The Democratic Party just hosted its first-ever virtual national convention, where it nominated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for president and vice president. The goal of the four-day event was to unify the party's moderates and progressives by focusing on President Donald Trump's moral and political failings. 

But despite all the talk of change, it was clear that after four years of rising walls, spiraling debt, and rule by executive order, the Democrats are resolved to stay the course and continue expanding the size and scope of the federal government.

Biden blasted the Trump administration for its disastrous response to the coronavirus pandemic and pledged to institute a national mask mandate; the rest of his plan was short on specifics. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose decision to return elderly people infected with COVID-19 to nursing homes led to thousands of deaths, was summoned to provide the party's vision for responsible leadership.

The Democrats sought to exploit the coronavirus to justify bigger government—what they call "bold" federal action. They pledged strong gun control measures to respond to an "epidemic of gun violence," even though the gun homicide rate today is half what it was in the early '90s.