THE PRAIRIE EDITOR: A New Crew On Board

The political spectacle we are now witnessing in the nation’s
capital is a not unexpected “afterparty” to the recent election.

Since each presidential election, especially one that results
in a new chief executive, has its mostly its own cast of
characters and personality, the aftermath of each will be
somewhat different.

When a national election brings not only a new president and
administration into office, but also a notable historical
transformation, it is inevitable that some political fireworks
will be on display.

This is what we are now observing. The losers, still in shock
from their upset loss, and many of their friends in the media,
still smarting from the voter rejection of their widespread
media bias, are attempting to unnerve and discredit the
winners.  No one should be surprised at this phenomenon,
losers in both parties have tried to do it to winners before.

Winning an election is only the first step in governing. In
order to be successful after the votes are counted, winners
need to have immense focus, strength of purpose, and
discipline to put their policies into law. They also need to
formulate good policies that work well and bring visible
positive results to the public political marketplace.

One presidential appointee has now resigned after three
weeks in office. Some in the media waged all-out campaign
to make this happen. The Democrats, thwarted in defeating
President Trump’s cabinet choices so far, and facing defeat
in the confirmation in the new president’s first selection for
the U.S. supreme court, joined in and are now gloating at
this small victory.

It is only a small victory unless the new administration fails to
learn from it. If leaks and innuendo are allowed to intimidate
a government, it will have been a bigger victory. The appointee
in question might or might not have deserved to resign, but there
is no question, by his own admission, that he was not candid
enough with his president and vice president.

Democrats who gloat over this incident should be careful what
they gloat about. The appointee will be replaced with another
appointee with the same views. Delaying and besmirching the
reputations of virtually all cabinet appointees before they take
office will  not likely win support among voters outside
Washington, DC, especially among those who either voted for
him or now agree with his policies. Most Americans agree that
any new president has the right to name his cabinet and staff.
There is the senate  consent oversight, but when a party opposes
virtually everyone, it is perceived as political retribution and
revenge, and not the proper function of consent.

Ahead lies the confirmation of a supreme court justice. It seems
likely that a bitter campaign against Mr. Gorsuch, an obviously
qualified person, will backfire. His opponents, if they insist on
a filibuster, could well lose not only the vote, but the filibuster
itself --- something they might want to keep for battles ahead.

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Copyright (c) 2017 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.