In politics, there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing your own preferred shibboleths mouthed by your former political enemies. The pronouncement doesn’t even have to be sincere. Sure, a genuine conversion experience is gratifying, but it can be even more pleasing to watch your opponents endorse your own political views even if they are not persuaded by them. The principle at issue is irrelevant. What enlivens is the display of abject supplication.
For Republicans who are courting “strange new respect” from their erstwhile Democratic adversaries, there’s no better pathway to relevance and acclaim than to confirm Democrats’ worst suspicions about their GOP counterparts. The historical record is glutted with the tales of onetime right-wingers who suddenly discovered the virtues of left-wing policy prescriptions. We’ve also seen many newcomers to the American right who’ve taken their progressive preferences with them into the Republican Party.
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