Good Night, and good luck

My views on Ezra Klein are pretty well known on this blog.  That's why I have no problems shaking my head at Klein's reasoning for why Washington politicians get away with monumental hypocrisy.  In short Klein says it's in part due to a psychology that allows Washington to prosper in delusional self-interests.

I have to disagree.  It's what I do.

Washington gets away with mountain-sized hypocrisy for one reason: the media permits it. Nobody holds them accountable, especially voters.  And that's simply because media does not care one bit about hypocrisy.  The watchdogs, the very people who are supposed to remind voters of hypocrisy, are way too busy eating out of the hand of politicians to accurately report to the people.

Despite what Klein writes, psychology has very little, if nothing, to do with the reason why politicians make huge policy flip flops and remain in office.  There's no psychological reasoning as to why Republicans now all of a sudden hate the individual mandate.  No other reason than Democrats now like it.  The same is true for why Democrats didn't embrace it in the 90s and the naughts like they do today.  Politics makes strange bedfellows and all that, no doubt.  But if you don't know who's sleeping with who you really have nothing to talk about.  That's where we are today.