However, McCain has lost all his support from across the aisle because electoral politics is not just a matter of competing political philosophies -- it is also a matter of tribalism. While there are very real and important differences of political, moral and economic philosophy between the two major parties in America, the tribalism of party membership at times seems to have equal or greater force in fueling debate.He's right - for politics is a human thing. When it comes down to it, we want our guys to win. It's very similar to sports. Yeah, you might like to see the underdog to put up a good fight, and you may even have limited respect for their particular virtues, but you still want your guys to win when it comes down to it. I would add to Darwin's point that this is something that is very human; it's not possible to create a society where this type of behavior does not, in some form, exist.
7.31.2008
politics can be like sports
Darwin has a great post up about political tribalism. Discussing his liberal friend's change of their opinion of John McCain, he writes
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Right on. Not only do you want your home team to win, but you want your rival to lose. I am constantly checking to see how the Yankees are doing even when they are not playing the Red Sox. I have a friend who now believes that John McCain will be "the worst President" in the history of the country who will ruin the country. Even though, for all practical purposes he will have very similar polices to most of the previous Presidents. Barack Obama, on the other hand, is the one who has a radical agenda that will bring "change" to the way we govern. It looks to me as if there is much more opportunity for an Obama presidency to go sour than a McCain presidency.
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