ROGER KIMBALL: The Deep State Vampire.

To get a preliminary sense of how deep and how entrenched the deep state is, consider the State of Virginia. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, did not control either house of the state legislature. Nevertheless, he managed to get immense reforms accomplished in his four years as governor. But the Dems didn’t mind, not really. Why? Because they knew they could instantly roll back Youngkin’s initiatives as soon as they retook the governorship.

That just happened. And it took Abigail Spanberger, the new Governor, about 15 minutes to return Virginia to la-la land. She had campaigned on “affordability” but rejoined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a climate-change scam that will raise everyone’s utility bills. She introduced a 3.8 percent “net investment tax” on individuals, trusts and estates. She stopped cooperating with ICE in deporting illegal aliens. She said abortion was A-OK, right up to the moment of birth (why stop there?). She reinstituted DEI programs throughout the government and the state’s educational system. She undid reforms to the state’s voting system, making it easier for Democrats to “massage” the vote tally. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial deep-state iceberg.

I write on the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s second term. He and his team have accomplished extraordinary things. He has sealed the southern border. He has deported or sparked the self-deportation of some two and a half million illegal aliens. He has vastly increased America’s production of energy, with the result that gas prices have plummeted. He has gone far in eradicating DEI initiatives in the federal government and in the country’s educational system. He decapitated the Maduro regime in Venezuela, undermining that country’s status as a haven for America’s enemies. He has trimmed the deficit by billions. His economic policies have sparked growth not seen in decades: 4.3 percent in the third quarter of last year and an estimated 5.3 percent in the fourth.

What happens next? Will some Spanberger appear to throw a spanner in the works? If the Republicans lose the House in the midterm elections, Trump will be impeached before you can say Kangaroo Court. Would he be convicted? Probably not. But you never know. Then there is 2028. Will the Republicans keep the White House? I think the odds are good, especially since many avenues of voter fraud have been shut down.

But if the last year has shown anything, it has shown how deep and interconnected the deep state’s tentacles are.

Indeed.