“I have been blamed by Republicans for a lot of things, but being blamed for their primaries and who they’re selecting for their party is novel,” [President Barack] Obama said at a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minter Justin Trudeau…. “I don’t think that I was the one to prompt questions about my birth certificate… I don’t remember saying, ‘Hey, why don’t you ask me about that?’” Obama said “Why don’t you, you know, question whether I’m American or whether I’m loyal or whether I have America’s best interests at heart. Those aren’t things that were prompted by any actions of mine. And so what you’re seeing within the Republican party is to some degree all those efforts over a course of time, creating an environment where somebody like a Donald Trump can thrive.”
He’s withstood the best efforts of those on the Right who, like Marco Rubio, blame The Black Guy in the White House © for everything from the coarsening of the public discourse to violence at Donald Trump’s rallies. He’s largely kept his own counsel about those who question everything from his birth certificate to his presumption in consuming oxygen which by rights should be reserved for good, God-fearing, heterosexual, Conservative White Christian patriots like themselves. Now, as he watches the Republican Party ripping itself asunder, I have to think he’s bathing in Schadenfreude as he watches karma work its magic. Though I suspect he’s too classy to publicly admit it, I’d have to think that at some level that must feel pretty damned good.
As Republicans ever more desperately flail about looking for someone to blame for their current plight, The Black Guy in the White House ©- as he has been for seven-plus years- is the obvious and logical culprit for a party too lazy and self-absorbed to own up to their failings. Yep, the “party of personal responsibility” sees no irony or hypocrisy in refusing to accept responsibility for their circumstances. That’s ironic, given the 36 years they’ve spent planting the seeds, only to lose control over the crop now being harvested.
“It’s fair to say that the Republican political elites, and many of the information outlets, social media, news outlets, talk radio, television stations have been feeding the Republican base for the last seven years a notion that everything I do is to be opposed. That cooperation or compromise somehow is a betrayal,” he continued. “That maximalist, absolutist positions on issues are politically advantageous. That there is a ‘them’ out there and an ‘us.’ And ‘them’ are the folks who are causing whatever problems we’re experiencing.”
Since the days of Barry Goldwater in 1964, Republicans have based their brand on exclusion and demonization- the idea that others are to blame for whatever problems America faces and that only Republicans have the solutions required to set things right. They’ve sown divisiveness, blame-shifting, racism, sexism, homophobia, and religious bigotry in place of a platform based on ideas that could actually move America forward.
Since the ascension of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the GOP has ramped up the dishonesty, lack of integrity, and epic hypocrisy. Hillary Clinton coined the phrase “politics of personal destruction,” which has come to be synonymous with the Republican approach to politics. They’d talk about having superior ideas, but would invariably default to attempting to personally and publicly destroying opponents when those ideas didn’t pan out, which was almost invariably the case. Republican Presidents have initiated more wars and presided over more economic downturns than Democrats. They’ve initiated a cycle resulting in an ever-increasing income inequality leading to an us-vs.-them economic system…which has facilitated the anger and unrest Donald Trump is exploiting today.
Divide and conquer.
It’s not a stretch to assert that Republicans are now furiously trying to blame The Black Guy in the White House © for the mess they’ve created. It’s what Republicans do; they sell Americans on the promise that they will do things better and make things right. Once in power, they cater to their wealthy and powerful benefactors, screw things up even more, and then blame Democrats for their own ineptitude and incompetence. Though the skillful employment of propaganda, disinformation, a willingness to make up facts on the fly, Republicans have for decades fooled the American Sheeple into blaming Democrats for everything that’s wrong with America.
So much for the “party of personal responsibility,” eh?
This is by no means meant to completely absolve Democrats of responsibility for their mistakes- Bill Clinton made more than his fair share, and Barack Obama has had his own missteps. Neither of them can lay claim to the venality, divisiveness, irresponsibility, and incompetence that has been the hallmark of Republican administrations since Ronald Reagan took the oath of office on January 20, 1980.
If you think I’m being overly partisan, please convince me otherwise by listing some of the brave ideas shepherded into law by this Republican Congress.
Don’t worry; I’ll wait….
