Not quite. Look at Benghazi. If Democrats controlled the House, they could make every day a political sideshow. Investigations, reports, etc. It's not like they don't have the material. They could fill 20 years exploring the administration's crimes against humanity, deportations, and corrupt government contracts.
Obama and Clinton weren't at fault for Benghazi, but dragging their names through the mud every day was enough to make a connection in the back of the public's mind. That's been the Republican playbook for decades. We saw it with the Bill Clinton sex scandal, the Clinton Foundation, Hunter Biden, etc. When combined with Fox News and other right-wing propaganda outlets, it's amazingly effective.
You won't believe the number of conversations I've had with family members, where, whenever politics come up, they mention the imaginary Republican scandal of the month, "BUT BENGHAZI!" and begin foaming at the mouth. They can't answer a single follow-up question about whatever rage bait is getting them off, but anger is more than enough. For the victim, it's guilt by association.
Democrats could do all of that, but it won't happen because...
Democratic leadership is bad at politics. They're 80-year-olds who came up during the newspaper era. We're lucky they understand 24-hour news. None of them understand the internet, let alone social media or algorithms.
There are small things they could do every day to disrupt Congress, even in the minority. Things that you'd only do in case of an emergency, like if the president were a wannabe fascist dictator enabled by his allies in Congress and on the Supreme Court. Democrats don't do those things because they're petrified of breaking norms. When Dems retake power, they want Republicans to act normally. Most damning of all, they're convinced it will happen. Biden said as much before he was elected. They want their kickball buddies back.
They also don't want to work that hard. Chris Coons admitted that Democrats didn't present all of their evidence in Trump's second impeachment trial because Senators wanted to get home in time for Valentine's Day. These aren't serious people; they don't care about this country like you and I, and they don't think we're at risk of losing it.
We won't get out of this mess until an overwhelming majority of elected Democrats treat the Republican Party as an enemy of the state.
