We like to think of politics as the realm of communal discourse — where we as citizens come together to seek the wisest means of pursuing the Common Good, where candor tempered by charity lets iron sharpen iron — and in the end, we reach a consensus. Then we all move forward together as a country, with those who lost the argument abiding by the principles of sportsmanship, even where they must continue to patriotically dissent.

But then, we also like to think that the bathrooms in this dodgy gas station we’re about to use have been recently cleaned. It’s a nice thought, but don’t bet your health on it. Better have those Lysol flushable wipes along, just in case. And maybe a flask full of bleach.

I can’t speak with any authority about what motivates people who are seriously considering voting for the Harris/Walz presidential ticket, because I don’t talk to them. I have family members who qualify in that regard, and we don’t talk about politics — because we’d prefer to stay on speaking terms.

I firmly believe (no hyperbole here) that the Democratic Party is no longer driven by bad ideas, misplaced priorities, or even crass immoral motives of fallen human beings. That was true, maybe, in the Clinton era, and into the Age of Obama. But now we face a party that preaches the doctrines of demons, who see the good clearly and accurately with their preternatural intellects. And hate it. “They believe, and tremble.” (James 2:19). And my relatives (as does everyone else who reads my work) understand that I firmly believe this.

The Doctrines of Demons

The principalities and powers have dropped the mask. They hate babies and want to abort them right up through the moment of birth, then cannibalize them for parts to make vaccines for diseases that government labs intentionally created. They hate kids and want to let sex-worker drag queens groom them through “story hours” and pornographic books. They hate adolescents and want to chemically or surgically castrate them. They hate young people and want to stop them from marrying and having children. They hate middle-aged people and want to break up their relationships through adultery and porn. They hate old people, and want to drive them to despair, then euthanize them — or kill them with COVID in nursing homes, then deny them Christian burial, dumping them instead in medical waste containers right alongside aborted babies, has happened in 2020.

The Democratic Party hasn’t yet issued its official 2024 platform, but in the interests of full disclosure its first plank ought to read:

“What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29)

They really wouldn’t need to draft a second plank after that.

It’s hard to know what to say to people spiritually committed to the Gadarene Party, who seem content to trot along down the slippery slope into the sea. How do we grab one of those little porkers so intent on a watery grave and talk him into running back uphill?

Assume the Best, Expect the Worst

I’m no expert on spiritual warfare, so I can’t help you there. But let’s assume you’re speaking with people who haven’t accepted Moloch as their personal lord and savior. Instead, maybe they’re lazy and gullible. Or they’re “joiners” who follow the cues of the socially prestigious. Perhaps they belong to some retrograde ethnic group like the Irish, where mindless tribalism demands uncritical loyalty to a single political party (because “our people” have always voted that way).

Assume the best of people, but prepare yourself for the worst. With that in mind, here are some questions you can pose to folks you know who say they might vote for the Democratic ticket this year.

1. What has Kamala Harris actually accomplished in office as vice president? Name one achievement. Of any kind. I can wait.
2. What does “What can be … unburdened by what has been” even mean? Can you rephrase it in human language?
3. Was it good that Democrat governors like Tim Walz let rioters burn down their cities, and candidates like Kamala Harris bailed out the rioters, while people were still locked in their homes for fear of COVID? What was good about that? Since George Floyd’s killers were already in jail, what were those people even protesting? Did Biden and Harris fix whatever it was, and is that why the riots stopped?
4. According to Joe Biden, Kamala Harris was in charge of the southern U.S. border, though she was not technically “czar” since she’s not a Romanov. How good a job did she do of securing it, and imposing the rule of law during the illegal entry of at least eight million people, to whom she’s now promising amnesty and the vote? Was that a good policy? How many more millions should we let in this way, and why is that good for poor and working-class people in America?
5. As a prosecutor, Kamala Harris covered up the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, responding to high-dollar donors who were friends with left-wing bishops. But she did try to imprison pro-life journalists for exposing the fact that Planned Parenthood was selling baby’s organs to medical companies. What’s the common thread there, if it’s not just love of cover-ups and hatred of children? Got any other theories?
6. Kamala Harris covered up Joe Biden’s total mental incapacity for years, insisting he was “sharp as a tack.” He’s so incapacitated that he had to withdraw from the campaign, but she’s not currently invoking the 25^th Amendment to remove him from office. So who is running the country now as we risk war with Russia and Iran? Is she running it illegally? Is it someone else? Who might that be, do you think? Did you vote for them?
7. Was it good that Donald Trump was falsely impeached over charges of “Russian collusion” that the Hillary Clinton campaign made up and got the Obama-led CIA to vouch for — despite a total lack of evidence? How about the Deep State officials who affirmed that the Hunter Biden laptop was probably “Russian disinformation,” before the FBI vouched for its authenticity and relied on it in court? Are you glad those people helped the CIA to censor that story before the 2020 election? Do you want those people to keep their security clearances and keep censoring our media?

Demoralize Them into Not Voting

Don’t wait for good answers to these questions — there aren’t any. When you do get a response, the most winsome approach is simply to nod thoughtfully, then smile and say: “So that’s what you’re going with?” Then move on to the next question. Continue till the person starts backing away. Then follow him from room to room, working your way through my list.

By the time you’re chasing him into the parking lot and shouting still more questions through his car windows, I think you might well have made a strong impression. No sense in trailing him home in your car, though, illegally texting him questions as you tailgate: I don’t want any Stream readers ending up with restraining orders or worse.

You might not persuade this person to change his vote and support conservative candidates. But maybe you’ll sow enough doubt that he loses enthusiasm, stops posting propaganda stories, or giving to Act Blue.

Best case scenario (probably)? You demoralize him to the point that he doesn’t even vote. Then your civic duty is done.

John Zmirak is a senior editor at The Stream and author or coauthor of 10 books, including The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration and The Politically Incorrect Guide to Catholicism. His newest book is No Second Amendment, No First.