make politics boring again
i see calls to joe biden to heal our nation. be rational — he can’t. not in the position he’s in. not in the place we’re in. but the senate republican leadership _can_ heal the nation, and do it with dignity and statescraft and set a new tone.
this all turned the dark corner following the loss of an election where sarah palin introduced a low brow tone of angrily barbed hyperbole to an adoring crowd with mitch mcconnell vowing to obstruct all democratic work and lindsey graham leading the screaming that the opposition was evil and enemies of america at every turn.
the more fierce it got, the more fierce the left became in response. the vitriol and hyperbole worked to secure the votes and build the base, but it has gone too far now.
what was a rhetorical device and a political communications strategy to strong arm a legislative agenda now has us on the brink of collapse. each voice that picked it up over the years from the tea party to the pundits went harder and harder with it. people took it seriously, and now they want to kill the enemies cast by those words, seething with hatred.
more than half of the republican party’s voters condemn the attacks on the capitol, the extreme minority has gone too far. now is the moment for the rational republicans to reappear and rally and they don’t have to pander to the extreme base. bring the conservative perspective, just drop the spewing and screaming. lower the temperature in the chamber and set an example across the nation and show the world. is there just one seated republican that could say joe biden isn’t a communist or that nancy pelosi isn’t satan? why do you have to be out of office before you can be collegial?
we have to stop talking about the evils of socialism, the hatred on the radical left, the extremism. then we can stop reacting with the evils of capitalism, the venting and fury of all sides are corrupt and just want power. we need to stop mislabeling things. we need to stop exaggerating and embellishing.
we have to start talking again in big words, calmly and cordially about managing a mixed economy like educated adults and set a tone for a new conversation of collaboration and compromise. we need to praise each other and encourage each other positively. the clintons are long gone. trump (god willing) is on the way out. don’t make any new lightning rods to fill the voids.
we need solid and stodgy stateswomen and men, not provoking politicians in constant campaign mode. let the talk shows and pundits and commentators do what they will, but when you go on the shows, use different tones. stop calling the opposition your enemy. start calling them your colleagues and start acting collegial. rehumanize each other.
stop creating imaginary wars — because they have become real. trump made the rousing rhetoric into reality. when the gavel comes down, please, both chambers, both sides… speechwriters and coms directors, please… change the script. set a new tone.
make politics boring again.
