Failure Is Not An Option
This week’s Courier Herald column:
8 years ago, talk show host Rush Limbaugh made news by asserting that he hoped newly elected President Barack Obama would fail. It was a pre-emptive signal of permanent resistance to a President that was certain to pull the country hard to the left.
I like many others whose politics lean conservative had been a long time listener to Rush. This was the first time I can recall having a disagreement that was fundamental at its core principle with him. I wrote at the time:
“As a young conservative, I grew up listening to Ronald Reagan talking about America being a “shining city on a hill”. About the hope and optimism of the American people overcoming fear. About hard work and ingenuity of people united for a common purpose being able to tackle any problem that was put before us. Above all, we were the party of ideas.
“As such, I am embarrassed when I see someone who presents himself to be a conservative leader “hope” for failure. It is unacceptable for those of us who believe in this country to pre-emptively raise a white flag of surrender with the only apparent motive to have the hollow pleasure of an “I told you so” should failure be achieved. America deserves better from us. America demands better from us.
“Our citizens face immediate struggles that most have not experienced in their lifetime. If conservatives choose to watch from the sidelines and hope for failure, then we have become as pathetic as we are irrelevant. I, for one, am confident enough in America that I can still hope that President Obama will succeed. I hope you are too.”
We all know what happened over the past eight years, though we likely disagree over who should be blamed for escalating division and gridlock. Democrats have evidence that many Republicans never wanted to give President Obama a chance. Republicans have the famous “I won” photo op that demonstrated a Democratic party that controlled the White House and Congress with a filibuster proof Senate had no interest in reaching across the aisle nor governing from the center.
We are now again in a period of transition, where we remove our political shoes and put them squarely upon the other foot. As such, many who have made arguments in the past based on partisan advantage will now make equal and exactly opposite arguments over “fairness”, citing what the other party did during the past eight years.
One of the many problems with this is that we waste time looking backward and expending energy settling old scores rather than looking forward to solve today’s problems and building a better future. In short, no one ever got ahead while spending their energies trying to get even.
I’ve tried to be understanding of most of my Democratic friends’ reactions to losing this election. Republicans had months to get comfortable or at least make peace with the fact that Donald Trump is now the standard bearer for the party of Lincoln and Reagan. In my case, this was not easy, quick, or painless.
Most Democrats entered election day without any real thought that they might lose. They have many things about their own party and the direction of the country that they will need to make sense of and come to grips with.
To them, I would counsel that their hyper-overreaction to everything at the moment is hurting their cause, not helping. The knee jerk decision to “resist everything” has put the President Elect going to dinner without his press corps on the same level as potential national security threats or creeping neo-Nazi influence on the West Wing.
Their inability to differentiate between major and minor issues when it comes to criticism of the right has put all criticism on the same, easily dismissible plane. Much of the American public has heard “Wolf !” cried too many times. Pace yourselves. There will be plenty to criticize ahead. Pick and choose your battles.
As for my Republican friends, the American people have placed great trust in a party that is searching for direction without a clear consensus on specifics of governing. There will be a great desire to spend the next two years exerting an eye for an eye. Perhaps the better scripture to lead with in order to secure a long term tenure for the party is “Love thy neighbor.”
It is time to be dutiful to the general mandate to break up the self-serving nature of D.C. operations and enact policies that directly impact and improve the lives of middle America. There is no time to waste enacting vengeance nor rooting for failure.
We continue to live in perilous times. If America is to continue to serve as the shining city upon a hill, then failure is not an option.
About Author
Charlie
Founder of GeorgiaPol.com; Now weekly columnist Very interested in Georgia and Georginas. Interest in politics is waning daily.
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What I heard was Limbaugh wanted/expected the progressive and social democracy policies of Obama to fail, not the country. There is no purist candidate.
This election was about a bloodless struggle for a Constitutional Republic as the party Republicans and Democrats shift left toward a Social Democracy.
It is a great time to institute term limits and stop gerrymandering congressional districts. Unless we want the big metros, lobbyists and career politicians to make our decisions.
The violent rejection and lawlessness from the left will escalate a pushback and division. Im hopeful Trump will put a team together to right this ship, not confident, hopeful.
“It is a great time to institute term limits and stop gerrymandering congressional districts. Unless we want the big metros, lobbyists and career politicians to make our decisions.” Totally agree. Might this stop the concentration of Presidential elections fixating on just 12 specific states?
the politics of revenge makes gerrymandering perhaps the most difficult problem to solve. all i’ve ever heard is the justification of gerrymandering bc that’s how it’s always been played.
Agree. Speaking of difficult, how about, “End the Two Party System!”
We tried. Kinda…
Rush has explained the comment numerous times. He meant that he hoped Obama would fail at implementing certain policies. In hindsight, implementation succeeded, operation failed (unless we accept the notion that he wanted ObamaRobertsCare to fail as a means to end up with single payer).
Along those lines, I hope Trump fails with some of his promises including the wall, random deportation and any move to deter states from passing marijuana reform legislation. This does not mean I want America to fail anymore than it did when many of us opposed some of Obama’s policy initiatives.
Unfortunately the vicious cycle of revenge politics practiced by both parties after significant losses appears to be alive and well. Carlos Danger’s mentor Chucky Schumer made this clear on at least 2 of the talking head shows yesterday. His basic point, ‘if we (dems) agree with Trump on an issue, maybe we will work with him. But if we are against him, it will be war.’ Schumer et al will skewer Trump’s supreme court nominee as a first shot across the revenge bow in response to McConnell holding the seat open the past year. That will only be the beginning.
I listened to the commentary, which he walked back the 2nd day after specifically went out of his way on the first day to say “I hope he fails”. He did what he wanted (creating OUTRAGE!), then came back the 2nd day claiming he never said what he very clearly did (and meant).
It was a strategy that Trump used successfully throughout his campaign. (NO muslims can enter the country! Even citizens? “All of them” – Day two: Of course we didn’t mean citizens!
Regardless of what Rush walked back, he sent the signal that many adopted. Go back and look at the comments of the old site. There were many that wanted Obama to fail, personally – outside of his policies.
We’ve got to be bigger than this, but we also have to acknowledge where too many on the right were wrong.
Backlash
The best remark on Trump I’ve heard recently came from Obama “he is pragmatic”.
Example: I’m not warm on the wall but if he makes sections of it a fence or finds better ways to close sections of the border, that is not failure or a broken promise but being pragmatic on border security.
P.S. Inviting Romney over: pragmatic.
Looking at adjusting proposed tax brackets: pragmatic.
Failure is not only an option, it is almost guaranteed. Trump has no experience at governing. His business expertise has cost thousands of jobs and bankrupted small businesses. He was just convicted of fraud. His Cabinet is setting up to be loyal white yes men. His top advisers are his children. He literally had no clue what being president entails. He’s fought more with theatre kids than ISIS.
What part of any of this gives you warm fuzzies for his chances?
wink wink nudge nudge
Yeah. he’s already bragging about the millions he saved by settling out of court, lest he lose and be required to pay more.
To be sure I don’t want Trump to fail to the point that innocent Americans lose out and things fall into a dangerous collapse, but so many of Trump’s proposed policies and the people he’s surrounded himself with are so scary (or, should I say, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, racist) that I certainly hope he never gets to move forward with any of his plans, and I’m going to do my part (and encouraging others to do their part) in making sure he doesn’t get to implement his harmful agenda.
I agree with you but my wording would be, “I don’t want Trump to succeed to the point that innocent Americans lose out and things fall into a dangerous collapse…”
I’m not sure anyone knows how (if) Trump will govern. He was (is) a Democrat who ran against the establishment of both parties. He was constantly at war with traditional Republican leadership, if fact, many of them reportedly voted for Hillary Clinton.
No one should root for his failure personally or otherwise. I didn’t vote for him and I don’t know the real message of his election for America. I will say that the talk radio, Fox News crowd rode the tiger, but they may end up inside of it.
Be careful what you ask for, you might just get it!
It reminds me of the old joke about convincing children to get their tonsils removed,”You can eat all the ice cream you want, after it’s done.”
Gingrich conservatives ate the traditional Republican Party (my cue to exit the party). Then the Tea Party ate them. Now it appears the white nationalists are swallowing the Tea Party.
Each of these movements thought they were the real deal, while their successors arrive sooner and sooner.
Trump is an entertainer/ celebrity that ran as a populist. He has few, if any, workable ideas and no intellectual curiosity. He is, however, capable of forming a competent cabinet.
Now is the time for the republican congress to implement programs they have long advocated. Trump will agree to whatever congress passes mainly because he has no workable plans.
yes, i think he will often put himself in the role of a deal broker/ mediator, rather than on one side of the negotiations.
“Trump will agree to whatever congress passes…” Until, of course McConnell or Ryan cross him and has to endure his Twitter Wrath. That’ll slow things down.
All they have to do is make sure Trump profits from anything they do and they’ll have no problem.
Nice Optimism, Charlie. But I fear the parties are so entrenched in party protectionism they can’t look at the reality of issues and truly legislate for the people instead of their own self-interests. Civility and respect have been sucked out of the process. Smackdowns are the preferred political media event. Traditional news has basically stopped reporting news, facts and instead shifted to opinion based reporting. Trump and Sanders appealed to people that did not believe in Party First. Party Politicians had that uncomfortable moment when they could no longer suck up and support the victor, ‘for the good of the party.’ How many had an awakening of going forward, and truly being responsible for their own ideas and actions, rather than blindly, or willfully spouting, the now poisonous party line? I am ready for a leader that will call BS on both parties so we can truly move forward. Are we there yet?
pft…the D’s are going to be fighting a 2 front war like the GOP establishment did with the Tea Party.
Already, progressives are organizing at the congressional district level, and coordinating with other national districts with a massive grassroots program called DemEnter. OurRevolution™ knows of us and what we plan.
Which, basically, is to take over the county, district, state and national party.
Jeff Sessions…. niiiiiiiiiiice
Tax cuts for the rich won’t change the fact that small city / rural manufacturing jobs not connected to agriculture or local natural resources will continue to migrant to cities, apart from the dwindling of manufacturing jobs overall due to technology. It’s as global a phenomenon as climate change (so I guess for Trump supporters that means movement to cities is a hoax created by the Chinese to undermine the US).
And it’ll only cost the country the normalization of sociopathy, misogyny, appeals to white supremacism, and advocation of torture by Presidential candidates to prove it again. That’s certainly something worth uniting around.