Democrats embraced a new political tactic during the Obama era: embrace left-wing radicalism and call centrist Republicans extreme. In 2012, they called mild-mannered, liberal Mitt Romney a vicious racist — and the rest was history. This did a great deal to move the country leftward; the “middle,” as upheld by mainstream culture, media and institutions, is decidedly far-left by the standards of normalcy upheld only a decade ago. But under President Joe Biden’s tenure, Democrats have finally overplayed their hand. They’re now forced to pretend they’ve been defenders of the “old normal” all along. In other words, they’re pretending to be Republicans.