Neiwert and Stoller on Dick Morris and the Attack on Democratic Legitimacy
Interesting meta-discussion going on regarding the different rules of engagement that the right and the left are using in political debate these days. I think it’s best summed up by this piece from Dave Neiwart of Orcinus: A little bit about blogging. He links to a more-extensive item from Matt Stoller (Partisanship versus partisansheep), which in turn is a commentary upon this actually fairly vile New York Post opinion piece from Dick Morris: Terrorists for Kerry.
Neiwart and Stoller’s argument is that the left is taking the high road, arguing issues and assuming that the other side has a legitimate place at the bargaining table. The right is taking the low road, doing whatever it can to de-legitimize the other side — and, more significantly, undercutting the very essence of democratic government in the process.
Now, I’m on the left, and the fact that I find this argument compelling can be explained in two ways: Either the perception is true, and I’m being rational. Or the perception is merely the product of a partisan’s one-sided view of reality, and I’m actually being irrational.
But the fact that I’m even considering the second explanation could be taken as confirmation of the argument: Righties aren’t paralyzed by such doubts. I’m suddenly reminded of that Doonesberry cartoon I linked to a while back, so here, let me link to it again: What liberal media?
On balance, I think there really is something here, and it’s pretty scary. For me, it emerges from contemplating the events of the current Bush administration, and comparing them to the events of the Clinton administration. If those on the right who railed against Clinton as an impeachable traitor had been faced with his doing any of the dozens of especially bad things Bush has done, I honestly think their heads would have exploded from the resulting outrage.
They are already working on undercutting the authority and legitimacy of the as-yet-hypothetical Kerry presidency. Stoller and Neiwart are right: This fight is going to be much bigger than just winning the election in November. It’s going to be long, and difficult, and vitally important to the country’s future.
June 24th, 2004 at 7:29 am
This is a no-win argument. I’ve seen plenty of strongly conservative writers who make the same exact points as you, but, of course, have those people wearing the black hats and white hats switched around. Those on the farther reaches of either side of the political spectrum are there for a reason. They see the best face of their ideology and the worst face of the other side. They see conspiracy behind all the key players from the opposition, and communism or fascism (depending on your viewpoint) as the ultimate goal of their opponent. As you move more toward a moderate or middle ground, the people may still have a ideological leaning, but can find some fault in their political party’s policies and key members, while sometimes seeing merit in the other side’s worldview.