I am non-partisan. I have neither an allegiance nor an affinity for any political party. Non-partisan does not mean I am neutral on issues in general, or neutral on any particular issue. It simply means my stances are not based on party or tribal affiliation. My lifetime voting record clearly reflects that.
Over time, egregious acts and derelictions committed by Democrats and Republicans tend to “even out,” as do my respective condemnations of them. But that doesn’t mean that at any given point in time in any given period that each party is going to receive exactly 50 percent of my bouquets and 50 percent of my brickbats. That’s not what “non-partisan” means.
At this moment in our history the GOP is disproportionately failing our country and betraying its own often laudable history. Don’t just tell me, “Both parties suck,” and walk away smugly as if you’ve made a profound point and established your “fairness.” No, at the moment it is the Republican Party that is steering our ship of state into the glacier. (If you can still find a glacier, given GOP climate change denial.)
Yesterday provided a clear contrast between the two major parties. Democrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tawdry history of sexual harassment has now been fully exposed and documented, as have his violations of state and federal laws prohibiting workplace hostility. Cuomo has received no partisan support or defense, and in fact has been unanimously condemned up the chain all the way to the White House. Asked if Cuomo should resign, Joe Biden simply said, “yes.” Cuomo is toast, and should be. He is unfit to govern, and now unable to do so in any effective way. Democrats have spoken in one firm voice telling Cuomo to pack up his stuff and head to Motel 6.
Now cross the aisle. Marjorie Taylor Greene? Matt Gaetz? Ron Johnson? Kevin McCarthy? Marco Rubio? Jan. 6 deniers? Jan. 6 defenders? Jan. 6 instigators? Jan. 6 terrorists? COVID deniers? COVID obstructionists? COVID misinformationists and disinformationists? Ron DeSantis? Greg Abbott? Kenny Boy Paxton? Advancers of the Big Lie? Supporters of the Big Liar? The Big Liar Himself?
Crickets from Republicans.
Kindly don’t just tell me, “Both parties suck” and strut away thinking yourself to be a paragon of reason and non-partisanship. No, you’re not. You’re an ostrich. That sucking sound you hear is currently coming from your right. Nah, man. Don’t even…
The results of the Cuomo investigation were clearly and firmly outlined and conveyed by NY State Attorney General Letitia James. But did anyone else think her voice lapsed into an affected cadence reminiscent of Tina Turner doing her talk-up at the start of “Proud Mary”? “We’re gonna take the beginning of this probe and…”
Letitia nevah, evah does nothin’ nice and easy. She does it nice…and rough.”
We’re rollin’ on the river.
72,000 new COVID cases among American kids and teenagers last week, up 84 percent from the previous seven days. One third of all new American infections are in Florida and Texas. It’s one thing for governors to decline to issue mask mandates. It is quite another for them to prohibit local authorities from doing so.
As virologist Paul Offit put it yesterday, “It’s almost like these governors are friends of the virus.”
At the very least, as Daryl Hall once sang, DeSantis and Abbott must “Get Out of the Way.”
