Lincoln and today's politics

[L Verge]

(03-06-2017 12:19 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(03-04-2017 08:18 PM)Lincoln Wonk Wrote:  

(03-04-2017 07:43 PM)David Lockmiller Wrote:  

(02-08-2017 09:21 AM)Lincoln Wonk Wrote:  I saw this piece in The Hill that uses Mr. Lincoln as an example for today's politics. Wanted to share it:

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/un...y-politics

I do not agree with the conclusion reached in this article:

“We should recall Lincoln's confidence in American democracy as we wade through today's political warfare. Now as then, our country on the other side of the smoke may evolve into a new national consensus that tests us while also making us stronger.”

The big difference is that Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States, then; Donald Trump is President of the United States, now. And, as Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen said to Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle comparing himself to John F. Kennedy: “Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.”

Hi David,
I wanted to share it because I thought it thought-provoking, not because I agreed with it. But it does put the current discord in perspective -- we got through a war that killed 700,000 Americans and we'll probably get through this together if all try to see things from the other fellows' perspective.

The following is a quote in today's Washington Post from Peter Wehner, who was the top policy strategist in George W. Bush’s White House:

“We have as president a man who is erratic, vindictive, volatile, obsessive, a chronic liar, and prone to believe in conspiracy theories. . . . And you can count on the fact that there will be more to come, since when people like Donald Trump gain power they become less, not more, restrained.”

Washington Post: "Wiretapping allegations accomplished what Trump wanted – but may backfire bigly"

By James Hohmann March 6, 2017

I grew up reading the Washington Post nearly every day until I went to college. I continued to subscribe as an adult until I finally grew out of my liberal mindset (as our society forced me to look at reality) and canceled my subscription.

Way back in a Problems of Democracy class in Grade 12, my classmates and I were warned to watch out for the Fourth Estate (the press, now termed the "media") because of their attempts to control our way of life. In 2017, I feel they are more interested in financial gain.

As long as our very vocal politicians on both sides of the aisle insist on making idiots of themselves (and lining their pockets) instead of working together for the common good, we are going to have inflammatory rhetoric and yellow journalism. Good lord, deliver us - we're regressing instead of progressing.