I'm going to write a longer post about this one of these days but I've been thinking lately that some of us need to realize something: That in politics nowadays, consistency of thought and principle is nowhere near as important as winning. Not even close. Republicans were outraged that Obamacare was passed without enough transparency or time but are fine with their alternative being passed with way less of each. It doesn't matter. We no longer fault our politicians for saying or doing today the opposite of what they said last Tuesday.
Remember "I'd rather be right than president?" There is no honor today in making that choice. If you lost, you're a loser.
I mean, it might make us uncomfy down deep to see our side fudging or even reversing itself on principles. Not winning, however, makes us less comfy so we look the other way, double-talk our way past the flip-flops and refuse to admit the bullshit factor of at least one of our two contradictory firm positions. Democrats do less of that than Republicans but that may just be because Democrats aren't winning.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep pointing out when someone is saying or doing exactly what they said was horrible when said/done by the opposition. We just should maybe stop expecting it to matter so much. Now, this…
- Ezra Klein writes about how one of Trump's big problems is that he doesn't listen to his staff, doesn't operate on the premise that you hire people who just might know more than you about something. That is why he keeps contradicting what his own spokespeople say. Klein writes about Al Franken and Franken's new book, which I'm now in the process of reading. What impresses me about the book so far is that the book is not "I'm great so here's why you should always support me," which is the message of most books by active politicians. Franken really writes about his own experiences and what he's done right and wrong. Often, what's he's done wrong is that he hasn't grasped that his new job (U.S. Senator) is a lot different from his old jobs in show business. It's a lesson Trump could stand to — but will probably never — learn.
- Matt Taibbi believes Megyn Kelly vivisected Alex Jones in that much-publicized interview. I caught some of it and thought, "Yeah, people who know the guy is full of crap will grin that she made that obvious. People who like what he says will ignore any cracks in his credibility." A real vivisection would change some minds among his followers…though I think those folks are more likely to reassign their genders than their faith in a guy like him. I do however agree with other things Taibbi has to say here.
- As Eric Levitz notes, hardcore Trump supporters think this whole Special Counsel Russia Thing is a "witch hunt." When does anyone who doesn't like where an investigation is going not dismiss it as a "witch hunt?" I actually know one Trump voter whose support for Donald J. is waning, not because he thinks the administration colluded with Russia but because Trump's reactions to the charges have made the guy look incompetent and insane. My acquaintance who is falling out of love with Trump says, "He doesn't look like an adult who can rationally deal with things." Makes you wonder why.
- Jonathan Chait makes an interesting point: The Republicans are now not attempting to pass the idealized dream of Health Care that Conservatives have always wanted. That clearly will never fly with the voters. What the G.O.P. is trying to pass is a castrated version of Obamacare that will allow Big Tax Cuts For The Rich now and will hide some of the downsides for the poor and middle class until after the next election or two.
Make sure you see the segment John Oliver did about coal on his program last Sunday night. The only thing I don't like about Oliver — and I'll put up with it, of course — is certain interjections of irrelevant, distracting jokes into some of his pieces. This one was so on-target and informative, I wish he hadn't made some of those pit stops along the way to go for laughs.