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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDevolution of the GOP featured on Frontline last night
Ostensibly it was a documentary on John McCain but there's an unavoidable thread running through its narrative: the Republican Party has gone off the deep end.
By showing the nature of Congress when McCain first made headway into politics, including interviews with folks like William Cohen and Gary Hart, it is laid bare how polarized and uncivil things have become. The "Party of Lincoln" has turned into the "Party of John Wilkes Booth."
Glaringly obvious is a dramatic polarization, a shift away from the "big tents" more common decades ago. For those who keep up with politics, it's clear that it's being driven by the GOP solely by looking at their ideological purity as compared to the other side of the aisle. It's far easier to find more conservative Democrats than it is to find more liberal Republicans.
I admit I had issues with the film. I think they glossed over the path to this untenable position that was laid in the Reagan and Bush 41 eras. I thought they should have employed interviews with former McCain presidential campaign strategist Steve Schmidt for insights. But the documentary made no bones about laying the blame for the emergence of Donald Trump on McCain giving Sarah Palin a national stage.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/mccain/
Snackshack
(2,541 posts)Last edited Wed Apr 18, 2018, 07:50 PM - Edit history (2)
1st- Definitely, McCain giving Sarah Palin and her value system/qualifications legitimacy by picking her for his VP influence where the Republican Party is today. That opened the door to a whole new level of candidate that would have never been considered in the not too distant past.
2nd- This slow march we have seen over the years of call it inclusiveness/political correctness/equality that says all ideas are valued/legitimate, all ideas are not. The person who thinks the Earth is flat should not have a seat at the debate table.
3rd- Lack of holding people accountable. One of the biggest mistakes IMO of President Obamas terms in office was not holding anyone accountable for. Actions in Iraq, for a deception to start a war or the torture of people as well as other acts of lawlessness. Also actions of Wall Street and the fraud they committed. Perhaps getting convictions would have been difficult but there should have at least been an effort at it.
People sat back and saw a small group of people (Bush admin/Wall Street CEOs) get away with these things and not have to pay any price for it. Quit the opposite actually they got rewarded for it. CEOs got bailouts, bonuses. Admin officials got prestigeous positions in the private sector in academia or Fortune 500 companies. That is a huge incentive to push the boundaries even farther...which is exactly what we are seeing now with people like Pruitt. If trump and his admin are allowed to walk away from what they are doing right now and not be held accountable there will be another admin in the future that will make us look back at the trump admin like we look back at the bush admin...bush/cheney will bad looks pretty good now compared to trump & co.