Paul Waldman considers conservatives’ tribalism:
If you watch cable news, you probably know the story of Jack Cassell, the Florida doctor who demonstrated his displeasure with the recently passed health-care reform by posting a sign on his office door reading, “If you voted for Obama, seek urologic care elsewhere.” Never mind that Cassell knew nothing of what was in the bill: This was a policy so abominable that he could no longer associate in a professional capacity with anyone who had voted for a politician he didn’t like.
I doubt that very many doctors will begin partisan practices. Yet if there is a common strain running through the unusually vituperative debates of the Obama presidency, it’s that the opposition becomes intensely tribal in short order. We could be talking about health care, economic policy, or a Supreme Court nomination, and before long, conservatives will be arguing not just that the administration and its supporters are wrong but that they are the Other — an alien group with whom there can be no compromise.