If you understand electoral politics as a team sport, it becomes obvious why so many people readily defend what should be indefensible if “our side” is the one doing it. We have to support “our side” no matter what, whether it engages in war crimes, covers up felonies, governs ineptly, or flat out lies. Hence, the same people who twenty odd years ago were outraged when GWB’s spokesmen justified war crimes and domestic surveillance will now defend Biden for doing the same because, “there’s a lot we just don’t know about this situation and he’s doing his best.” This team sport mentality is also what allows people to accept and even enjoy being lied to about crimes against humanity. When people say things like, “this Middle East situation has been going on for thousands of years” (no, it hasn’t) or “both sides are to blame” (they aren’t), it just suggests to me that they don’t want to have to really think about the Israel/Palestine issue in a serious manner. It’s no wonder that the public can be lied to so easily when the level of “democracy” we have is so shallow.
Therein lies the problem of the two-party system. It emphasizes the tendency to see one’s own side (such as it were) as all good and one’s opponent as all bad.
It’s somewhat odd to me, because I grew up in a time where, whenever Democratic politicians got caught doing bad things, there was appropriate amount of shame heaped upon the person and accountability was stressed. It was embarrassing to the party for such things to occur.
Oftentimes with the Office of the President (and with some lower offices as well), you get into areas where the conduct is wrong yet still legal. So during Obama’s tenure, he in his capacity as the executor of foreign policy ordered drone strikes that killed innocent civilians. I was speaking one-on-one with a friend of mine at the time and I criticized Obama for taking such action, as the topic was being discussed on public radio at that moment while we were listening. My friend, a fellow Democrat, turned to me and said, “I don’t think I like you criticizing our President.” Just utterly floored me. It was purely a policy critique.
It’s when you give a pass to the excesses of one’s “own side” that you learn to turn a blind eye as a conditioned reflex, and you begin to tolerate things that ultimately will undermine everything you ever worked to build.
I agree with you insofar as it’s easier to claim neutrality (“both sides are to blame”) in the Israel/Palestine conflict so as to avoid passing judgment on those representatives in one’s own party that are doing questionable or reprehensible things. It’s a dodge.
One justification for the acceptance of the ongoing genocide in Gaza is that we must elect Biden to prevent Project 2025 from being enacted. I think this is a poor reason to the point of ridiculous. First, Biden has always been a conservative. If his current term is any indication, all he would do in a second theoretical term is continue to re-arrange the deck chairs so the Heritage Foundation can keep busy in preparation of Project 2028. Second, if the Democrats (the ones in power whose opinions actually matter) actually thought that the Republican Party was fascist or at least was supporting legislation and positions that were detrimental to the governing ethos of the country, there would be a response like the Red Scares of WWI and the 1950s. The fact that the status quo keeps chugging along suggests that for Biden, Pelosi, and the rest of the Dino squad running the party, what the Republicans are saying and doing is perfectly within the realm of acceptable discourse. Just don’t try to be Palestinian in public, like Rashida Tlaib, because that will finally bring some bipartisan condemnation. If Biden, Pelosi, et al had been serious about, say, protecting abortion at the federal level, they would have done it 40 odd years ago when there were still Republicans who weren’t totally opposed to the idea. If they wouldn’t do it back then, why would I think they would do it in 2025? It would be just like Obama, who claimed the same thing and then went “jk about enshrining at the federal level” once elected. The truth of the matter is that the US has never met a far-right group it hasn’t liked/supported, so long as it’s superficially pro-America. That goes just as much for the Heritage Foundation as it does for Wahabi clergy in Saudi Arabia. And because of the team sport nature of politics, no one will say a word about it. Well, unless it’s to claim that Biden is really playing eleven dimensional chess by doing nothing.
Thank you for writing this. US defunded UNRWA, acellerating starvation of Gazans, based on Israel's blatantly obvious lies -- after torturing UNRWA employees.
That's on Biden admin and Congress. Both are promoting and enabling this genocide. USA is digging its own grave. Beyond sick. Evil and incomprehensible.
Thanks for reading! This storyline about UNRWA defunding has somewhat gone by the wayside, even as the starvation crisis in Gaza deepens. If more attention gets refocused upon it due to Matt Miller’s inept and actually maliciously false comments, so much the better.
The US has lost so much credibility and standing because of their inflexible stance toward Israel as the latter commits atrocity after atrocity. Who knows how long it will take to regain stature and moral authority. It’s certainly lost now.
Matthew Miller is a shameless liar. He will parse words and play little semantic games and dance on the head of a pin if he has to. He’s the Mouth of Sauron, in my opinion. He’ll stand out there and tell lie after lie, or quibble over fine distinctions (the entire Biden Administration plays these word games, someone really ought to document it) or just stall and obfuscate. A shameless Zionist whore, the pallid Ichabod Crane of the Genocide that he denies is happening.
Folks he’s a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown! He’s a piece of wet toilet paper with a touch of Biden’s shit on him. Press him! Ask your questions! Demand answers! Demand accountability. Demand consequences! Drive the disingenuous motherfucker to earth. Don’t play nice with this monstrous creature! Shake him by the scruff of the neck until he confesses to everything. Break his straight, white, entitled ass!
If you understand electoral politics as a team sport, it becomes obvious why so many people readily defend what should be indefensible if “our side” is the one doing it. We have to support “our side” no matter what, whether it engages in war crimes, covers up felonies, governs ineptly, or flat out lies. Hence, the same people who twenty odd years ago were outraged when GWB’s spokesmen justified war crimes and domestic surveillance will now defend Biden for doing the same because, “there’s a lot we just don’t know about this situation and he’s doing his best.” This team sport mentality is also what allows people to accept and even enjoy being lied to about crimes against humanity. When people say things like, “this Middle East situation has been going on for thousands of years” (no, it hasn’t) or “both sides are to blame” (they aren’t), it just suggests to me that they don’t want to have to really think about the Israel/Palestine issue in a serious manner. It’s no wonder that the public can be lied to so easily when the level of “democracy” we have is so shallow.
Therein lies the problem of the two-party system. It emphasizes the tendency to see one’s own side (such as it were) as all good and one’s opponent as all bad.
It’s somewhat odd to me, because I grew up in a time where, whenever Democratic politicians got caught doing bad things, there was appropriate amount of shame heaped upon the person and accountability was stressed. It was embarrassing to the party for such things to occur.
Oftentimes with the Office of the President (and with some lower offices as well), you get into areas where the conduct is wrong yet still legal. So during Obama’s tenure, he in his capacity as the executor of foreign policy ordered drone strikes that killed innocent civilians. I was speaking one-on-one with a friend of mine at the time and I criticized Obama for taking such action, as the topic was being discussed on public radio at that moment while we were listening. My friend, a fellow Democrat, turned to me and said, “I don’t think I like you criticizing our President.” Just utterly floored me. It was purely a policy critique.
It’s when you give a pass to the excesses of one’s “own side” that you learn to turn a blind eye as a conditioned reflex, and you begin to tolerate things that ultimately will undermine everything you ever worked to build.
I agree with you insofar as it’s easier to claim neutrality (“both sides are to blame”) in the Israel/Palestine conflict so as to avoid passing judgment on those representatives in one’s own party that are doing questionable or reprehensible things. It’s a dodge.
One justification for the acceptance of the ongoing genocide in Gaza is that we must elect Biden to prevent Project 2025 from being enacted. I think this is a poor reason to the point of ridiculous. First, Biden has always been a conservative. If his current term is any indication, all he would do in a second theoretical term is continue to re-arrange the deck chairs so the Heritage Foundation can keep busy in preparation of Project 2028. Second, if the Democrats (the ones in power whose opinions actually matter) actually thought that the Republican Party was fascist or at least was supporting legislation and positions that were detrimental to the governing ethos of the country, there would be a response like the Red Scares of WWI and the 1950s. The fact that the status quo keeps chugging along suggests that for Biden, Pelosi, and the rest of the Dino squad running the party, what the Republicans are saying and doing is perfectly within the realm of acceptable discourse. Just don’t try to be Palestinian in public, like Rashida Tlaib, because that will finally bring some bipartisan condemnation. If Biden, Pelosi, et al had been serious about, say, protecting abortion at the federal level, they would have done it 40 odd years ago when there were still Republicans who weren’t totally opposed to the idea. If they wouldn’t do it back then, why would I think they would do it in 2025? It would be just like Obama, who claimed the same thing and then went “jk about enshrining at the federal level” once elected. The truth of the matter is that the US has never met a far-right group it hasn’t liked/supported, so long as it’s superficially pro-America. That goes just as much for the Heritage Foundation as it does for Wahabi clergy in Saudi Arabia. And because of the team sport nature of politics, no one will say a word about it. Well, unless it’s to claim that Biden is really playing eleven dimensional chess by doing nothing.
Thank you for writing this. US defunded UNRWA, acellerating starvation of Gazans, based on Israel's blatantly obvious lies -- after torturing UNRWA employees.
That's on Biden admin and Congress. Both are promoting and enabling this genocide. USA is digging its own grave. Beyond sick. Evil and incomprehensible.
Thanks for reading! This storyline about UNRWA defunding has somewhat gone by the wayside, even as the starvation crisis in Gaza deepens. If more attention gets refocused upon it due to Matt Miller’s inept and actually maliciously false comments, so much the better.
The US has lost so much credibility and standing because of their inflexible stance toward Israel as the latter commits atrocity after atrocity. Who knows how long it will take to regain stature and moral authority. It’s certainly lost now.
Matthew Miller is a shameless liar. He will parse words and play little semantic games and dance on the head of a pin if he has to. He’s the Mouth of Sauron, in my opinion. He’ll stand out there and tell lie after lie, or quibble over fine distinctions (the entire Biden Administration plays these word games, someone really ought to document it) or just stall and obfuscate. A shameless Zionist whore, the pallid Ichabod Crane of the Genocide that he denies is happening.
Folks he’s a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown! He’s a piece of wet toilet paper with a touch of Biden’s shit on him. Press him! Ask your questions! Demand answers! Demand accountability. Demand consequences! Drive the disingenuous motherfucker to earth. Don’t play nice with this monstrous creature! Shake him by the scruff of the neck until he confesses to everything. Break his straight, white, entitled ass!