Jerry Shenk: If it weren’t for double standards …

If it weren’t for double standards, today’s Democrats would have none at all.

Yes, I know that’s not original. Dozens of critics have expressed that aphorism, because it’s demonstrably true.

Examples of their double standards reveal that liberal Democrats lack familiarity with their own history, have little self-awareness, and possess no sense of irony — or shame — at all.

Those collective deficiencies are abundantly evident in modern Democrats’ internally conflicting policy positions, some in the “then vs. now” category, others for their shameless contemporaneous inconsistencies.

There are numerous examples.

In Minneapolis recently, busy erecting roadblocks, an anti-ICE activist proudly announced, “We are literally creating a place that we know who’s coming and going in and out of our neighborhoods.”

She and fellow activists were attempting to block “unwelcome” people, in this case, federal officers who were legally using public streets to detain lawbreakers, including criminal aliens, who entered the United States illegally. Barriers — “borders” — were erected and “enforced” to keep out “undesirable” citizens.

Ironic, huh?

In fact, double standards characterize the Democrats’ entire opposition to enforcing immigration law.

CNN reported, “During the Obama years, the Hennepin County Jail [Minneapolis, MN] actually had a policy where they let an ICE agent keep an office there.”

The 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)/McCarran-Walter Act was passed by Democratic U.S. House and Senate majorities and signed by a Democratic president.

Ditto the 1965 Amendments to the INA, the Hart-Celler Act.

The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed in a Democrat-dominated House.

The 1990 Immigration Act was passed by Democratic majorities in both chambers.

When the 1996 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed and signed, Democrats held majorities in the Senate and House, and a Democrat occupied the Oval Office.

In other words, immigration laws that Democrats seek to nullify today were passed by members of their own party. President Donald Trump is simply following his constitutional duty to “faithfully execute” American laws that Democrats passed, but his Democrat predecessor ignored.

When accusing Republicans, Democrats insist that “No one is above the law” (echo, echo, echo…), but refuse to enforce immigration laws, and they release criminal aliens back into the population rather than handing them over to federal officers for deportation, while elevating some to virtual sainthood.

On another topic, Democrats tell us that requiring photo ID to vote somehow suppresses minorities’ voting opportunities, calling voter ID “Jim Crow 2.0.”

African nations Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho require voter ID. Do Democrats believe black Africans to be more intelligent and capable than black Americans? If so, how do minorities gain entrance to the Democrats’ national conventions? Those require an ID for admission.

Frankly, it’s racist to assume that minorities cannot meet the same basic standards everyone else must — and does.

Elected Democrats oppose every attempt to ensure American election integrity, including the SAVE Act, a bill that would also exclude non-Americans from voting. Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal said that ensuring only US citizens can vote is “totalitarian” and “authoritarian.”

Non-citizens are barred from voting in Mexico, but Blumenthal et al. are apparently fine with votes cast here by Mexican nationals illegally resident in the U.S.

Immigration policy and voting regulations are not the only examples of Democrats’ double standards.

After four years of the Biden/Harris administration’s grinding 22 percent [cumulative] inflation that was fueled by a Democrat Congress’ massive spending, Democrats have discovered “affordability,” and intend to run against Republicans in the midterm elections on a problem they created.

Democrats’ “land acknowledgements” allege that Americans are living on stolen land, yet, to my (and Google’s) knowledge not a single Democrat has ever returned any of their personal real property to the “original owners.”

Democrats yammer incessantly about “affordable housing” and “income inequality,” but the worst examples of those conditions exist in jurisdictions completely controlled by liberal Democrats.

For years, Democrats have accused Republicans of “waging a war on women,” while Democrats openly favor allowing males – “trans women” — in women’s prisons, locker rooms, and public restrooms, and the least-accomplished men to compete in women’s sports.

Democrats are fine with pushing pro-trans propaganda on kids and allowing schools to keep parents ignorant of their children’s gender confusion, but order anyone who would stop either practice to “leave the kids alone.”

It’s true, if it weren’t for double standards, Democrats would have none at all.

Contact columnist Jerry Shenk at jshenk2010@gmail.com