In The Left’s Game Of High-Stakes Blackjack, It’s Time For The Right To Double Down

Kyle ShidelerApril 14, 2023

People often say that Democrats play chess and Republicans play checkers, but after watching the situation of the “Tennessee Three” play out, it seems that the left’s game of choice might actually be blackjack. Blackjack is a simple casino game with the best odds of winning, and one strategy is to double down on the next hand if you lost the previous one. In politics, the left has been employing this strategy by endlessly escalating their means of political action whenever they face even the smallest losses.

Political Blackjack

The Tennessee Three incident serves as a good example of the left’s use of the blackjack strategy. In Tennessee, the legislature took action to limit the surgical and chemical castration of children, which put the left’s transgender agenda on the back foot. But instead of accepting this loss, the left seized an opportunity to double down when the tragic Covenant School shooting occurred. Three Democrat legislators helped orchestrate an insurrection at the Capitol, and the left even gained incremental amounts of political power through multiple rounds of escalation.

Endless Escalation

The left’s strategy of endless escalation works because their conservative opponents are predictable. The right is often constrained in their set of options, and they treat each round of escalation as separate and independent. However, the right needs to prepare to double down on occasion when the left least expects it. The right must develop a bigger political bankroll, increase their menu of political options, and stop letting the left escalate without any consequences. It’s time for the right to make it clear that the left has hit the table limit.

Kyle Shideler is the director of the Counter Islamist Grid, an initiative of the Middle East Forum. Kyle has worked for several organizations involved with Middle East and terrorism policy since 2006. He is a contributing author to “Saudi Arabia and the Global Islamic Terrorist Network: America and the West’s Fatal Embrace,” and has written for numerous publications and briefed legislative aides, intelligence, and law enforcement officials and the general public on national security issues.