All I Want For Christmas Is A Republican Party That Actually Cares

Over the past week, prominent Democrats and left-wing pundits have openly promised that once they are back in power, they will do what it takes to ensure Republicans never obtain power again — while punishing those who have been in power. And while Democrats are openly sketching out their plans for a permanent, one-party realignment, Republicans are busy passing meaningless resolutions condemning socialism.

On Monday leftist agitator George Conway told The Bulwark, “There has to be kind of a Reconstruction Era. And this is a critical part of the reconstruction program — that lawyers are going to have to figure out mechanisms that are constitutional and draft statutes that, you know, prevent some of this sh-t from ever happening again, including, you know, electing a crazy president.”

Conway suggested creating a “body” separate from the president’s cabinet under the 25th Amendment to decide whether a president is incapacitated, while suggesting reform in the Department of Justice is “essential.”

The same day Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated: “The one thing that should be clear — to all of these Republican extremists and sycophants and the people who are either actively involved in corruption, violating the law, engaged in extrajudicial activity — is that the statute of limitations for any crimes being committed now is five years. It will extend well beyond the end of the Trump administration.”

Meanwhile Sen. Mark Kelly has been encouraging troops to defy the president’s authority, suggesting troops are carrying out illegal orders and threatening retribution.

As Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson pointed out, Kelly “basically insinuated that service members who do not defy President Trump’s orders could face potential prosecution in the future when Democrats are back in power.”

It is increasingly obvious that Democrats are gearing up to do what they always do the moment they regain power: use it — and use it as if it’s their last chance to make sure that Republicans never get another. They already tried it through lawfare: They threw Trump allies like Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon in jail in a bid to warn everyone who might cooperate with Trump that imprisonment would be the consequence. They would’ve thrown Trump in jail with a little more time. Instead, all they “got” was a conviction, a raid, a now famous mugshot, and several pricey trials.

But make no mistake, when Democrats return to power — and they will, because the GOP seems determined to hand it to them — they won’t hesitate to rewrite the rules. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said as much in 2024 when he suggested that, if Vice President Kamala Harris won and Democrats took control of Congress, they’d consider nuking the filibuster in order to shove through sweeping and dangerous legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

These pieces of legislation would require same-day voter registration, enact automatic voter registration in each state, and strip states and local jurisdictions of much of their control over elections, while also giving the Department of Justice the power to override election integrity laws.

To pretend that these radical ambitions have disappeared and won’t be top of mind for Democrats in 2026 or 2028 is nonsensical. Democrats have made their to-do list quite clear, essentially handing it to Republicans on a silver platter.

And what are Republicans doing with their time in power? Passing resolutions to condemn socialism and riding the “One Big Beautiful Bill” victory wave … still.

That’s the only major legislative accomplishment Republicans can point to in 12 months. Not because there’s nothing else to do, but simply because they refuse to govern like they won.

There is a long list of real, tangible actions they could be undertaking right now: impeaching activist judges, ending the H-1B visa pipeline, repealing the Hart-Cellar Act, codifying Trump’s executive orders, passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act and the Pause Act, revoking federal funding to blue states that refuse to comply with federal immigration law, redistricting maps — the list goes on and on.

Yet somehow, all the American people get is another empty resolution condemning socialism.

If Republicans keep focusing on performative politics instead of actually governing, maybe the Democrats won’t even need to rewrite the rules to lock Republicans out of government — the Republicans will have locked themselves out.

Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2