Open thread: "Both sides" red in tooth and claw
Yesterday, Twitter celebrity Walter Shaub went on a tirade against President Joe Biden. His crime? Pres. Biden, in answering a question, praised his son Hunter Biden and the book he wrote detailing his claw-back from drug addiction. For some reason, Shaub thought this was an ethical lapse on the level of Donald Trump's documented malfeasance.
Needless to say, he heard it on Twitter. And yet he doubled down:
In the scheme of things, Shaub is unimportant. But now that Pres. Biden is in charge, the risk, as always, is the return and reification of the "both sides" narrative, where Republican calumny has to be paired with Democrats forgetting to put down the toilet seat.
And don't think this is restricted to the purview of the Right. So-called "liberal" media is all too eager to participate in this, in order to exhibit their independent bona fides.
Joe Biden expressing love and concern for his son has to be elevated in malfeasance to Trump funneling money to his children. Because of course it has to. There's no room for nuance, or, indeed, rationality. This is more of "holding his feet to the fire", and expecting Democrats to be like Caesar's wife. They must wear the hairshirt and practice self-mortification, demands never made of Republicans. As the GOP torched ethical strictures, now Democrats will be held to a standard impossible to observe. It is as it ever was.
There are too many on the liberal side eager to cry out about the mote in Democrats' eyes, while ignoring the log in the eyes of the GOP. This can build up resentment and dissatisfaction, and, yes, "both sides". Lord knows I live by Will Rogers' dictum on the Democratic Party. But at the same time, some perspicacity is in order. Republicans eke their way back into power because of nitpicking like Shaub's. Stop it.
At any rate, at least I earned my block this time.
This is your open thread.