David Brooks: Vote Republican to End their Tantrum
Nixon and Kissenger are said to have considered feigning insanity as a negotiating ploy. They are said to have believed a leader could get more concessions by portraying himself or herself as both powerful and irrational. Historians are now unsure whether the Nixon administration ever actually employed the device, but the ploy clearly would work with NY Times columnist David Brooks, who wrote:
“If Obama wins re-election, the Republican Party will react by moving right, not left. It will become less likely to compromise with Obama … Republicans, especially at the grassroots level, would react to Obama’s re-election by assuming that Romney failed because he was too moderate. … [T]hey will be looking forward to the gains that the party out of the White House typically makes in midterm elections. The Republicans aren’t going to change.”
In other words, Republicans can’t play well with others so vote for them so we can get something done. But what government gets done is kind of important, too. It is one thing to vote for Romney because you believe in his policies, but another thing to vote for him because you believe the Republicans will block any legislation a Democrat proposes. On the contrary, that would be a reason to clean house to get rid of the obstructionists. The minds of most voters are presently stuck in a two party system. Until we introduce some complexity into our thinking process, for either side to sabotage the other means suffering for us all. We have explosive problems with a short fuse. Can we wait four more years to begin to confront issues like global climate change, and a deteriorating infrastructure?
My political beliefs are simple. I believe in human rights for all, I would also like a livable planet for us to stand on. I’m not a political expert (if such an animal exists) but I know this much: If the Republicans keep moving toward a cliff, and the Democrats keep meeting them half way, we’re all sunk.