June 07, 2004

I hate what politics has become

I do hate to be proved right. The other day Fred and I discussed the dearth of intelligent discourse in politics these days. Well, after the stunning amount of vitriol coming from the far Left after the death of President Reagan saddened me, but didn't shock me. From the cheering at the anti-war rally in San Fransisco to Ted Rall's "turning crispy brown" to the lunatics on DemocraticUnderground.com, there has been an avalanche of outright hatred.

But let's not kid ourselves Republicans. If this were Bill or Hillary Clinton, we would be just as nasty.

Posted by Frinklin at June 7, 2004 08:36 PM
Comments

My impression is that the most significant point in the descent in political discourse occurred with Nixon's nomination of Clement Haynsworth to the Supreme Court. Haynsworth's opponents decided the nomination must be opposed at all costs, and that ends justified any means.

While there were enough warts in Haynsworth's bacground for the opponents to use, it was also clear the Haynsworth's past was well within the parameters of what was normally considered aceeptable for such appointments. The Haynsworth nomination was one that historically would have been approved as a matter of senatorial courtesy, even with the Senate and the Presidency occupied by different parties.

The actions by Haynsworth's opponents greatly polarized the political atmosphere. You can argue that those changes were due to happen anyway - if it hadn't been the Haynsworth appointment, the polarization would have had some other initiation. Who knows.

But as I recall, Haynsworth is when the process of attack was no longer marginalized. With Joe McCarthy, the attach mode was reeled back in. After Haynsworth, attack became a permanent part of the landscape.

I supported the Haynsworth opponents at the time. At this stage in my life, I don't believe the victory was worth the cost.

Posted by: Steve at June 8, 2004 04:27 PM

When you read what some of our founding fathers said about their contemporaries you'd realize that today's political discourse isn't actually as bad. I mean, VP Aaron Burr shot & killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel because of some slur that Hamilton voiced regarding Burr. Until we have leading politicians facing off with pistols at 10 paces, I won't accept that things are worse now than they were then.

Posted by: John at June 9, 2004 02:09 AM
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