Reasonableness, rationality, diplomacy, civilization — these are fragile and require the good faith cooperation of intelligent people to have any effect on the world and to overcome our natural tendencies for selfish blinkered tribalism.
An angry and selfish man with power can easily destroy the careful work of decades (or centuries). That doesn't make him smart or right.
Ah yes, "my side is too nice to get anything done." It comes up in politics all the time. I've heard the claim since Reagan was in office.
I've never believed it.
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The biggest problem in the US is that currently neither party has a convincing majority. During the Depression, Democrats held something like 75% of the Senate. When FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court, the Republicans had no ability to stop it and had to rely on Democratic senators to decide it looked bad.
Today all politicians know that government control can change drastically in the next election, which gives a lot of hope to the guys out of power that if they slow things down just a little longer they'll achieve their wildest dreams, and a lot of fear for the guys in power that if they don't get what they want today they may not get another chance tomorrow.
There are brutish, stupid, and venal wreckers at both ends of the political spectrum. There are intelligent, careful, and thoughtful conservatives and socialists. Donald Trump and his followers are not among them. It's only the deeply fucked up political situation in the US that lead to conservatives (those interested in conserving the good that has been achieved) to support a person like Trump.
Political effectiveness divorced from thoughtfulness and respect is not desirable.
An angry and selfish man with power can easily destroy the careful work of decades (or centuries). That doesn't make him smart or right.