Preserving the moral high ground
Feb. 3rd, 2009 10:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jducoeurAs Eric Holder gets sworn in as Attorney General, I find myself reflecting on the lesson of, "What goes around, comes around".
The thing is, the objections raised at his confirmation hearings weren't *completely* specious -- he was, by all accounts, deeply involved in a few dumb moves by the Clinton Administration, and those do raise reasonable concerns. But coming from the Republicans -- the party that pushed through Alberto "I'm sorry, I don't recall" Gonzales -- accusations of poor judgement and failure to stay above politics come across as more hypocritical than mere mortals should be capable of.
That's the uphill fight that the Republicans have on their hands, and it's going to be quite the challenge for them to overcome. In order for the public to take them seriously, they have to be a serious party, with serious principles -- and after muffing that for most of the past eight years, that's going to be hard to convince people of. Actions speak louder than words, and now that they are reduced to mostly words, it's not going to be easy to set aside the effects of their past actions.
The moral of the story? Don't make the mistake of assuming you're going to be in power forever. Your actions today will come back to haunt you tomorrow. Hopefully the Democrats will manage to keep that in mind...
The thing is, the objections raised at his confirmation hearings weren't *completely* specious -- he was, by all accounts, deeply involved in a few dumb moves by the Clinton Administration, and those do raise reasonable concerns. But coming from the Republicans -- the party that pushed through Alberto "I'm sorry, I don't recall" Gonzales -- accusations of poor judgement and failure to stay above politics come across as more hypocritical than mere mortals should be capable of.
That's the uphill fight that the Republicans have on their hands, and it's going to be quite the challenge for them to overcome. In order for the public to take them seriously, they have to be a serious party, with serious principles -- and after muffing that for most of the past eight years, that's going to be hard to convince people of. Actions speak louder than words, and now that they are reduced to mostly words, it's not going to be easy to set aside the effects of their past actions.
The moral of the story? Don't make the mistake of assuming you're going to be in power forever. Your actions today will come back to haunt you tomorrow. Hopefully the Democrats will manage to keep that in mind...