{"id":137962,"date":"2025-12-01T18:36:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T02:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/01\/the-dangers-of-unrestrained-partisanship\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T18:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T02:36:11","slug":"the-dangers-of-unrestrained-partisanship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/01\/the-dangers-of-unrestrained-partisanship\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dangers Of Unrestrained Partisanship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Partisans can make everything partisan.<\/p>\n

For example, who causes a standoff?<\/p>\n

Both sides.<\/p>\n

It takes two to stand off.\u00a0If either side gave in to its opponent\u2019s position, there would be no standoff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So who caused the government shutdown?<\/p>\n

Both sides, of course.\u00a0The Republicans were being stubborn on issues that mattered to Republicans.\u00a0The Democrats were being stubborn on issues that mattered to Democrats.\u00a0You might agree with one side or the other about whose stubbornness was more reasonable, or which issue better justified stubbornness, but there can be no doubt about who caused the government to shut down:\u00a0Both sides did.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an even worse example:\u00a0Who\u2019s to blame for\u00a0Rahmanullah Lakanwal having shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C., last week?<\/p>\n

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, of course.<\/p>\n

Or maybe you could break it down further.\u00a0Let\u2019s allocate blame as, say:<\/p>\n