4/9/21
President Biden campaigned on a promise to unify America. An inspiring goal, to be sure, but one that ain’t anywhere close to happening. Decades of polarization, turbocharged by the us-versus-them philosophy of former President Donald Trump, have left the nation so divided that it can feel as though the two political teams are not only talking past each other but speaking in entirely different tongues. At this point, each team could use its own dictionary, with contested terms defined according to that side’s worldview. Think of it like a French-to-English dictionary, only angrier. Some terms cry out for translation more than others:
Bipartisanship. Is an idea only bipartisan if lawmakers from both parties sign on? Republicans in Congress appear to support this narrower interpretation.
Voting reform. Both parties agree on the need to shore up the integrity of the electoral system. But, for Democrats, voting reform means making ballot access easier and encouraging maximum participation. Republicans want to go in the opposite direction, with measures that risk hitting minority voters especially hard.
Infrastructure. As the president and his people define it, infrastructure includes everything from the “care economy,” community colleges and electric vehicles to job training and investment in domestic manufacturing and scientific research. Republicans are pushing a more traditional definition, limited largely to physical, transportation-related structures such as roads, bridges and ports.
Fake news. Pre-Trump, most folks thought of fake news as media sources that trafficked in lies, conspiracy theories and other disinformation. (See: Infowars.) Mr. Trump changed the definition to mean the reporting of any information he didn’t like. Plenty of Republicans seem happy to stick with that position as it suits their needs.
Cancel culture. In practice, Republicans have learned that complaining about “cancel culture” serves their overarching narrative of victimhood and whips up their base — the result being that pretty much every time someone is mean to them they claim they’re being unfairly canceled.
Political speech. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, just opened a fresh front in this debate. He scolded corporations for criticizing the restrictive voting measures being pushed by Republican-led state legislatures and advised companies to stay out of politics.
Terrorism. Battling dangerous foreigners was Mr. Trump’s brand, and his White House stuck to it. The Biden administration has made it clear that it will be keeping a close eye on homegrown extremists.
Riot. For instance, Democrats — and, really, most Americans with eyeballs — think that the Jan. 6 sacking of the U.S. Capitol, which left at least five people dead and well over 100 injured, reached the level of a riot. But for a special segment of Republicans, including Senator Ron Johnson, the attack did not present any real danger. Why? Because, as Mr. Johnson explained, it was conducted by MAGA patriots rather than antifa or Black Lives Matter protesters.
