The Deep State ain't what it used to be
It used to be that old-school conservatives knew how to play the "Deep State" card. They were mostly aware it was BS, but it served a purpose nonetheless. You see, it's easy to get yourself cornered at the water cooler by those clever college-educated liberals. There are other tools available here such as the obscure Constitutional reference (always popular) or the distraction to some other barely relevant minutia. But when all else fails, there is the Deep State.
Now this card can't be played too often. It is the "conservative nolo contendere". You can abandon a debate with your dignity intact, but without conceding defeat. It is thrown down like a magician's smoke bomb to facilitate the escape from sight. But the key to the trick is avoiding falsifiability. After all, liberals can't PROVE that there isn't an international conspiracy to manufacture a climate crisis in order to wrestle control of the energy industry. They can't PROVE that Democrats aren't working with the MSM to turn it into a left-wing partisan propaganda machine.
It's best to keep the Deep State nebulous. Maybe it is an international cartel, maybe it is just a handful of Democrats working together to block a Republican initiative. Or maybe it is something in between. Don't name any names. A well-crafted conspiracy theory is a portrait behind a tarp. You lift a corner of the tarp to reveal a small portion. Maybe two corners. You let the Fox News viewers' imaginations fill in the rest. NEVER reveal the whole thing because the painting is mostly unfinished white canvas.
But these Republicans today, I tell you what. Now the Deep State is the go-to trope for all occasions. We have seven million missing votes thanks to the Deep State. The trouble with that of course is the audits and court cases and resulting falsifiability. The Deep State planted false flag bearers at the Capitol riot. Hell, the Deep State even can be blamed for manufacturing sex scandals with underage girls.
All good things have to come to and end I guess.
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