For Republicans, profanity
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (AP) — The definition of a scandal changes quickly in Washington.
Over the course of four years the nation’s capital has careened from crisis to crisis. There was the travel ban, the investigation into Russian interference in an election, the firing of an FBI director, a 35-day Government shutdown, dismissals of Cabinet secretaries via tweet, impeachment, and a historic pandemic that forced the president to be hospitalised.
And then there was the
Glamour interview.
Jen O’malley Dillon, President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign manager and incoming deputy chief of staff, referred to congressional Republicans as “f——ers” in a conversation with the magazine. And Washington was again in a tizzy.
The hand-wringing is a preview of one of the political shifts ahead once Biden takes office. Democrats preparing to take power are furious at any sign of a double standard from Republicans who looked past — or encouraged — President
Donald Trump’s profane and divisive behaviour in office.
And Republicans, eager to portray Democrats as elitists, are suddenly aghast over a lack of decorum.
Although Marco Rubio didn’t condemn Trump’s comment about African “shithole countries”, the Florida Republican senator seemed scandalised by O’malley Dillon’s comment. He tweeted that it shows what Democrats “really think”. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh Mcenany tweeted the comment “says volumes” about Biden.
Even some Democrats seemed anxious. Axios, a news organisation dedicated to chronicling every Beltway twist and turn, used anonymous sources to report “some advisers close” to Biden were “frustrated” about O’malley Dillon’s interview.
She later walked back the comment in a virtual conversation with fellow Democratic operatives.
That such a retreat was deemed necessary almost validates the premise of Biden’s presidential campaign: that he would restore normalcy to the nation’s politics.
An indelicate comment that reveals what a White House staffer really thinks — and the ensuing damage control — was the ready definition of a Washington scandal before Trump came to town, and upended that and so many other conventions.
While it’s easy to dismiss the O’malley Dillon episode as another example of
Washington’s endless capacity for self-obsession, it reveals some difficult truths.
For one, the deference that Republicans showed the White House during the Trump era will be a thing of the past. The same party that cheered Trump for “telling it like it is” is poised to attack those in the incoming Administration who deviate from the folkways expected in official Washington.
“They’re going to look for any reason not to work with the Biden Administration,” former North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp said of Republicans.
The new standard seems to be applied with particular vigour to women.
Beyond O’malley Dillon, Neera Tanden is also facing scrutiny over her choice of words. She is nominated to become the first woman of colour to lead the powerful Office of Management and Budget but is facing Republican opposition because — of all
things — her Twitter account.
She’s labelled Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell “Moscow Mitch” and dismissed Republican Senator Susan Collins as “the worst”.
While such language does little to advance constructive debate, it stands as tepid compared to Trump’s whitehot Twitter history. He’s used the platform to accuse MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski of “bleeding badly from a facelift”, disparage the appearance of Texas GOP Senator Ted Cruz’s wife, and brand journalists the “enemy of the people”.
Yet, Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn has said Tanden’s past comments were