Politics is a dirty game. It's full of people who engage in a whole host of reprehensible behavior that would make most people cringe if they got to see it up close and personal every single day. They include, but certainly are not limited to, the following:
Backstabbing, posturing, engaging in feigned outrage, taking credit for things you had nothing to do with, denying responsibility for things you were involved with, misrepresenting the facts, blatant hypocrisy, outright lying, professing beliefs you don't really hold in order to ingratiate yourself with the electorate, pandering to those same people, and rarely voting your conscience because voting the way you're told to vote by the leadership is the only certain way to assure your future in a party system where seniority reigns supreme.
Yup, it's pretty darn unsavory, alright. And naturally, the party system is one of the reasons it's this way. Think of it like team sports. For example, all things being equal, what's the greatest single determining factor which influences whether or not a spectator believes that a pass was a completion which was run into the end zone for a touchdown, or it was a trapped (and therefore an incomplete) pass, or that the runner stepped out of bounds 30 yards away from the goal line? It's probably determined by which team the spectator is a fan. So too with politics.
For example, at one time or another, everybody probably has noticed that when a president of one party proposes X, in short order there is a rising chorus of voices in opposition. And almost always, it comes from members of the other party. Meanwhile, the members of the president's party either offer praise, or they at least withhold any kind of real criticism. However, the reality of what elected representatives may actually feel in their heart of hearts may be completely different. There may be quite a few members of the opposition party who think X is a great idea and would enthusiastically support it if and when it was proposed by a president of their own party. Likewise, members of the president's party may not really like the idea (X) but instead decide not to criticize it in order to promote party unity and/or to hopefully further their own political careers.
It's with this understanding that I cam't help but marvel at how frequently Republican Party elected representatives have come out in firm opposition to statements that Trump has made both as a candidate prior to the election and as president since taking office. Contrast that with Republicans responses to Obama over an 8 year period. Oh sure, there were several times when Republicans opposed Obama and did so quite vocally. But at least a part of those responses in either degree, or frequency, or both, can be attributed to the previously mentioned 'feigned outrage' which some Republicans offered up in order to curry favor with their increasingly angry GOP base.
However, on balance, very few people could honestly dispute the fact that President Obama had truly earned the moniker of "'no-drama' Obama." No, Obama rarely ever said or did anything that could be considered outrageous except by the most partisan observer. I dare say that even the more strident Republicans never had any concerns about President Obama's mental stability. Today, however, whether they're willing to say so on the record or not, many Republican elected officials cannot say the same about President Trump.
That's why I think Republicans really miss President Obama. Think of it this way. If America ever had/has a president who was arguably mentally/psychologically/emotionally unstable, what politician could possibly want that president to be a member of his or her political party?
Backstabbing, posturing, engaging in feigned outrage, taking credit for things you had nothing to do with, denying responsibility for things you were involved with, misrepresenting the facts, blatant hypocrisy, outright lying, professing beliefs you don't really hold in order to ingratiate yourself with the electorate, pandering to those same people, and rarely voting your conscience because voting the way you're told to vote by the leadership is the only certain way to assure your future in a party system where seniority reigns supreme.
Yup, it's pretty darn unsavory, alright. And naturally, the party system is one of the reasons it's this way. Think of it like team sports. For example, all things being equal, what's the greatest single determining factor which influences whether or not a spectator believes that a pass was a completion which was run into the end zone for a touchdown, or it was a trapped (and therefore an incomplete) pass, or that the runner stepped out of bounds 30 yards away from the goal line? It's probably determined by which team the spectator is a fan. So too with politics.
For example, at one time or another, everybody probably has noticed that when a president of one party proposes X, in short order there is a rising chorus of voices in opposition. And almost always, it comes from members of the other party. Meanwhile, the members of the president's party either offer praise, or they at least withhold any kind of real criticism. However, the reality of what elected representatives may actually feel in their heart of hearts may be completely different. There may be quite a few members of the opposition party who think X is a great idea and would enthusiastically support it if and when it was proposed by a president of their own party. Likewise, members of the president's party may not really like the idea (X) but instead decide not to criticize it in order to promote party unity and/or to hopefully further their own political careers.
It's with this understanding that I cam't help but marvel at how frequently Republican Party elected representatives have come out in firm opposition to statements that Trump has made both as a candidate prior to the election and as president since taking office. Contrast that with Republicans responses to Obama over an 8 year period. Oh sure, there were several times when Republicans opposed Obama and did so quite vocally. But at least a part of those responses in either degree, or frequency, or both, can be attributed to the previously mentioned 'feigned outrage' which some Republicans offered up in order to curry favor with their increasingly angry GOP base.
However, on balance, very few people could honestly dispute the fact that President Obama had truly earned the moniker of "'no-drama' Obama." No, Obama rarely ever said or did anything that could be considered outrageous except by the most partisan observer. I dare say that even the more strident Republicans never had any concerns about President Obama's mental stability. Today, however, whether they're willing to say so on the record or not, many Republican elected officials cannot say the same about President Trump.
That's why I think Republicans really miss President Obama. Think of it this way. If America ever had/has a president who was arguably mentally/psychologically/emotionally unstable, what politician could possibly want that president to be a member of his or her political party?
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