On Friday, Politico featured an article about President Trump’s pick for Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, and the announced opposition from Republican U.S. Senator Thom Tillis:
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Friday he will oppose President Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair pick until a Justice Department probe into current Fed chief Jerome Powell “is fully and transparently resolved,” a stance that could severely complicate Kevin Warsh’s path to confirmation in the Senate. The retiring North Carolina lawmaker’s vote is needed to advance Warsh’s nomination through the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the Fed and considers its nominees.
This article is very complementary for Sen. Tillis, whose opposition to Warsh will certainly slow down, if not block the nomination process for Warsh on the Senate Banking Committee, where the GOP has only a 13 to 11 majority.
READ MORE Now We Know: Trump Names His Pick to Replace Jerome Powell As Fed Chair
Politico, of course, is a MSM news organ that hates Donald Trump, conservatism, and the GOP, while shamelessly in the tank for the Democrats and progressives.
This is just the latest example of what I have coined the “Tragedy of the Republican Commons.”
You may recognize a similar term. In my economics class in college, I first learned about the Tragedy of the Commons.
The tragedy of the commons refers to a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource—also called a common—act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource. This economic theory was conceptualized in 1833 by British writer William Forster Lloyd. In 1968, the term “tragedy of the commons” was used for the first time by Garret Hardin in Science Magazine.
The Republican Party has a tragedy of the commons problem, too. The Republican Party has a certain amount of goodwill among its adherents and the public at large. This is their “common.” The higher this amount goes, the more individual Republican politicians can gain in votes in the next election(s).
However, the MSM and “high society” organs (e.g., Georgetown cocktail parties) really despise the GOP and conservatism. Therefore, they have shown a willingness to celebrate and promote any politician who caters to their beliefs, especially if it is a Republican politician. This is because a Republican politician’s criticism of the Republican Party or the Republican leadership, including a president, is worth far more than a Democrat politician’s criticisms, as it is more credible, going against partisan interest.
Where this leaves us is in a situation where an individual Republican can create/boost his own popularity among the MSM and high society by reducing the popularity of his party at the same time. Now, he or she could also keep quiet or speak in a unified voice with other Republicans, thereby also creating some additional popularity for the GOP. But a rise from this is not individually focused on that politician, and even if it occurs, it is not as obvious a positive for him/her personally as it would be if the politician sought to distinguish himself by attacking his/her own party.
Which is exactly what we have here with Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis can boost his own popularity and praise from the MSM and high society by attacking Donald Trump and other Republicans. While it is true that Tillis is not seeking re-election, every politician still enjoys flattering articles from the MSM and praise from high society.
Granted, Tillis may have other reasons to cause trouble as well. On the merits of the argument, he may be concerned. Also, he seems to have a particular dislike of the president, whom he may believe prevented him from serving another term in the Senate.
But Tillis is not alone among Republicans. Over the years, many other Republicans have been “tragedies.”
A most prominent example is Senator John McCain. In 1987, McCain got involved with Charles Keating and the Keating Five Scandal. Although most informed observers understood that McCain had done little wrong, and that he had been kept in the scandal largely because the other four more guilty parties were Democrats – and the Democrat leadership in the Congress didn’t want a purely Democrat scandal – he took to heart the criticisms he got from the MSM and high society, and vowed to act in the future in a more “pure” and less partisan manner. So, for the next (almost) thirty years, he did that, most prominently when he gave his famous “thumbs down” on replacing Obamacare.
As a result, McCain was largely showered with praise by the MSM and high society. They did so when he criticized and voted against his 2000 presidential rival, George W. Bush. They did so when he criticized and voted against his Senate leader, Mitch McConnell. And, they did so when he criticized and voted against Donald Trump.
The only time the MSM and high society didn’t celebrate McCain was when he ran for president in 2008. That is because the MSM and high society are Democrat, progressive, and they especially love diversity, and his opponent that year was a mixed-race progressive Democrat named Barack Obama.
Now, most Republican politicians are never going to run for president. However, they can still run afoul of the MSM and high society by this type of behavior, because they get used to the praise and don’t expect the MSM and high society to turn against them. But, if/when they are involved in a competitive general re-election, the MSM and high society will immediately turn on them to win another seat for the Democrats.
For example, I worked for Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Specter loved to distinguish himself from Republican presidents and other Republicans during his 30 years in the Senate. But occasionally, when he faced a tough general election, the MSM that loved him during the off years swung savagely against him in the hopes that his Democrat opponent would topple him from his seat. See, 1992. And when he finally switched parties, they abandoned him altogether in favor of a more loyal partisan Democrat.
Unfortunately, none of this will change soon. If anything, the MSM and high society are becoming more partisan and more biased, rather than less. So, we can expect many more such Republican “tragedies” to occur in the near future.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
