Life, by Caroline

washingtonpoststyle:

An op-ed by Thomas E. Mann, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Norman J. Ornstein, a resident scholar at conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute.

This is an incredibly interesting op-ed. Mostly because of who wrote it. But also because Republicans love to say that the party went wrong with the movement towards all or nothing social conservatism. This goes beyond that. They have abandoned their own economic ideals just so the president won’t “win.” When major players in your own party (Hagel) are calling you irresponsible, well, you should re-examine just what you’re doing to the world.

My favorite quotes from the article…

We understand the values of mainstream journalists, including the effort to report both sides of a story. But a balanced treatment of an unbalanced phenomenon distorts reality. If the political dynamics of Washington are unlikely to change anytime soon, at least we should change the way that reality is portrayed to the public.

Our advice to the press: Don’t seek professional safety through the even-handed, unfiltered presentation of opposing views. Which politician is telling the truth?

Either way. An interesting read…