Dear MSNBC, CNN & The Whole Rest of The MSM:
Yesterday I ranted at you for ascribing everything the Democrats do to “politics“. It’s not true. Some people, when they take an oath of office, actually take their oaths seriously. To assume everyone does what they do for political reasons is to assume every one of those sincere oath-keepers is full of shit.
No, it’s not true. Both sides do not regularly violate their oaths.
For 3+ years now, we have watched Donald Trump and every Republican in Congress violate their oaths of office. The deal is, you take the oath, you uphold the Constitution. You don’t do it selectively like you do with your religion. Your religion is entirely make-believe.
Our Constitution doesn’t work that way (though, to be fair, we did make it up; we invented the Constitution and we can change it as needed).
When Mitch McConnell announced that he wouldn’t give Merrick Garland so much as a hearing, that was 100% political. It had no basis in the Constitution. When Democrats objected to Brett Kavanaugh, there was ideology at play — absolutely. But Kavanaugh’s political affiliation isn’t what Democrats believe makes Kavanaugh unqualified. It’s his penchant for sexually assaulting women and lying about it.
That’s NOT a political disagreement, it’s a moral disagreement. It’s disagreeing with the idea that a man, reliably and consistently accused of serial sexual assault does not belong on the SCOTUS.
When Republicans stand with Trump in the face of blatant criminality — behaviors and actions so terrible that Republicans can’t even argue facts; they have to argue process — they’re not standing with him out of pure political tribalism. No, when Republicans stand with Donald Trump, there’s something OTHER than politics at play — there’s criminal complicity.
That’s the MSM’s giant, economy-sized blind spot. They’re determined to ascribe the GOP’s rabid defense of Trump as Republicans defending their standard-bearer. Well… kinda yes but mostly no — it’s worse. Donald Trump, though not a lifelong Republican (he may have registered as a Democrat but that was political expedience at play, not political ideology), epitomizes Republican “thinking”. It’s all pig at the trough all the time. It’s a cynical approach to the Constitution.
Violating it is a given. The trick is to insist, when caught violating it, that you were following the letter of the law (even as you were raping it).
Republican “thinking” (such as it is) rests on conservative values. Conservative values — as the name says — want to CONSERVE. But conserve WHAT, you may ask? Conserve the future? That’s a contradiction of terms.
Save the present? Okay, we can freeze right now in place. Why would we want to do that? Why are we freezing now and stopping the future from happening? Hmmmmm… is there something in the past that conservatives actually want to conserve?
Indeed there is — there’s something in the past conservatives want to conserve: THE PAST. Conservatives want to make the past our new present and our eternal future. It’s right there in their name. And the past American conservatives want to conserve is the past where THEY — white, Christian men — were the ones in full, unequivocal control. THAT is what conservatives — and therefore Republicans — want to CONSERVE.
So — normally, for Republicans, it IS always about politics and the Republicans’ need to control even how we talk about politics. “Both Sides Do It” journalism is pure Republicanism. They know they’re intentions are corrupt. If they can paint the opposition with the same brush — even if the opposition’s version of corruption is at a fraction of the scale — then “Both Sides Do It”.
Bernie Madoff’s a mega thief who stole billions. Jean Valjean stole bread because of hunger. To the conservative way of thinking, both men are thieves. Both Sides Do It.
Look at how the Republicans are trying to undermine the investigators of THEIR crimes — “It’s the investigators who are criminals! Both sides do it!” Republicans insist. Oh, the irony (both sides don’t do irony by the way).
Trump’s defense of Putin’s criminal behavior? We do it too — Both sides do it!
Quid pro quo? Both sides do it — get over it!
No — both sides DON’T do it and never did. Both sides do NOT commit TREASON to hold onto political power. Both sides do not stand with a man they KNOW FOR A FACT is a traitor.
Republicans do however. And, for once — it ain’t entirely political. In this instance — it’s because they’re CO-CONSPIRATORS. To a whole host of crimes including election fraud, obstruction of justice and treason.
I’ll say it one more time: It AIN’T about politics.