Democrats and their dial-everything-up-to-an-11 enablers in the mainstream media are pushing the latest chapter of their never-ending Orange Man Bad narrative. This time they would have the general public believe the villainous President Trump, fearful of losing the election in November, is undercutting democracy itself by doing everything possible to block mail-in ballots, including denuding the United States Postal Service.

To be sure, Trump has made known in no uncertain terms his opposition to greatly expanding mail-in voting in the upcoming presidential election – ostensibly because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic – and done so at times in his usual ham-fisted and clumsy way that does his case more harm than good. Nevertheless, based on actual facts – not politically-motivated hyperbole – Democrats and their media allies are overselling Trump as the would-be destroyer of the Post Office.

Trump is correct to be concerned about efforts in pushing for a de facto nationwide vote-by-mail presidential election.  While Democrats note cases of proven vote-by-mail fraud are few and far between, they ignore that government’s track record regarding mail-in balloting doesn’t inspire confidence in the form of attempted fraud, misplaced ballots, incorrect addresses and all the problems associated with the controversial practice of ballot harvesting. These things could become a very real factor in a close contest.

Some context and more actual facts undercut the notion Trump is threatening not to fund the Post Office as part of a plan to thwart mail-in balloting. Because of government mismanagement, the Post Office has been in dire financial straits for a long time now due to a huge decline in first-class mail volume for some two decades, an increase in fixed costs like pensions and salaries, and growing debt problems.

Democrats ascribe sinister motives to things like the removal of some mail-sorting machines and mailboxes from certain locations. The mundane truth is new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is attempting to streamline the organization to save taxpayer money. Certain mail-sorting machines weren’t needed, and getting rid of them was recommended by the Post Office’s watchdog agency before DeJoy assumed his current position. Likewise, underused mailboxes are gotten rid of as a matter of course.

Meanwhile, back on March 27, President Trump signed the CARES Act, allowing the Post Office to defer payments of the employer share of Social Security and the ability to borrow up to $10 billion from the Treasury Department.  The president recently indicated he would not veto any coronavirus relief legislation with money for the Post Office.

All of this is a rather contrived political controversy anyway. The Civil War, the Spanish Flu and the Great Depression didn’t stop Americans from going to the polls to vote for president, so there’s no reason coronavirus should prohibit in-person voting. No less an authority than Dr. Anthony Fauci recently came down from the mountaintop to say as much. Make of that what you will.