The below letter responds to this column and this Corner item, in which I say that if I were a Democrat, I’d be embarrassed by my party’s tactics on the Hill right now. The letter disputes this — I think it’s wrong. I know I would be embarrassed, just as I would have howled louder than anyone else for Bill Clinton to step aside (during the Monica Lewinsky affair, I mean). Still, I want to share the reader’s letter, because it’s thoughtful, and because, in my experience, polite mail from the left is a teeny bit rare:
Sorry, Jay, but if you were a liberal, you wouldn’t be embarrassed. You would be outraged at the lies and bad behavior of the Republicans. We live in echo chambers. We hear what we wish to hear, and ignore what we wish to ignore. You grew up surrounded by liberals and fought your way through to conservatism. I grew up surrounded by conservatives and fought my way through to liberalism. It clouds our judgment. We forgive our allies too easily and condemn our foes too harshly, and our loyalty is deepened by the harshness we encountered in youth. It’s difficult to put yourself in another’s shoes. [No, it isn’t. It’s just that people don’t think to do it, or don’t want to do it.]
Many honestly believe that health reform will be a great thing for the country. And many honestly believe that it will be a disaster.
All the best . . .