Interesting times

September 13, 2007

There’s rumored to be an ancient Chinese curse that says, “May you live in interesting times.”

In a great piece the other day, Ed Kilgore notes just how interesting the times have been over the last decade. (via Yglesias)

Think about it. Since 1998, we’ve witnessed the first presidential impeachment since the 1860s, the first presidential election to go into “overtime” since the 1870s; the first attack on the continental United States since 1812; the first major preemptive “war of choice” in U.S. history; and the first televised destruction of an American city. I don’t mean to equate any of these non-9/11 occurrences with what we witnessed that day, but it has been an extraordinary span of time.

If you want to truly understand why Democrats (especially those whose entire formative political experience has been the last decade) are so often “angry,” remember the behavior of the leadership of the Republican Party in all of the non-9/11 events I’ve mentioned. And then remember what the president and vice president have done to destroy the national unity and worldwide sympathy this country enjoyed just after 9/11, typically viewing domestic unity and global approval with ill-disguised contempt.

It reminded me of my least favorite Republican talking point: “Get over it.” Democrats look for some kind of accountability or consequence from a radicalized Republican Party, but the GOP can’t recognize, better yet correct, its mistakes. When Dems dare to bring the subject(s) up, we’re told to stop living in the past.

But looking again at Kilgore’s list — which is hardly comprehensive — it’s tough to let bygones be bygones, especially when the GOP is unrepentant and wants to continue along the same path.

Kilgore added:

[W]hat motivates me to ask Republicans as well as everyone else to reflect on this subject is the simple fact that with the Tom DeLay class of congressional Republicans gone or in disgrace, and Bush and Cheney’s departure from office growing nigh, we’re now witnessing a presidential nominating contest in the GOP wherein most candidates are competing to show how avidly, even defiantly, they’d continue the current administration’s worst habits and policies, including its politicization of terrorist threats and efforts to impugn the patriotism of critics.

I’d love to see the day when genuine “bipartisanship” is occasionally possible, within the context of a vibrant, principled party system. But that won’t be happen so long as we accept, much less seek to emulate, national leaders capable of using the kind of bipartisanship we briefly saw six years ago as little more than a political capital fund in the pursuit of raw, partisan power.

The radicalization of the GOP started in earnest with Gingrich, was advanced by DeLay, and was pushed forward again by Cheney. Those who hope to lead the party in the coming years look at this trend … and are fully satisfied.

The Philosophy of Broderism tells us that politics in America is flawed because Dems and Republicans won’t work together, in good faith.

I can’t help but think Broderism adherents just haven’t been paying attention since, say, 1995 or so.

I see Reagan’s eleventh commandment as one of the roots of the current state of Republican psychoses. The party über alles mentality and the emphasis on conformity over representing constituents are deep character flaws that are corrosive to good governance and democracy. These guys deserve to get their clocks cleaned in the next election, and many others to follow, so they will have the time to sit at home and get into some critical self-examination … but I’m sure they’ll just spend the time thinking of new swiftboat ads instead.

  • Actually,Iraq isn’t America’s first “major war of choice.” That honor goes to the Spanish-American War.

    Which, interestingly enough, was the last war entirely promoted, led, and fought by Republicans.

    Hmmmm… do I detect a pattern here????

  • Last night I heard John Dean on with Randi Rhodes, and he made the comment that the current crop of Republicans don’t govern; they rule, or reign.

    Once you understand that, it explains a lot. It explains why there is no “working together,” no bipartisanship, why reaching across the aisle is not something Republicans often deign to do.

    And the cumulative effect of that kind of approach to governance is showing up in all kinds of negative ways, and I suspect that the consequences will outlast even a change in the WH and a more robust majority in the Congress. Not surprisingly, the GOP will use that as a weapon to get themselves back in power so they can complete the job of destroying government altogether in the name of “the people.”

  • Sadly so true. The republicans aren’t uninformed, or misled, or ignorant or just an opposing opinion. They are corrupt to the point of doing “anything” to steal elections, and have been the most destructive force on our government in modern times. Greed and self interest mixed with cruelty, hypocrisy and bigotry whose mission is to prove government doesn’t work except to protect their self interest and promote their financial concerns. One of America’s principles is tolerance. We must tolerate these people in America but we do not have to have them in powerful governmental positions trying to undermine our democracy as we do now. As a party the GOP has become detrimental to our Democracy and they like that role. They no longer have any democratic principles and need to have their own country where they are the only party.

  • All of this is indeed heartbreaking and reflects much of what is happening in society in general. Being a child of the sixties, this is not the world I envisioned. I think, in terms of the political arena and the politicians that inhabit that arena, the often shameful and narcissistic behavior we see only indicates the generally low caliber of individuals we settle for as our “leaders.”

    Principle and ethics seem to too often take a backseat to greed, infantile behavior, and self-serving myopia. What serves for reasoned wisdom is often embarrassing and much too often dangerously irresponsible. To hear the often spoken rationalizations, arguments, name-calling, personal attacks, tantrums, defenses, and just plain stupid remarks is heartbreaking on a level that is both staggering and profound.

    Throw in the general lack of humanity, empathy, compassion, sympathy, and decency in politics today and you have a recipe for what we are going through. It’s as if the human race is trying to destroy itself. I don’t know if there is anyway out of this when, in spite of all the protestations, the best we can come up in terms of Presidential candidates are the likes of Guiliani, Clinton, Edwards, Obama, and Romney. There is hardly an elevated visionary in the group, hardly an ounce of authenticity. They all strike me as people who know what they should look like and what they shouldn’t look like and are trying desperately trying to keep the curtain drawn on their real character – or lack there of.

    I hope this isn’t another case of getting what we deserve.

  • Any semblance of bipartisanship died with the Gingrich revolution of 1994. It will never return, not while religious zealots and criminal wackos dominate the GOP.

    Until they’re driven out — unlikely since over 90% of Congress is routinely returned to their place at the public trough — the only way of coping, as the Italians realized in the 1200s, is warring factions (like the Guelphs and Ghibellines). Got that, Dems? Quit playing house and knuckle down for gang warfare, if you’ve got the stomach for it.

  • I generally prefer “interesting” to boring but this not interesting. Fear, hatred, bigotry, hypocrisy, win-at-all-costs, tyranny of the few over the many and a blatant disregard for the truth — these are among humanity’s worst traits. Not interesting, but despicable.

  • There’s rumored to be an ancient Chinese curse that says, “May you live in interesting times.”

    The Chinese disclaim it. OTOH, all the old-time Jews I used to know back in Poland referred to it regularly.

  • Winner take all.

    These scumbags come from the private sector, where the rule is: winner take all.

    If you have market dominance, you flaunt it. You put your economic boot on the neck of your competitors. You don’t just compete, you aim to dominate, to run your competitors out of business.

    • Comments are closed.