Why 'Tit for Tat' Lawfare Is Necessary
The rule of law has long stood as a pillar of liberal constitutional democracy—a commitment to neutral adjudication, impartial justice, and political fairness. Neutrality of this kind lends legitimacy to a regime of laws as opposed to one of mere men. Yet in recent years, particularly under the aggressive strategies of the progressive left, a dangerous transformation has occurred. The law is no longer a matter for maintaining order or resolving disputes. It has become a weapon—“lawfare”—wielded not for justice but for victory...
It is only when the costs of weaponizing the law are made clear to all sides that the incentive to cooperate may re-emerge. If left unreciprocated, the present course guarantees only further erosion of the republic’s legal and political norms...
The fantasy of returning to some prelapsarian era of bipartisan civility is just that—a fantasy...
Thus, we see that the neutrality we once cherished in law was not just a procedural nicety; it was foundational to constitutional order...
If we hope to escape this spiral of legal and political degeneration, we must turn to Robert Axelrod’s seminal work, The Evolution of Cooperation...
What he finds is striking: the most effective long-term strategy is “tit-for-tat.” One must begin with cooperation but immediately retaliate when betrayed—and then forgive if cooperation is resumed.
What makes tit-for-tat so powerful is its clarity and fairness...
This insight leads to a sobering conclusion: conservatives must cease unilateral restraint. They must engage in tit-for-tat...
The point is that justice cannot exist in an asymmetrical system...
Related
Liberals May Regret Their New Rules, by Kurt Schlichter, Townhall, 5 April 2015:
... Which brings us to America in 2015. It’s becoming a nation where an elite that is certain of its power and its moral rightness is waging a cultural war on a despised minority. Except it’s not actually a minority – it only seems that way because it is marginalized by the coastal elitist liberals who run the mainstream media...
It’s an establishment that has one law for itself, and another for its enemies. It’s an establishment that inflicts an ever-increasing series of petty humiliations on its opponents and considers this all hilarious...
Liberals need to understand the reality that rarely penetrates their bubble. Non-liberal Americans (it’s more than just conservatives who are under the liberal establishment’s heel) are the majority of this country...
... liberals would be well advised to ask themselves who will be willing to fight and die to preserve their power and policies. In contrast, there are an awful lot of people willing to fight and die for their religion and our Constitution...
I am warning liberals that they are setting the conditions for violence...