On this day in 1788, Federalist No. 70 was published. Eerily descriptive of today’s political climate, the following passage illustrates our Founding Fathers’ grasp of human nature in politics.
Men often oppose a thing, merely because they have had no agency in planning it, or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike. But if they have been consulted, and have happened to disapprove, opposition then becomes, in their estimation, an indispensable duty of self-love. They seem to think themselves bound in honor, and by all the motives of personal infallibility, to defeat the success of what has been resolved upon contrary to their sentiments.
This is exactly what is happening today. It does not matter what Republicans in Congress try to do, it doesn’t matter what executive level agencies try to do, it doesn’t matter what any current nominee and/or newly confirmed judicial appointment says, Democrats will oppose it because whatever the case may be it can be linked to President Donald Trump. Democrats still can’t get over losing to Trump in 2016 with their favorite candidate. Since then, Democrats’ non-stop opposition to all things Republican has robbed themselves of any credibility. Democrats are either the politicians who cried wolf or the today’s Chicken Little, take your pick.
Now that the 2020 presidential campaign cycle is beginning we should expect the mindless resist-anything-associated-with-Trump push to intensify. Democrats must feel like they can’t afford to give Trump another victory. The economy is doing well, GDP is up, unemployment is down, we have a new deal that replaced NAFTA, and with tax reform and criminal justice reform as major pieces of legislation, the Trump administration is in a good position for re-election.
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