9.2.18: Americans Need To Be Reconditioned

Both senators interviewed on today's "Meet The Press" respectively spoke in measured tones, just how you would think United States senators would exercise their discourse. It's like you almost get the feeling that in the senate, at least, both parties do want to work together but alas cannot because of pressure from unyielding base supporters who have been conditioned to think that politics is a zero-sum proposition when really it is not. What the United States Senate really has really suffered from is poor leadership in these past years. Harry Reid wasn't great but Mitch McConnell is much worse. Instead of fulfilling the role of what it means to be a senator, like the late John McCain, Mr. McConnell changes the rules and runs the chamber simply to enhance his own power. He will also acquiesce to and excuse the president's poisonous rhetoric and unethical actions to enhance his zero-sum agenda.

All of this is antithetical to what John McCain stood for, and that's why in his late vote on the Senate floor he bucked his party and didn't vote to kill the Affordable Care Act. Under Mr. McConnell, the chamber didn't procedure in regular order on this vote and Mr. McCain had made that known, then stuck it in Mr. McConnell's face.

Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) gave the example of bipartisanship in the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act. However, he has to go soft on criticism of the president inasmuch as the bill was named after Senator McCain, which the president never acknowledged when he signed it.

Our politics is petty, but we expect our political leaders not to be; to rise above this pettiness to show us a better way. Unfortunately, it starts at the top and Mr. Trump has shown us that he is the most petty, thin-skinned, vindictive politician that Washington has ever seen.

Chuck Todd posed a suggestion, from the Democratic base, to Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) that Democrats on the Senate judiciary committee who will participate in hearings of Judge Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court should walk out, to which Ms. Klobuchar rightly pushed back on. Not to participate would be politically unwise. However, Senator Klobuchar did explain that this isn't a normal time because the president citing executive privilege will not release 100,000 documents concerning Mr. Kavanaugh and that over 100,000 documents that she has seen can not be made public. This on top of the fact that Mr. Kavanaugh has been nominated by a president that has been implicated in campaign finance crime (by Michael Cohen under oath), and that Senator McConnell denied Merrick Garland a hearing when he should have gotten one. But honor and the institution of the Senate matter not to Mitch McConnell, just the zero-sum win - not just to get more in the deal but to take it all.

Mr. Todd also brought up the notion that the memorial for John McCain was also a memorial for an era of political civility and that calling of 'higher purpose.' The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter responded by saying that that era had already left some time ago, which is unfortunately true. On the other hand, The New York Times Magazine's Mark Leibovich explained that yesterday's memorial at the National Cathedral was very Trump specific, and it was. This column wholeheartedly agrees with Mr. Leibovich that the most poignant moment yesterday came from President Barack Obama who explained to everyone's surprise that he and Senator McCain would talk alone at times in the Oval Office, and though they disagreed they both never doubted that they were always on the same team.

American need to be reconditioned to realize that we can have differences but we're all on the same team. Sadly, Mr. Trump will never be the leader inclined to even think about this, especially when he's only interested in what the presidency can do for him and not the country writ large. Division works to only his advantage, and not the country's.  that the

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As much as Congressman Ron DeSantis seems like a mindless sycophant of Donald Trump, he has the advantage at this moment over his Democratic opponent Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum in the Florida gubernatorial race, despite the detestable 'monkey it up' statement by Mr. DeSantis and the ensuing racist robocalls sponsored by a neo-nazi group. Mr. Gillum, interviewed on today's program, said he was pleased that the DeSantis campaign denounced the robocalls, but he also said that Mr. DeSantis should take more personal responsibility for his statements, which Mr. DeSantis has refused to apologize for. Mr. Gillum unrealistically wants Medicare for all and to abolish ICE, to which Republicans in the state will apply many dog whistles or messaging less subtle. There's also the issue of the a bribery investigation in Tallahassee, which Mr. Gillum answered for very forthrightly. Though he is not implicated and is not a target, saying he has nothing to hide, Mr. Todd applied the point of perception vs. reality. The bottom line is that Mr. Gillum is much better suited for the governor's position being in charge of a municipality.  There's no doubt this will be the toughest, potentially dirtiest race we see this election season. (It's already started that way.)


Panel: Kimberly Atkins, The Boston Herald; Amy Walter, The Cook Political Report; Matthew Continetti, The Washington Free Beacon; Mark Leibovich, The New York Times Magazine