Having watched the COVID Propaganda Theater for two years, one would conclude that the Democrats have the answers but cannot reveal them, under threat of Double-Secret Probation or worse.  They exude confidence in error-prone spokesmen and charlatans, knowing that sustaining a lie is easy when you control all the levers of communication.  Notice, though, that a few (very few) courageous outliers are still circulating, and they are winning converts by the bucketful.  Thus, hostility to restrictions is building across all demographics.  

Faced with a coming implosion, these Democrats and their strategists are coming late to a party that conservatives saw long ago.  Absent another black swan event in their favor, there is no way to maintain COVID restrictions without election losses that will be staggering, and possibly doing long-term or permanent damage to the entire party.

It is time to change course!  The Democrats and their strategists may realize it, so they need a narrative that can do that.

The trick is to figure out a credible reversal that could bolster Democrats in the next nine months and prevent a bloodbath election season for them.  Many Democrat incumbents haven't a clue about how this happens.  As it dawns on them, some are now choosing to "retire" before they are shamed by a loss.

So how will the Democrats reverse course (pivot), using only their electoral guile to stem the hemorrhage?  Eventually, the questions they cannot answer to justify their actions must be addressed.  Certainly, any Republican candidate worth his salt will be asking them in commercials and press conferences.

In order to thwart this attack, Democrats will be running to the head of the parade and claiming they are leading it.  How can they do that with a straight face?  Not so hard when lying is your stock in trade.

And what will it look like when they do this?  

1. Trump Administration Data Were Full of Errors

They can assert that much of the data on COVID-19 and the vaccines were developed during the Trump administration.  Their own people began to discover substantial errors and even (horrors) falsified data.  Now that the situation has been uncovered, Democrats are acting with all due speed to correct the errors of the Trump administration officials.  Moving forward, most of the restrictions have been found to be unproductive, so the Democrats are acting aggressively to unwind these Trump policies.

2. Omicron Variant Is Crowding Out Deadlier Strains

 Much to the surprise of researchers, these brilliant scientists have discerned that omicron and other variants are crowding out the Wuhan and delta variants, both of which had been kept in check by the Democrats' aggressive vaccine program. 

For Phase 2, the remarkable scientists at the pharma companies are now producing anti-viral medications that can be substituted for the vaccines.  The NIH, the CDC, and the FDA are moving at historic speed to make these drugs available and widely used. 

Democrats have led the way to this miracle and will continue to advance the medical science, even curing other unrelated illnesses with the technology they have fostered.

3. Courageous Vaccine-Takers Have Mitigated the Risk

Because of the success of the vaccine and the courage and public-spirited nature shown by those who got the vaccine, risks have been reduced greatly.  Democrats are proud that their efforts to increase participation in the vaccine program have, in effect, brought this pandemic under control.

There will be some continued influence on public health, but the threat of overwhelmed hospitals and large numbers of deaths has passed.  Restrictions will be relaxed or eliminated at nearly all venues other than medical facilities.  (Statistics will be compiled under new guidelines so the disease looks as if it is fading.)

4. No Republican Candidate Can Air Misinformation

Act to silence Republican candidates by invoking the public health mantra, which alleges that even to talk about COVID vaccine failure and unneeded restrictions endangers the public so severely that it must not be allowed.  Harder to enforce across the entire spectrum of communication, but easily applied to the internet and newspapers.

5. Needless Victims Of The Republicans

There will be the human-interest/sympathy stories about the unvaccinated victims of the Republican lies.  People died!  It could have all been prevented if Republicans would have cooperated in developing ways to mitigate these deaths, but they instead engaged in misinformation, causing many deaths.  Republicans actively interfered with health officials to block their messaging and strategy for dealing with COVID.  All this obstruction led to a need to extend the restrictions that Democrats are now lifting.  Democrats have been the leaders in proposing new techniques to save lives.

6. Democrats Have Developed Therapeutic Approaches

The variants that have developed during the last year have changed everything.  Masks and restrictions are having limited effect on the contagious forms that have evolved.  The emphasis must be put on therapeutics, and we Democrats have been leading the way, working with the pharmaceutical companies.  Republicans want to block any progress on early treatment.

The Pivot Will Begin

So now the Democrats are approaching a time of choosing.  What strategy do they think will be effective?  They have not decided yet.  It could be a combination of these approaches, but watch for them to whirl around any time.  When you see it, you'll know why it is happening — and, like always, you'll know they are lying.

Gordon Wysong is a retired engineer and entrepreneur, living in South Carolina.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.