The politics of grievance
The midterms may be decided by which groups feel more wronged
This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.
"What goes around, comes around." Brett Kavanaugh's indignant warning to Democrats last week may be the defining ethos of this political era. As I write this, the fate of Kavanaugh's nomination remains undecided, but there is no doubt that the outcome will trigger howls of outrage among tens of millions of people — and vows of vengeance. This is our politics now: No uplifting rhetoric about "hope" or "a shining city on the hill." No poetry. No norms. No decency. It is grievance, revenge, and identity, all the way down. In arguing that they are the wronged party, irate Republicans point to the "borking" of 1987 Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork, to sexual harassment allegations against Clarence Thomas, to Hillary Clinton's characterization of Donald Trump supporters as "deplorables." Furious Democrats cite the 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton (in which Kavanaugh played a prominent and censorious role), the 2000 Bush v. Gore ruling, and last year's refusal by Senate Republicans to even consider President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. The Kavanaugh nomination now goes on the bonfire.
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