And As For The Gander

And As For The Gander

Projection can be a wonderful thing. In this case I mean the kind of projection used so often by the liked of Donald Trump. If he calls someone out for lying, it is because he lies and is lying. If he calls someone out for corruption it is because he is inherently corrupt and is probably picking someone’s pocket the very minute he is making the accusation. When he calls Joe Biden stupid, it is easy to hear his fear and realization of just how stupid he himself is. That is not just a Trump phenomenon, I think we all tend to do it, but it is simply more recognizable on someone like Trump who refuses to accept accountability for any of his failings or weaknesses and therefore is forced to always lash out to blame others for what he is most guilty.

Whenever I get into a debate with a Republican, no matter what I say to make an accusation about members of their Party, I am always met with the argument that the Democrats are exactly the same. Just fill in the blank with whatever complaint you can think of. Corruption? Dems are just as corrupt as Republicans. Manipulative? Just the same. Dishonest? No difference. I simply do not agree. There are plenty of things I feel are absolutely true about Republicans that are not exhibited at all by Republicans. And the inverse may be true as well, but they are generally different characteristics or opinions. I do not feel that this represents a case of projection most often, but rather a case of different views on the topics that offend us individually the most. A Republican might be most offended by anything that a Democrat suggests that reeks of them taking from the rich to give to the poor. A Democrat might be as offended by a Republican saying that any regulation is a bad regulation. There may be truth to both points of view and to call our others for their actual and truthful characteristics may or may not be productive in establishing a working dialogue, but it is not necessarily projection. Projection would be if a Democrat calls out a Republican for harmful deregulation, for instance in the case of the power grid management in Texas which has led to the current disastrous vulnerability of millions of people due to the cold snap pummeling the state, and having the Republican say that Democrats deregulate too in harmful ways, say like letting Twitter and Facebook have their way with free speech. That would be projection. In some ways it is more truthful and correct for someone like that mayor in Texas to just say, “damn right we deregulated and if people can’t prepare themselves for the worst by buying generators in advance of a storm, its their own damn fault.”

I don’t happen to agree with much of what Republicans say or think in regard to these big policy agenda items, but I respect an honest stand more than I respect a case of projection or denial.

What has struck me recently is the recent troubles of Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York. He is being slammed and is now under a Federal investigation into whether he misled the public about nursing home deaths during the peak of the New York pandemic outbreaks. I, like many others, was a big fan of how Cuomo handled himself during the worst of the pandemic. I felt he was being honest and reasonable, doing things like putting facts and science ahead of politics. Everything he did publicly during the worst of the pandemic seemed to be in sharp contrast to what Trump was doing and it highlighted many of the attributes we prefer to see in our leadership. He was the pandemic hero while Trump was always the pandemic goat.

Now we learn that he may have contributed knowingly to misinformation about pandemic deaths in regard specifically in counting the nursing home deaths properly. The subtext is that none of this impacted the accurate reporting of the total death count, but it is clear that if the nursing home deaths ere purposefully underreported to make New York look more caring of the neediest of the population, that is still political manipulation of the fact and of the science. That is bad and Cuomo, to the extent he was a part of the deception either directly or even just knowingly, needs to be taken to task for it.

What is good for the goose must be good for the gander. This is the most dramatic difference (even more than the tendency towards projection) between Democrats and Republicans. When presented with a high road and a low road, Republicans take the road that has the best political outcome (which is all too often the low road). Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but it is a dish best not served at all in national politics. I believe it hurts the vengeful party more than satisfies his immediate need for retribution. Once again this is a case of looking at the short term versus the long term. Thinking long term should tell us that politicians that lie or misrepresent for political gain do us more harm than good. This is as true for Cuomo as it is for Trump. I wonder if any Republicans that are gunning for Cuomo are prepared to say that Trump needs to take his punishment for lying to the AMerican people as well as Cuomo. I suspect that the castigation would stop at Cuomo and not extend to Trump in the same manner. That, of course, makes their castigation of Cuomo empty and unjustified. And if the same Democrats that impeached and voted to convict Trump are faced with a similar set of facts regarding Cuomo’s involvement in lying or misrepresenting the facts on COVID nursing home deaths, they MUST punish him in the same manner. This needs to be a zero-tolerance process no matter whether the other side blinks or chooses to not follow through consistently with their own adjudication.

Republicans privately snicker behind Democrats backs every time this happens and they refer to Democrats as boy scouts and the like. They feel they are being politically naive. To them the goose and the gander have absolutely nothing in common and should not be linked (unless it serves their purpose). What they fail to consider and, I believe, realize, is that sooner or later people catch on to this two-faced or double-standard game. Lately it has become hard to prove this point based on the repeated acceptance of the Republicans of the misrepresentations of Donald Trump. It is clear that there is more tolerance of this bad acting at this time for Trump in particular. If I had to explain it I would only be able to say that it must be due to desperation. I feel that Republicans know that they cannot win any longer on a level playing field. The demographics are now decidedly stacked against them and getting more so every day. Until they can find a way to reset the playing field they are unwilling to give up winning. In fact, Lyndsey Graham said it best when he declared that all he cares about is winning. Winning at all costs is a short term game and long term consequences or righteousness. This must be the “Big Picture” we keep hearing about from the Republicans.

The problem I have with that strategy is that I do not know where it leads. Are we ever likely to disenfranchise masses of black and brown people as well as an increasing population of women? Will some external event

When Ted Cruz says that California or New York do not deserve Federal disaster relief, he is making a political decision. When Ted Cruz’s Texas is in desperate need of Federal assistance like this week, Democrats almost always take the high road and suggest that the people of Texas (be they blue or red) deserve the help of the Federal government. I believe this is driven by doing what’s right but it also has a positive long term political outcome in gradually convincing Texans and others that the Democratic approach is good for BOTH the goose AND the gander.