Who you got for SCOUTUS

[Belsnickel]

(07-10-2018, 02:30 PM)GMDino Wrote: Blame the democrats for the lower courts and cabinet positions and the GOP for the SCOTUS.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mcconnell-went-nuclear-confirm-gorsuch-democrats-changed-senate-filibuster-rules-n887271

But just so I don't lose my partisan cred...Turtlehead is the biggest PITA with HIS interpretation of "Advice and consent":

I wish nothing good for that "man" ever.

Oh, I am aware. The blame game doesn't work, though, because we could go back and forth on whether it was the group that went nuclear or the group that went obstructionist and caused it that is to blame. Both violated norms at the time, so I hold all parties responsible.

(07-10-2018, 02:51 PM)Benton Wrote: Maybe it's just my age, but I don't think partisanship was as big of an issue until the late 70s, maybe late 80s with the death of the Fairness Doctrine. Parties were always an issue, but they were loose and it wasn't uncommon for the party to change ideology. You didn't have the "us vs them" mentality you do now. 

And I don't see that changing. There was a poll a while back about reviving some kind of Fairness Doctrine. Media were against it, and the general public was against it. The only ones seemingly in favor are a bunch of Democrat lawmakers, so if it ever gets brought up again, you can bet it'll be labeled as 'fascist big government takeover of fair and balanced news sources.' Hell, I'd like to see Dems introduce it just to watch Trump have to call for the defense of journalism... for about 5 minutes.

I've talked a little about this here and there, but yeah, the '70s is when we started to see it go. McCarthy tried to get the ball rolling, but he was put i n his place and things went on as usual. However, Nixon was a bit of a follower of McCarthyism. McCarthy, Nixon, and then Gingrich, all treated their political opponents as enemies. Even after Nixon, things were still a bit more stable for a while, until Gingrich's efforts through GOPAC. And while it looks like I am blaming Republicans, I want to be clear that I am blaming the individuals for starting this.

After they got the ball rolling, both parties took a hold of this hostility and ran with it as the division between the parties widened. The widening of the parties, however, was also due to the Civil Rights Act and the Southern Strategy. Both parties prior to the CRA/VRA were big umbrellas. They both contained liberals, moderates, and conservatives. In the aftermath, with the events that took place, there was a shift where we see what we have now, which is Democrats being liberal and Republicans being conservative. Had that shift not occurred, I don't think that the efforts of Nixon and Gingrich would have been as successful. The shift created bubbles that made it much easier to otherize your political opponents, making them enemies rather than colleagues you disagree with. No longer are they having lunch with members of the opposite party. They keep to their corners and don't really communicate with each other, perpetuating the problem.