For release: 03/26/26
The political instant replay
By Cal Thomas
Tribune Content Agency
In sports, the instant replay was invented and first used by a man named Tony Verna on the Dec. 7, 1963 broadcast of the Army-Navy football game on CBS.
The political “instant replay” has no single author or starting date, but its overuse has produced few resolutions of the major problems confronting the country. What it has produced is a deepening cynicism about politics and so much else.
Too many Americans now see their fellow Americans who are of a different party or persuasion as a bigger enemy than Iran or Russia. Long-term friendships have been destroyed over whether one loves or hates President Trump. At least the sports instant replay usually leads to the affirming or overturning of a decision by the referee. The political instant replay solves nothing, even when the “players” are shown to be wrong. The result in too many cases has been political paralysis.
Cable news and more than a few newspapers are increasingly obsessed with the November elections, as if they will somehow change the political game. We are bombarded with the “truth” that the party which controls the White House is bound to lose seats in Congress, although there have been exceptions. Voters who are angry at President Trump for whatever reasons had best be careful what they wish for.
Despite his occasional bad demeanor and crude language, Trump has succeeded where other presidents and congresses have failed. Do Democrats want to run on a platform of re-opening the southern border? Allowing more people from many nations and possibly terrorists to cross the border in violation of our immigration laws would also increase the number of deadly drugs that have killed thousands of Americans. Imagine the effect instant replays of workers tearing down the wall and watching a flood of people pour across would have when a majority of voters say they approve of border control.
Would Democrats, should they regain House and Senate majorities, continue to back biological males playing on female sports teams and using locker rooms and restrooms restricted to women and girls? Would their party continue to support gender re-assignment surgery for prison inmates with taxpayers footing the bill? Would their opposition to showing identification before voting and proof of citizenship before registering continue? All of these are “80-20” issues, in some cases higher.
What about taxes? Would Democrats run on raising taxes when it’s the spending that needs to be cut to reduce the unsustainable $38 trillion debt? Would Democrats, whose party created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, lead the way in reforming these programs before they run out of money (estimated to be in seven years for Social Security) and benefits substantially cut, or taxes substantially raised, or both?
It doesn’t take a soothsayer to predict Democrats would seek revenge on President Trump by again impeaching him, possibly more than once, though he will have fewer than two years left in office and the Senate, even with a Democrat majority, would not likely convict him and remove him from office.
The problem with political instant replays is that few, if any, problems are solved. It’s all about the politicians, not the people. Ultimately, they are not completely at fault. We are, because we keep electing the same people, expecting a different outcome.
Voters, especially the low-information kind, are guilty of creating the political instant replay. As long as we keep re-running the tape, nothing will change.
Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).
(C) 2026 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
