In these last four years, the GOP has shown me to be much worse than the Democrats. I never questioned their patriotism, commitment to the rule of law and Constitution prior to 2016. I believed that many had real convictions in conservative principles. Right now, besides power, I think they only care about tax cuts (and I think that’s related to their power as well).
But I’m not comfortable viewing the parties this way, as this is the way partisans think. Their perception of the other side is often a distortion, seeing them in the worst possible light. How do I know I’m not doing that now? I don’t think I can fully know.
That’s where this thread comes in. I’d like to gather evidence to support or refute my current perception. I welcome others to provide examples/evidence.
I will close with another basis for my perception. While both sides often portray the other side in the worst possible light, the last four years seem to have supported Democrats’ depictions of Republicans, rather than the other way around. For example, some Democrats have accused Republicans of being racist. I never thought this prior to 2016, but now this accusation isn’t easy to dismiss. Republicans characterized Democrats as socialists and/or communists, but Joe Biden was the Democratic nominee. (To be fair, the support for Sanders is not insignificant.) There’s more that could be said, and I hope this claim I’m making can be further scrutinized.
I forgot about Akin. That’s one good point for the GOP. I think they eventually censured or remove King from a committee, too–which is another good thing.
2/4/2021
2/5/2021
Cancel culture
Republicans like to point this out as a threat from the Left. Is it? Or are the Republicans just as bad?
I would put the following as evidence for the GOP’s claims:
My understanding is McNeil is apologizing for saying a racial slur, when asking a question about it. I guess it depends on the racial slur, but this seems super excessive. I absolutely hate the n-word. If it was that, I think the consequences were excessive.
Andrew Cuomo Scandal Highlights Republicans Appalling Double Standard by Max Boot at WaPo
3/12/2021
Reps. Nadler, Ocasio-Cortez, other N.Y. Democrats call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign over sexual harassment allegations from WaPo
Cuomo refuses to resign amid Democratic uproar over sexual harassment accusations from WaPo
3/14/2021
New York’s vaccine czar called county officials to gauge their loyalty to Cuomo amid sexual harassment investigation from WaPo
This is a really bad look for Cuomo–and adds to another thing that could warrant the end of his governorship in my view. I know politicans can play hardball–punishing people that cross them. A certain degree of that is acceptable in my view. Here, though, the Governor’s point person of the covid vaccine also made calls checking if some of county officials would refrain from judging Governor Cuomo on the sexual harrassment allegations until after an investigation was completed. Why couldn’t the Governor get someone not associated with the vaccines to make this call? It might still be problematic, but not nearly as bad in my view.
Biden calls for Cuomo to resign after investigation finds the New York governor sexually harassed 11 women from WaPo
It kinda sounds like many of the key Democrats are calling for Cuomo to resign:
I don’t think Republicans have done or would do anything similar. They certainly didn’t respond this way to Trump.
(By the way, after reading the article, I feel like Cuomo should resign, too. It’s hard to believe that the allegations aren’t true. Sadly, the details of the independent report and Gov. Cuomo’s response to it reminds me of Trump.)
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announces resignation in effort to head off likely impeachment in wake of devastating report on his conduct from WaPo
On some level I feel bad for Cuomo, and his family, but the details from the report warrant impeachment or resignation. To me, the story reiterates an age old principle, one the Founding Fathers surely appreciated–namely, too much power in one person or group is a bad thing. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, to quote Lord Acton. And to add a bit more nuance and detail, I think people in power can so easily justify inappropriate actions and also begin to feel above norms and rules that apply to others.
But to go back to the thread. This incident really does contrast the Democrats from the Republicans in my view. One main difference is that the Democrats do have convictions in political principles and policies–they’re not just about seeking power. The same is not true for the GOP.
Not really germane to the thread, but did he really have to give 2 weeks notice?
I briefly saw a short comment by Preet Bharara, and he seemed wary, as if he wouldn’t put it past Cuomo to have something underhanded up his sleeve.
The Republicans and conservative media approach to the pandemic and the vaccine has been insanely irresponsible. My understanding is that the state of Tennessee stopped vaccine outreach to minors–not only the COVID vaccine, but vaccines for other diseases as well. (Ohio also prevented their schools from following CDC guidelines.)
Genuine question: Is there anything the Democrats have done that is comparable?
By the way, with regard to the recent decisions by Tennessee and Ohio, here’s a good response from Alexander Petri.
Inciting violence
I don’t want to start a separate thread for a variation of this thread’s subject–namely, are “liberal” media the same as “conservative” media–so I’m going use this post for comments and links on that subject.
Let’s start with an article I read on Chris Cuomo, which called for him to either resign from CNN or for CNN to fire or remove him for recent revelations that Chris Cuomo seemed to be helping his brother, Gov. Cuomo, when the latter faced sexual harassment allegations. (I tended to agree with Graham’s piece.)
Chris Cuomo Must Go from David Graham in theAtlantic.
Here’s what CNN did today.
CNN suspends Chris Cuomo ‘indefinitely’ after documents detail help he gave his brother from WaPo
12/4/2021
Chris Cuomo fired by CNN after investigation into aid to brother Andrew Cuomo from WaPo
12/5/2021
Fox News pundits gloating–i.e., people living in glass houses throwing stones.
In contrast, Fox News, with Tucker Carlson, made mini-documentary about 1/6 that is, in my opinion, totally irresponsible. As in the Trump presidency, I feel like it’s not far off to describe this as assisting in the torching of our democracy.
Two conservatives quit because of this. Read their descriptions as well as a comment from another Fox News pundit who quit in 2018.
Two Fox News pundits quit over concerns about ‘conspiracy-mongering’ Jan. 6 documentary from the WaPo
If you’re not a hyper-partisan, how can you ever trust Fox News (or any Murdoch run publication for that matter)? I raise this question in light of a recent court ruling that won’t dismiss Dominion Voting Machine’s libel lawsuit against Fox News. If you don’t want to listen to the 8 minute clip below, here’s what stood out to me:
1. Dominion went to the Fox executives and brought them evidence that they were putting on air was false. But that didn’t stop Fox from putting on individuals that made false claims.
2. According to the clip, Fox never allowed Dominion or anyone else to come on air to dispute claims against them.
This case underscores the mechanism for accountability to hold traditional media accountable for irresponsible behavior, on one hand, and the absence of a similar mechanism for social media. Both Murdoch and someone like Zuckerberg are putting irresponsibly putting profits ahead of our democracy, but there is a greater means to hold Murdoch than Zuckerberg.
Having said that, I still don’t understand the lack of non-legal consequences–specifically, professional shunning and reputational damage to Murdoch and the people that his publications. How can they blatantly violate journalistic standards without any consequences from their peers and other elites from other fields (e.g., business community)?
(In addition to the GOP and conservative media, the business community and wealthy have also failed the country. They’ve have not spoken out against Trump or abandoned support to him and his congressional supporters or the GOP party.)
In San Francisco, Reason Beats Radicalism from David French in theAtlantic
This is about the successful recall vote of three, progressive, San Francisco school board members, which is noteworthy partly because successful recalls are rare. (This may be the first time it’s happened in San Francisco.)
Additionally, it’s evidence that the moderate elements of the left and Democratic party have greater influence than portrayed the Right, undermining the latter’s narrative that the Democrats are controlled by Progressives.
Racist remarks
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Resigns Amid Uproar Over Racist Remarks from the NYT
and
Weaponization of the DOJ, FBI, etc.
A popular GOP narrative when the DOJ/FBI went to retrieve government documents from Mar-a-Lago was that the Democrats have “weaponized” the DOJ. Same with the Russia investigation.
But I think there’s more evidence Republicans are guilty of this sort of weaponization, which can be seen in this recent NYT article:
How Barr’s Quest to Find Flaws in the Russia Inquiry Unraveled.
This is a long, thorough article, and I recommend reading it. (The link should allow you to read the article even if you don’t subscribe to the Times.)
If the House GOP was genuine about weaponization of the DOJ, they would investigate the actions of Bill Barr and John Durham. And there’s one issue specifically that would warrant this, in my view–namely, Barr and Durham got a tip from Italian officials that Trump may be linked to some financial crimes. Here’s more from the article:
This was happening in 2019.
Here’s more to suggest Barr and Durham were acting in a political way:
This sounds on par with Ken Starr’s Whitewater investigation.
There’s a lot more in this article, and it sure seems like the reason Republicans are so certain Democrats have acted politically and in bad faith is because they do it themselves.
Hunter Biden
This IRS whistleblower claims DOJ did things to benefit Hunter Biden (e.g., slowing the IRS investigation). If the DOJ acted politically, that is a legitimate problem and serious matter. Let’s see what comes of this.
Elections
(It’s safe to say Biden won’t pressure Harris to not accept the electoral votes on 1/6; neither will he incite a mob on the Capitol to pressure Congress to not accept the votes.)