2 thoughts on “Republicans are now vowing Total War. And the consequences could be immense.”
Some people credit Gingrich with legitimizing the argument that "if you disagree with me you're an unpatriotic traitor." And certainly the relentless attack on Bill Clinton stemmed from that line of thought.
But he couldn't have legitimized that idea if it hadn't resonated with voters. Maybe an apt metaphor would be "the NFL-ization of politics." When your team gets penalized for roughing the passer or being offside, you don't say to yourself, "Well, that penalty was fair, Kowalski should follow the snap count better." You think "We got screwed!" People say, "We won yesterday" even though their "team" was 45 itinerant 1099 contractors from all over the country which happened to score more points than a similar group branded with the name of another city.
People now seem to feel a similar emotional attachment to "their" party and "their" president, and it transcends even their own political interests, to the extent that workers in Volkswagen factory in South Carolina reject the union that management is encouraging them to certify.
"He's not my president!" "We're not like those social justice warriors!" "We're not right-wing nutjobs!" "I don't like everything Trump does, but I could never vote for that corrupt woman." "Hillary is far from perfect but she's more accomplished and experienced and not a sexual abuser."
Some people credit Gingrich with legitimizing the argument that "if you disagree with me you're an unpatriotic traitor." And certainly the relentless attack on Bill Clinton stemmed from that line of thought.
But he couldn't have legitimized that idea if it hadn't resonated with voters. Maybe an apt metaphor would be "the NFL-ization of politics." When your team gets penalized for roughing the passer or being offside, you don't say to yourself, "Well, that penalty was fair, Kowalski should follow the snap count better." You think "We got screwed!" People say, "We won yesterday" even though their "team" was 45 itinerant 1099 contractors from all over the country which happened to score more points than a similar group branded with the name of another city.
People now seem to feel a similar emotional attachment to "their" party and "their" president, and it transcends even their own political interests, to the extent that workers in Volkswagen factory in South Carolina reject the union that management is encouraging them to certify.
"He's not my president!" "We're not like those social justice warriors!" "We're not right-wing nutjobs!" "I don't like everything Trump does, but I could never vote for that corrupt woman." "Hillary is far from perfect but she's more accomplished and experienced and not a sexual abuser."
The NFL: injuries, penalties, and the occasional great play.
The GOP: the pizza, the box, or both?
I got nuthin'