Both Sides

You hear it all the time, some bad behavior is identified and immediately "the other guys do it too" is offered up as a defense. In the world of politics, sometimes that's true, there are some things that both sides are guilty of. Politicians of all stripes seem to see getting re-elected and holding on to power as an end in itself. They all tend to reward their allies, often at the expense of those who do not vote for them. You can find inept politicians, you can find corrupt politicians, you can find just plain stupid politicians on both sides of the aisle. 

But...

In my view the modern Republican Party has gone beyond the pale. It is not arguable that nationwide, and even in many states, aggressive gerrymandering has resulted in Republicans being in a position of power that is not supported by their numbers. In many states the Congressional delegation and the state legislature is controlled by Republicans even when a majority of the votes went to Democrats. The situation is exacerbated by the way Senators are allocated, which in turn determines in part the makeup of the Electoral College. The Senate is split 50-50, even though the Democratic Senators represent 56.3% of the population. Two out of the last six presidential elections were won by a candidate who received fewer votes. Even President Biden's 2020 victory could have gone the other way if a few thousand votes in a handful of key states had gone the other way. 

Republican leadership is not stupid. They understand the population trends and see that the percentage of the electorate who can be counted on to vote for Republicans is steadily decreasing. So what do these non-stupid Republicans do? While they still retain legislative majorities they take action to reduce the influence of the Democratic Party. Since governors are elected by popular vote, gerrymandering does not affect them. In several states that elected Democratic governors in Republican-gerrymandered states, the Republican-majority legislature acted to limit the governor's powers before he took office. Despite there being every indication that the 2020 elections were conducted fairly and without any measurable fraud, dozens of Republican-dominated states changed election laws to make it more difficult for people to vote. In some cases, such as in Georgia, voting access was expanded in rural areas where a majority voted for Republicans while being restricted in urban areas that tended to vote Democratic. Not to mention the various actions by Republicans to overrule or delay petition drives approved by a majority of the people in the case of Medicaid expansion or cannabis legalization. 

Republican politicians in 2021 fall into two broad categories. There are the Machiavellian strategists, represented by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell has always played the long game, understanding that elections come and go, but if you can appoint enough federal judges, especially Supreme Court Justices, to the bench, you have built an effective firewall against progressive reforms. And by making effective use of Senate rules a smart leader can push through his own priorities when in the majority and obstruct by filibuster when in the minority. McConnell's strategy became apparent during President Obama's terms as president. His stated goal was to make Obama a one-term president. As we know, that failed, but he was able to put the brakes on virtually everything Obama tried to accomplish. The only reason the PPACA passed was that the Democrats had a 60 seat majority in the Senate. McConnell's main accomplishment was to prevent Obama from appointing federal judges, culminating in his refusal to consider Merrick Garland nomination to the Supreme Court. McConnell feigns a respect for Senate tradition and excoriates the Democrats for even talking about eliminating the filibuster, but he has been very clear that he will use the rules when it suits him, and change them when they don't. 

The second broad category includes the Trumpists like Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Green, Lauren Boebert, Gym Jordon, and Josh Hawley. This wing of the Republican Party makes no pretense of trying to legislate or govern, but are primarily performative. They're more short-term thinkers and have no concept of the long political game. When in the minority they mindlessly obstruct and when in the majority they mindless support whatever the leader wants. They spend more time making outrageous statements on social media, attacking their opponents and pandering to the worst instincts of the Republican base than doing the hard work of legislating. Included within this second group are politicians such as Ted Cruz or our own Pete Ricketts. This crowd may have been serious about their jobs at one time and been mainstream conservative Republicans but were seduced by the unquestioning, unwavering support and adulation that Trump received that they decided that their future as politicians depended on replicating that model. These were elected officials who at one time were concerned about roads, and property taxes and budgets, but now make daily pronouncements about "defending the second amendment", protecting the boarder and "stopping the steal". 

So, yes, you're going to see problems with the Democrats as well as with the Republicans. You're going to be able to point to things that the Democrats do and be horrified. Democrats may be the party that takes your vote for granted, but the Republicans are the party that effective wants to take your vote away. All the while blaming every problem on immigrants and Black Lives Matter (and Antifa, don't forget Antifa). 

Both sides are not the same.