Democrats and Democratic Norms

‘We saved democracy in 2020,” President Biden told Democrats in Chicago on Monday, “and now we must save it again in 2024.” Democrats cite Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election as definitive proof of Mr. Biden’s claim, and these columns have been clear that Mr. Trump’s behavior was disgraceful.

But then why do polls show that voters are more or less equally split on which party most threatens democracy? Partisanship is one answer. But so is the fact that over the last eight years Democrats have themselves used the imperative of defeating Donald Trump as an excuse to break democratic norms. And they are promising to break more. This record is worth recounting as Democrats portray themselves as the font of democratic virtue.