I’m not sure why you keep saying we need to hold both sides accountable when many of us here do hold both sides accountable.

I certainly do my utmost to do so, and I think I succeed much of the time, as do many people here. This blog has never been some sort of Trump cheering section.

Some people however, are very inclined to give Trump a pass (and/or give the GOP a pass). It will always be the case that there are plenty of people on both sides who do that. However, I see less of it in general about Trump than about a lot of other presidents (Obama being the best example).

Are you expecting everyone on the right to be as hard on the right as they are on the left? You’re going to have a long wait if you’re waiting for that (check out human nature).

Ends justify means and might makes right are very deeply ingrained in people, and you will never, never eradicate it.

You are also ignoring or perhaps minimizing the very real dilemma of how to fight an opposition that very much believes in ends justify means. How dirty must one get to fight people who fight dirty? That’s not a facile question with a facile answer; it’s one to wrestle with. I certainly have thought about it. I tend to think we must stick to principles. But there’s also the old saying: nice guys finish last. These are real dilemmas.

BOTH sides need to be held accountable.

Focusing and blaming all one side inexorably reflects / leads to a “might makes right” mentality which eventually destroys democracy.

We are not going to make any headway whatsoever on the msm narrative, if trump cannot even walk his talk. People just won’t buy what he is “selling”.

Democracy is not about pushing forth your agenda come h*ll or high water. It is about building support.

We saw the consequences with obamacare. The dems argued against their critics then that people will love it once they see it. Weren’t they delusional?

What makes us think any good trump may do will survive the next election cycle without broad support?

And if he is not building support (right now, it is arguably lower than during the election), then couldn’t a good many see his efforts as “might makes right”? Just like we accused obama and the dems of?

That is a key part of the issue we face today.

Many feel they mustn’t question trump’s narrative for fear of somehow it would validate the msm / left’s version, so 100% of their energy is focused on pushing back on that.

It doesn’t end well if we merely pick sides rather than hold both sides accountable.

We can hope and dream.

Right. I agree with most of what you said, though I don’t see it yet at the “every fiber of their being” level – that condition ought to be on the battlefield in a war zone, a real one.

Agree that it is not mutually exclusive. They are intimately tied to each other – I believe you said it seems symbiotic.

But, the reaction to all that on the left is as if this is unbelievable, or some kind of heightened, shocking incredulity.

Part of what made me rather upset about trump winning the nomination in the first place is that this is very much a consequence.

We can keep pointing at the left / msm, without much criticism of trump’s role in it all, and implicitly give him a “bye”, as many here seem to want, perhaps being entertained by the “fight”.

Well, trump is giving them what they want. Instead, they should ALSO be extremely upset that this clumsiness triggered such a debacle.

A fumble like that is usually enough to get people fired in the rest of the real working world.

Heck, even on “The Apprentice” it would qualify for the weekly firing, along with other team members involved.

But, standards and accountability are out the window nowadays.

Just see that all as perpetuating this destructive spiral.

I keep hoping that cooler and smarter heads prevail.

We’ll see.

I rarely return to a comment thread after I go to sleep, but I came back to see if you had a snarky, juvenile jerk retort to my comment labeling you as a snarky, juvenile jerk. So I guess, though I may be wrong (its happened before) about you being a snarky, juvenile jerk. It remains true, aim small miss small.

Good night, don’t sleep tight in your snarky, juvenile jerk bubble.

Yes, I can be relentless and cruel. Just rub me the wrong way.

When I first read your comment, I was trying to figure out how a Trump presidency was like “repressive dictatorial regimes” or “fanatical theocracies”. Despite what many people think, I was seeing none of the repression, or fanatical theocracy.

Concerning the Left – I do see the totalitarianism – the conversion to their way of thinking and the intolerance of others.

WRT Trump – I am still open. I see a brash negotiator trying to establish himself. But, he is still aware that there are boundaries. I think he will be more authoritarian within the executive branch. It will be his administration. He’ll get the size down, he’ll get rid of the leakers and disloyal ones. But, he knows that he will have to work with Congress and the judicial system. If you read the Executive Actions, many are in the form of here’s the existing law, follow it and not what the past Administration been doing, figure out how to implement it and get back to me in x number of days with the new process or the suggestions to change it by getting the law changed.

With some departments that we would like to see greatly reduced or eliminated, there has to be a logical process – identify and get rid of bad regulations and then go after the laws that created these regs. Eliminate what can be, then clean up what remains and assign the function to the appropriate department. Sell the excess buildings so rebuilding will be hard.

I like that he is having all of these meetings which he is calling “listening sessions” vs the Ds wondering how to “talk to the voters”. It will give him a way to moderate some of his stances. We can all hope.