, not looking like total tools. They would have to keep this up for another two years; an impossible feat.

If they are soundly defeated in November – a rare occurrence for the party out of power – they can put the blame squarely on Trump’s collusion with the Russians. It is the perfect strategy; after almost two years of searching in vain for evidence that Trump and his associates schemed with the Russians to steal an election, the president’s opponents could point to another improbable election loss as proof that this collusion was a thing, all along, and was still happening. They could then call for an expansion of the special counsel investigation, dragging it out all the way to 2020. Surely, the Democrats reason, Mueller will – by that time – come up with a good enough excuse for Congress to impeach and convict the president just in time for the next general election. It is a magnificent plan.

Alternatively, it could be that the Democratic Party has nothing with which to appeal to the American voter and is struggling to oppose a successful and increasingly popular president. As just demonstrated, however, that theory can be fully expressed in two lines of text. Stretching it out to several hundred words would have been tedious for both the author and the reader. This is why we went with the first theory.