I remember the argument months ago about this. I didn't ignore the idea that many people won't give a shyt if "basic cabinet seats" go to Generic Moderate Republicans. I said it's bad regardless and has no upside other than rehabilitating a dangerous and toxic ideology. A Generic Moderate Republican is a dangerous extremist who should be ostracized from the levers of power in this country, not given "token" positions to coddle their ego. And there really aren't any token Cabinet positions, they all have some degree of power to improve or make worse the lives of people in this society.
The rationale for accepting decisions from the President cannot just be "Well, nobody will connect the dots if this decision goes poorly" or "This decision may not be actively good, but it's not actively terrible." We should expect our political leaders to be pushing as hard and far as possible in the direction of the good. When they don't do that, they should be heavily criticized and made to change direction. Allowing Kamala to give Republicans a little power as a treat is such a toxic idea, and speaks to a deeper, structural problem with her understanding of the political landscape and her role in political life at this moment in history. Even if the role she gives this Republican is completely devoid of actual power, the mere symbolism is so noxious and damaging to our political life.
Yeah, this is a very bad approach to politics and should be called out and condemned.
I agree that Blinken and Garland are utter disasters, who should be thrown out on day 1. Blinken should probably be in jail if we're being honest.
