Rob Kolter’s plea for us to all get along is well-intended, but misplaced and ill-timed (“
Yes, everyone is to blame for our current political woes, but governing is not currently about constructive dialog and “win a little, lose a little.” We have devolved from dialectic to debate filled with sophisms and nonsense, where it’s winner-take-all. An adversarial position by participants is needed at a minimum to simply survive.
Staunch Republicans deserve credit for understanding this better than the more feckless Democrats. Ever since the Reagan revolution, Republicans have dominated the political landscape through shrewd political skill and public manipulation. Shut down the government to extract concessions? No problem. Block a Supreme Court nominee? Check. Tout the dangers of welfare and/or anchor babies to stir up sentiment against the poor and immigrants? Roger that.
Put a P.T. Barnum-like demagogue in the White House despite not winning the popular vote? Easy-peasy.
Democrats are just jealous that Republicans play the game better, but Democrats are finally starting to catch up. That’s why the pushback seems so harsh and polarizing; it’s just mirroring the invective spewed from the White House and which trickles down to the local level.
Until Democrats improve and perfect their gamesmanship, we will continue to be subjected to idiotic, self-serving politicians on Capitol Hill and the White House who promote their narrow, short-sighted view of governance.
Tom Sluis
Durango
