The GOP v the Democrats - an Unwinnable War [View all]

[NanceGreggs]

There is no doubt that racism played a large part in the Republicans’ hatred of Barack Obama. And there is no doubt that the fact that he was a liberal Democrat put a target on his back from day one.

But I think there is more to it than that.

The public perception has always been that along with representing the citizenry, the president also represents his party. A Democratic or Republican POTUS is always deemed to be reflective of the best his party has to offer – both politically and personally. When he speaks, he represents each one of his party members, for good or for ill.

Obama was loved the world over. He was an eloquent speaker who reached millions with his honesty, and his ability to address the most complicated challenges head-on.

He truly walked the walk when it came to adhering to his Christian faith. His policies were demonstrative of his deeply-held principles, and a sincere passion for fairness, justice, and equality.

He had personal charisma. He was as at ease playing basketball with soldiers in Iraq as he was entertaining foreign dignitaries at State dinners. He was charming, he was humble, he was often self-effacing. He was as quick to laugh as he was to show his compassion.

He was serene, he was thoughtful, and he was always the adult in the room. He approached every situation with facts-at-the-ready, and never required a baby-sitter to keep him from tweeting covfefe. He never needed surrogates to un-do the damage done by his own words; he never needed excuse-makers to “reason away” his lies, his pettiness, his ignorance.

He was scandal-free. He lived in accordance with the values that all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, find admirable. He took responsibility for every action he took, every statement he made, every initiative he promoted, and never resorted to blaming others for his own behaviour.

All of the above was attributed not only to the man, but to the party he came from. Due to their President’s many qualities, Democrats – by association – were also seen as being eloquent, reasonable, intelligent, compassionate human beings, more than capable of being the adults in a political atmosphere littered with petulant children.

Every time Obama made a soul-stirring speech, every time he was photographed in an embrace with a victim of an act of violence or natural disaster, every time he achieved something for the betterment of the citizenry like Obamacare, every time he was greeted by cheering throngs in a foreign country, it was a victory forever associated with the Democratic party.

That is what drove Republicans crazy. That is what they truly hated him for: the fact that he made Democrats look superior to Republicans.

And now we have come full circle. What truly sticks in every Republican’s craw these days is the fact that they have saddled themselves with an incompetent, lying racist who can’t open his mouth without making a fool of himself, a man devoid of any personal charm, an illiterate pussy-grabber who is scorned by our allies and is the butt of jokes the world over, a man whose amazing stupidity is on display 24/7 – and above all else, a man who is under investigation for colluding with our enemies in order to have been elected in the first instance.

Trump has now altered the public perception of the Republican party as a whole. They are now seen as the party of lies, cover-ups, incompetence, ever-looming scandal; the party of sympathy for white supremacists, the party of petty, vengeful tweets – and as has become more then obvious of late, the party that happily elected a mentally unstable madman to the most powerful position on earth, regardless of the consequences.

It is that perception the Republicans are fighting against. It is that perception that has fuelled their already substantial hatred of Obama – and of Hillary, as his obvious successor whose intelligence, integrity, and decency reflects as well on her party as Obama did.

The Republicans don’t hate Obama because he was a bad president – they hate him for being an exceptional president. They hate him for being everything they have failed to produce: a POTUS whose accomplishments can never be diminished, and whose legacy will never be forgotten. They hate him for being a uniter rather than a divider; they hate him for setting the standard for presidents so high, they cannot hope to meet it.

Obama Hatred Syndrome (along with Hillary Hatred Syndrome) is not a matter of hating the man or the woman – it is a matter of hating the fact that they have led to the Democratic Party’s “brand” being seen as representing lofty ideals, and the determination to pursue policies and legislation that serve ALL Americans, not just the chosen few.

This is why the GOP is so determined to un-do Obama’s legacy, and why they support Trump’s efforts to destroy everything Obama achieved. They simply have nothing of value to offer, and they believe that by trashing Democratic idols, they will somehow be seen as better by comparison.

It’s a fool’s errand, of course. Obama’s accomplishments cannot be erased from the collective mind of the people whose lives he made better, and his global popularity cannot be obliterated.

The Republican “brand”, on the other hand, is now one that represents unbridled greed, lies, scandal, Nazi sympathizers, pussy-grabbers, and pedophiles – the proverbial turd that all the billionaire donor money in the world will never be able to polish.