Civility presumes that everyone agrees we’re all in this together and that everyone will act in the interest of the common good. That’s the problem. Not everyone sees that we’re all in this together. stoehr.substack.com/p/democrats-tu…
Civility presumes mutual trust. The Republicans stopped trusting Democrats after the US elected its first African-American president. stoehr.substack.com/p/democrats-tu…
Civility requires both parties to recognize each other as legitimate stakeholders. To the Republicans, anyone who’s not a Republican is the enemy. Where is civility when one half of Washington wants to annihilate the other half? stoehr.substack.com/p/democrats-tu…
The last time the parties agreed to sublimate their interests in the name of the common good was the time of the New Deal when the gov't expanded the franchise to include those blocked out. But such civility came at a price—as long as everyone was white. stoehr.substack.com/p/democrats-tu…
All bets were off after Obama became president. That was beyond the pale. As @OrinKerr said: “Few things are more corrosive in politics than the conviction that you have been wronged so much that you're justified in breaking all the rules to get even.” stoehr.substack.com/p/democrats-tu…
After Obama’s election, Republican voters, fearing the loss of racial status and privilege that might come with demographic change, went all-in behind an agenda that did everything possible to sabotage Obama. Civility was dead. stoehr.substack.com/p/democrats-tu…
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