Comments on: A House Divided https://habitablezone.com/2015/10/08/house-of-cards-3/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 03:45:24 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2015/10/08/house-of-cards-3/#comment-33057 ER Fri, 09 Oct 2015 00:37:31 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=51061#comment-33057 We all have a tendency to see our ideological opponents as evil supermen; dead wrong, perhaps even diabolical, but nevertheless uber-competent and highly dangerous. But on closer inspection, these guys are pathetic, pointless little men. They're more like small town carpet salesmen, holy roller preachers, the guy doing sports on local TV. "They all look like game show hosts to me." We all have a tendency to see our ideological opponents as evil supermen;
dead wrong, perhaps even diabolical, but nevertheless uber-competent and highly dangerous.

But on closer inspection, these guys are pathetic, pointless little men. They’re more like small town carpet salesmen, holy roller preachers, the guy doing sports on local TV.

“They all look like game show hosts to me.”

]]> By: Robert https://habitablezone.com/2015/10/08/house-of-cards-3/#comment-33056 Robert Thu, 08 Oct 2015 23:11:54 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=51061#comment-33056 America hasn't had that many political parties, and the impending collapse of the Republican Party is a momentous thing. It's interesting that while its parent the Whig Party fell apart because of internal division over a single tangible policy--slavery--the GOP is tearing itself apart over some vague and every-shifting concept of ideological purity. It's like the successive dilution of homeopathy, this process of constantly cleansing the party of its "softest" RINOs. And this is where it's gotten them: They've hollowed out the edifice of their party to the point where it no longer has any structural integrity. How bad does a party have to get before it can't find an ambitious politician to lead it? And gawd, there's poor Bohner, who said he'd stick around until his replacement's been hired, now hoist on the petard and trapped in a hellish limbo of his own making. It makes me smile. America hasn’t had that many political parties, and the impending collapse of the Republican Party is a momentous thing. It’s interesting that while its parent the Whig Party fell apart because of internal division over a single tangible policy–slavery–the GOP is tearing itself apart over some vague and every-shifting concept of ideological purity. It’s like the successive dilution of homeopathy, this process of constantly cleansing the party of its “softest” RINOs.

And this is where it’s gotten them: They’ve hollowed out the edifice of their party to the point where it no longer has any structural integrity. How bad does a party have to get before it can’t find an ambitious politician to lead it?

And gawd, there’s poor Bohner, who said he’d stick around until his replacement’s been hired, now hoist on the petard and trapped in a hellish limbo of his own making.

It makes me smile.

]]> By: mcfly https://habitablezone.com/2015/10/08/house-of-cards-3/#comment-33054 mcfly Thu, 08 Oct 2015 20:57:23 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=51061#comment-33054 Although I suppose it could be argued that they've done just that. Does this prove that the truth shall set you free? Although I suppose it could be argued that they’ve done just that. Does this prove that the truth shall set you free?

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