Loyal opposition

The phrase, loyal opposition, comes from the British Parliament and represents the out parties view while maintaining the laws. In the United States it means standing up to the party in control by those not, in control but always following the constitution. This is the way things worked until recently when parties began to oppose not just on principal but just for the sake of opposing. The Republicans opposed Obama on almost every issue, big or small and now the Democrats are opposing Trump in the same way. It is used as a way to fire up the base. Right now it is a forgone conclusion that Supreme Court nominee Gorsuch will be approved but the base demands a fight to the finish and the senate democrats are ready to oblige. They watched how the Republicans gained power by being obstructionist and they want to go down the same path. The irony is that the general public objects to this kind of activity while not seeming to understand how it has affected their vote. To illustrate how times have changed, Scalia the man for whom Gorsuch is the replacement was approved 98 to 0.