DrewM. at Ace of Spades thinks something has happened to me:

Charles seems genuinely confused that some people might actually say out loud they don’t want Sotomayor confirmed to the Supreme Court.

Uh, no, that’s not my point at all. (But I don’t expect careful reasoning from the Ace of Spades crowd, either.)

I’ve spelled this out pretty clearly (I thought) previously, but here it is again, since so many seem determined to miss it.

To me, the issue is very simple — almost blindingly simple, in fact: openly wishing for political opponents to “FAIL!” is horrendously bad politics.

When Rush Limbaugh says he wants Obama to fail, even if he backpedals and says he wants “policies” to fail, a whole lot of people in this country hear him saying he wants America to fail — because, like it or not, Barack Obama was elected President by a majority of the voters in this country.

When you spout this “I want you to fail!” rhetoric, it’s a giant turn-off to a large segment of the American population. It’s not just bad politics — it’s stupid, self-defeating politics.

It makes you look petty, weak, and vindictive.

These are not attractive qualities.

Criticize policies all you like, and work to defeat politicians you don’t agree with. But wishing out loud for Obama or his Supreme Court nominees to “fail” is mean-spirited, negative, and hands ammunition to your political enemies that they will gladly use.

I’m frankly surprised that so many of today’s conservatives, including DrewM., fail to understand this very simple point about politics.