I remember the old days — back in 2017-18 I reckon, when diaries here were filled with intricate debates about using the word “treason.” Did a “war” have to be declared? Was Russia an “enemy?” What does “aid and comfort” really mean? It was certainly intellectually stimulating. I hearked back to my law school days parsing Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Trump yesterday:
And what they did was treason. What they did was terrible. What they did was against our Constitution and everything we stand for…. What they did was disgraceful. There’s never been anything like it in the history of our country.”
Fascinating. The President, and I’m sure a thousand Rush’s and Mark Levin’s, don’t feel the constraint to be careful about defining crimes like treason.
Who’d have thought?
Does that mean we should use words like treason recklessly, like they do.
No. Quite the opposite. We pride ourselves on accuracy and self-correction.
But we need to be aware of the asymmetry in rhetoric between them and us and figure out what to do about it.
For example, we don’t have to bend over backwards when it’s not necessary. My diary Tuesday was The Starr Report was released in full to Congress. Shouldn't everyone know this by now? A few astute commenters pointed out that the Starr Report was released under the Independent Counsel statute, which required transmission to Congress, when the Special Counsel statute only requires transmission to the Attorney General.
True, but that doesn’t make the diary title wrong or misleading. The AG can release it to Congress and it can be disclosed in other ways. And you can believe a Republican AG would have a report about a Democrat out there in full within minutes.
This is a war of words, memes, tropes etc. and the rules are inherently against us because the other side doesn’t play by the rules. When you have an advantage that happens to be true, use it.
For more discussion of Asymmetric Politics, see my diaries:
Day 13 of the Cover-Up. Asymmetric Politics in Action as Dems say they won't use Nunes tactic.
Benghazi, Syria and Impeachment: How Asymmetric Politics Inherently Harms Democrats.