It is not about the rhetoric on both sides; it is about the actions of those on “one side.”

Those who hate former President Donald Trump are showing it repeatedly. Only one person has been hit by a bullet and has been the victim of two assassination attempts. The following is the record of Trump “haters”: They tried to put him in jail. They tried to take his job before his term ended (two impeachments). They tried to take his money. They tried to ruin his marriage. They tried to fix a debate. They switched out his opponent. They ripped up his State of the Union Address speech. They even tried to say he cannot do a job that he has already done.

Among those haters, two have tried to kill him, wounding him once. Their actions speak much louder than Trump’s words.

The ability to “bring people together” and unite America has been the successful rhetoric and tactic used by Democrats to gain and maintain control of the White House for 12 of the last 16 years. Now, they are seeking to make it 16 out of 20 years, a generation. But it could be the biggest lie in political history. Will they get away with it?

Democrats are leading us in the wrong direction yet are trying to convince Americans that they represent “change you can believe in.” Haters shoot at Trump while Democrats call the former president a “danger to democracy.” That is all an attempt to trick the American people. But let’s look at reality.

Divisiveness can bring about misunderstandings and outright hatred toward others. Let us look at how we got so divided in our politics.

It may not have started in 2009, but like gasoline being thrown on a fire, the troubles exploded at that point.

At that time, Democrat leaders saw themselves as helping the first Black president of the United States, Barack Obama. Wait… Republican hands were not all clean in this either.

Almost immediately after Obama was elected, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proclaimed that he was going to “make Obama a one-term president.” If his remarks were part of a political speech, then fine. But it was not fine if you announced that on the floor of the U.S. Senate. McConnell’s move brought prejudging (prejudice) to a whole new level.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid took matters in his own hands. And Obama – when asked if he would have a beer with McConnell – snapped back: “You have a beer with Mitch McConnell.”

Two events followed that irreparably changed America: the passage of Obamacare and the ending of the filibuster for the appointment of justices to the Supreme Court.

In both instances Democrat leaders were ostensibly “trying to help” Obama while promoting their mutual agenda.

Passing a major piece of domestic legislation without bipartisan support resulted in Democrats dividing the country. The measure was the Affordable Care Act. It became the Democrat’s bill, a partisan bill – not necessarily the nation’s bill.

I am not judging the merits of the legislation. It was the way it was passed that set a precedent. It has torn our nation apart over the years. Worse yet, it has become the new standard, the new model on how to pass domestic public policy legislation – via “one party” only. This breeds animosity and makes seeking harmony nearly impossible.

“One party” politics is akin to what happens in China, Russia and other communist or socialist countries. It is not what America did prior to the Affordable Care Act.

Up until that point, every piece of major domestic public policy legislation passed with bipartisan support. Here are some examples: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Civil Rights Bill of 1991, Civil Rights Bill of 1964, Voting Rights Bill, Housing Bill, Welfare Reform, Crime Bill, and even President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Bill.

What else happened legislatively? Prior to 2013, it took 60 votes in the Senate to invoke cloture to cut off debate and move toward a vote on any issue. Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed the Senate to make a procedural change in cases of nominations to district and circuit courts and the executive branch. It was called the “nuclear option.” It allowed one political party to force onto the court whomever they wished.

In retaliation to the acts of Reid and the Democrats, the new Republican Majority Leader McConnell extended the Reid rule to include Associate Justices to the Supreme Court in 2017.

Today Democrats complain about the make-up of the court. Yet it was a result of Reid’s (a Democrat) actions that we got to where we are today.

Prior to the filibuster change, nearly every Associate Justice had very strong bipartisan support. In the 1900s more than 30 Associate Justices obtained unanimous or voice vote approval (Sandra Day O’Connor, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, Anthony Kennedy). Some of them also received over 90% of support in the Senate. We enjoyed a moderate approach while still having justices who were strongly to the left (Ginsberg) and strongly to the right (Scalia). Both received unanimous or near-unanimous Senate approval.

Democrats “used” a Black president to do the unthinkable in both instances – pass a major public policy bill without bipartisan support and end the filibuster for the courts.

Bipartisanship went out the window. Bringing people together became an afterthought. And now, in 2024, Democrats are bodaciously attempting to convince America they can bring the country together. Yet, they are the main reason the nation has been torn apart politically.

Now Biden-Harris/Harris-Walz have been advocating ripping bipartisanship even further apart by eliminating the filibuster altogether, which almost always requires a bipartisan approach in making major decisions for the country. This represents the guardrails for our Republic.

So, the rhetoric of how Democrats are good at bringing people together is a farce. It is laughable. The record proves otherwise.

Once again, today’s Democrats will tell you up is down, hot is cold, right is wrong, and hell is heaven. Then, they hold their breath, hoping they have fooled 50.1% of the people.

Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England’s first Black member of the House. Host: podcast “We Speak Frankly.” Author: “With God, For God, and For Country.” @GaryFranks/Tribune News Service