Chuck Todd: Congress is passing the FUBAR test with flying colors
Yes, democracy is messy. Yes, the making of legislation is akin to the making of sausage. But there’s messy — and then there’s the state of American politics.
Yes, democracy is messy. Yes, the making of congressional legislation is as messy as the making of pork sausage. But there’s messy — and then there’s the current state of American politics.
To put it simply in terms the military likes to use, we’ve entered the FUBAR zone in our current story arc of American politics. (This is a family column, but inquiring minds can look up what comes before “beyond all recognition” in “FUBAR.”)
There are two competing forces shaping our current political situation and pushing us from the usual messy to something more dysfunctional.
There’s former President Donald Trump’s rhetorical control of the right-wing information ecosystem, which seems to force otherwise well-meaning GOP elected officials to go against their own beliefs (and even their own negotiated bills, in the case of the proposed bipartisan border deal) and fall in line for fear of losing their jobs or being canceled by the right’s noise machine.
And there’s President Joe Biden’s rhetorical inability put his opponents on the defensive and connect the dots for the public — and in public — about congressional GOP intransigence. Biden’s absence from the public debate has essentially allowed the right to dictate a false narrative, be it about the border, about Ukraine or about the Middle East. As usual, the White House and its allies are hoping someone else does their job for them, whether it’s the media or anti-Trump Republicans, rather than attempt to participate in good old-fashioned speech and debate themselves.
Rating: 5