Charlie's morning dose of reality almost always depresses me. Today's put me in a hole so deep I think JVL is Mr. Sunshine.
Of course people think the other party is trying to destroy America. That is what each party has been saying for the last 40 years (at least). Between Dems saying the opponent is trying to put minorities back in chains to the GOP saying Dems are trying to destroy capitalism, it makes sense we would believe it. But voters should look no further than themselves. Until voters demand better from their leaders, we will get crappy people who manipulate because that is easier.
Keep up the great work Charlie, appreciate the truth even if it causes my Prozac intake to go way up.
I only wish that the GOP’s accusation was that the Dems were trying to destroy America by “destroying capitalism”. That might have been true post-New Deal & up to the Reagan era. But it’s been a long time since the right’s raîson d’etre has been a *defense of capitalism*!
Flip through the pages of ‘the Federalist’ or ‘the National Review’. Turn on Tucker Carlson any night of the week. Listen to anything that party leaders like McConnell or McCarthy say (or don’t say). Listen to what MAGA types like MTG or Matt Gaetz say. I’ll give you a dollar if you can find me one solid argument against Dems based on their economic agenda (random accusations of “radical leftist socialist commie” don’t count).
This isn’t to say that there isn’t anything to criticize on the left. But the old dynamic of one party is for “small government” and the other party is for “big government” no longer applies. It almost feels like a utopia compared to where we are now.
And I don’t think the voters deserve all the blame. Voters can’t demand good leaders if they don’t know what good leadership is. The media need to do a better job of explaining it to them. Journalists should strive to be more objective. This doesn’t mean pretending both sides are equally good or bad but emphasizing which issues are uniquely good or bad and why. They need to stress things that are important over things that are popular. (To be fair, I’m not sure how to do that in a clickbait economy ruled by meme culture and consumed by people with 2 second attention spans). Also political leaders need to show them by modeling good leadership even it means sacrificing an election to preserve your integrity.
It’s a bad place but there are lots of good people around still fighting the good fight. I believe things will work out in the end.
"Of course people think the other party is trying to destroy America. That is what each party has been saying for the last 40 years (at least)." No, absolutely not. Given my age (61), I've been politically active for the last 40 years plus. And I can tell you that it was NOT the position of we young conservative Republican activists in 1980 that the Democrats were trying to destroy America. We thought the D's also cared about America but their ideas of how to approach issues was just wrong. We didn't think they were evil. That's something that is new.
And that can also be said about the Young Democrats of the time. It has only been since Newt really that it has seemed the GOP wanted to demonize The Other rather than govern by policy and honor. I grew up in a divided household; most of my life I assumed each party was equally sincere and basically wanted the same things but had opposing views as to how to get there. This GOP wanting to take it all and burn it all down is relatively new but predates TFG by a lot.
I won't quibble about the exact # of years - I was taking a stab. But I think this is newish. I would at least go back to the Obama-Romney campaign where this become more of a narrative. I can recall a bit of it in the 80s, but you are probably right that it was a minor talking point, not part of the larger narrative.
I have the same sort of depression. It's what each party is trying to do to destroy America. Democrats are trying to destroy America by making it more inclusive, giving more people a chance to be successful, and making it so that I'm not stuck to my job to keep my insurance, for example, like other successful Western countries. GOPers are trying to destroy America by ridding it of gay and trans people, making all of their pundits into an Elon Musk-type person, and creating a non-competitive system of governance so voters can't realize they've made a mistake and take it back.
I'm at least hopeful enough that I don't believe that either party wants to destroy America. I think most people want power (and have positive, although twisted, intentions). Everyone has rationalized winning so much they say the only way to win is to make the other side look horrible. The mindset is "I don't have to be good, I just have to make sure the other side is worse". Until voter demand they stop - it will continue to get worse.
Charlie's morning dose of reality almost always depresses me. Today's put me in a hole so deep I think JVL is Mr. Sunshine.
Of course people think the other party is trying to destroy America. That is what each party has been saying for the last 40 years (at least). Between Dems saying the opponent is trying to put minorities back in chains to the GOP saying Dems are trying to destroy capitalism, it makes sense we would believe it. But voters should look no further than themselves. Until voters demand better from their leaders, we will get crappy people who manipulate because that is easier.
Keep up the great work Charlie, appreciate the truth even if it causes my Prozac intake to go way up.
I only wish that the GOP’s accusation was that the Dems were trying to destroy America by “destroying capitalism”. That might have been true post-New Deal & up to the Reagan era. But it’s been a long time since the right’s raîson d’etre has been a *defense of capitalism*!
Flip through the pages of ‘the Federalist’ or ‘the National Review’. Turn on Tucker Carlson any night of the week. Listen to anything that party leaders like McConnell or McCarthy say (or don’t say). Listen to what MAGA types like MTG or Matt Gaetz say. I’ll give you a dollar if you can find me one solid argument against Dems based on their economic agenda (random accusations of “radical leftist socialist commie” don’t count).
This isn’t to say that there isn’t anything to criticize on the left. But the old dynamic of one party is for “small government” and the other party is for “big government” no longer applies. It almost feels like a utopia compared to where we are now.
And I don’t think the voters deserve all the blame. Voters can’t demand good leaders if they don’t know what good leadership is. The media need to do a better job of explaining it to them. Journalists should strive to be more objective. This doesn’t mean pretending both sides are equally good or bad but emphasizing which issues are uniquely good or bad and why. They need to stress things that are important over things that are popular. (To be fair, I’m not sure how to do that in a clickbait economy ruled by meme culture and consumed by people with 2 second attention spans). Also political leaders need to show them by modeling good leadership even it means sacrificing an election to preserve your integrity.
It’s a bad place but there are lots of good people around still fighting the good fight. I believe things will work out in the end.
"Of course people think the other party is trying to destroy America. That is what each party has been saying for the last 40 years (at least)." No, absolutely not. Given my age (61), I've been politically active for the last 40 years plus. And I can tell you that it was NOT the position of we young conservative Republican activists in 1980 that the Democrats were trying to destroy America. We thought the D's also cared about America but their ideas of how to approach issues was just wrong. We didn't think they were evil. That's something that is new.
And that can also be said about the Young Democrats of the time. It has only been since Newt really that it has seemed the GOP wanted to demonize The Other rather than govern by policy and honor. I grew up in a divided household; most of my life I assumed each party was equally sincere and basically wanted the same things but had opposing views as to how to get there. This GOP wanting to take it all and burn it all down is relatively new but predates TFG by a lot.
I won't quibble about the exact # of years - I was taking a stab. But I think this is newish. I would at least go back to the Obama-Romney campaign where this become more of a narrative. I can recall a bit of it in the 80s, but you are probably right that it was a minor talking point, not part of the larger narrative.
I have the same sort of depression. It's what each party is trying to do to destroy America. Democrats are trying to destroy America by making it more inclusive, giving more people a chance to be successful, and making it so that I'm not stuck to my job to keep my insurance, for example, like other successful Western countries. GOPers are trying to destroy America by ridding it of gay and trans people, making all of their pundits into an Elon Musk-type person, and creating a non-competitive system of governance so voters can't realize they've made a mistake and take it back.
I'm at least hopeful enough that I don't believe that either party wants to destroy America. I think most people want power (and have positive, although twisted, intentions). Everyone has rationalized winning so much they say the only way to win is to make the other side look horrible. The mindset is "I don't have to be good, I just have to make sure the other side is worse". Until voter demand they stop - it will continue to get worse.