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Op-Ed

Ehrlich: We Have the Perfect Response When Progressives Try to Take the Moral High Ground

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Useful one-liners often become part of the cultural lexicon.

The brilliant “Seinfeld” popularized “yada, yada, yada” — always applicable, but never quite defined. Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green made “they are what we thought they were” an overused cliché in post-game interviews. And then there is the ever-popular “it is what it is” — a rather doleful recognition of reality so common in today’s vernacular.

But I have a new favorite: “Two things can be true at once” — a useful retort when progressives (per their usual modus operandi) seek to rent the moral high ground on the polarizing cultural issues of the day.

The following replies are not exhaustive, but these “also truths” may help you in your interactions with the relentless moralizers from the other side of the aisle.

TRUE: Parents can get emotional and confrontational when “woke” (read: inappropriate) instruction is given to their children.

ALSO TRUE: The specter of federal police agencies investigating unruly parents at school board meetings is government overreach at its Biden-era nadir.

TRUE: The importation of deadly fentanyl through the mail was a major problem during the first two years of the Trump administration.

ALSO TRUE: Trump diplomacy vis-à-vis China successfully curtailed the mail route, but Biden-era traffickers found an alternative path by shipping precursor chemicals to clandestine labs in Mexico and then smuggling the finished product through a porous southern border.

TRUE: Book bans are anathema to free speech.

ALSO TRUE: Challenging overtly age-inappropriate materials in the children’s section of a library is always the right thing to do. (When and where did crossing this line become acceptable?)

TRUE: Extraordinarily high bail for non-violent offenders discriminates against the poor.

ALSO TRUE: Extending cashless bail to violent criminals has placed far too many recidivist felons back on the street.

TRUE: The Department of Justice is integral to the rule of law.

ALSO TRUE: Attorney General Merrick Garland’s allegation that criticism of the Justice Department is an “attack on democracy” is way off base. No federal agency is immune from criticism — ever — because we still have three co-equal branches of government.

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TRUE: Groups with extremist platforms are appropriate targets of law enforcement.

ALSO TRUE: The effort to give parental rights, pro-life and traditional values groups the “extremist” moniker is simply an extension of the Biden administration’s uber-political “ultra-MAGA” narrative.

TRUE: The media has been critical of Trump for his alleged carelessness with classified documents kept at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

ALSO TRUE: The fourth estate has been remarkably indulgent about the tranches of confidential documents found at Biden-controlled venues in Washington, D.C., the University of Delaware and his house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

TRUE: Asylum is a compassionate and long-established reason for immigration to the U.S.

ALSO TRUE: The vast majority of Biden-era illegal migrants showing up at the southern border are in no way asylum seekers but rather (usually low-skilled) economic refugees.

TRUE: Generalizations are generally valid.

ALSO TRUE: Valid exceptions exist for almost all generalities.

You no doubt have other examples of “also truths” that can and must be appended to popular lefty allegations/indictments. So be aggressive in your response. Make progressives engage outside their “safe space.” Not a comfortable place for them…

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Robert Ehrlich is a former governor of Maryland as well as a former U.S. congressman and state legislator. He is the author of “Bet You Didn’t See That One Coming: Obama, Trump, and the End of Washington’s Regular Order,” in addition to “Turn This Car Around,” “America: Hope for Change" and “Turning Point.” Ehrlich is currently a counsel at the firm of King & Spalding in Washington, D.C.




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