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CSotD: Toes of Clay
Bill Bramhall opens the day with a nightmare depiction of a woke Democrat, which brings to thoughts the oft-repeated quote of poor Henry Clay, “I’d quite be proper than be president.”
Watch out what you want for.
I say “poor Henry Clay” as a result of he was a terrific man in an period after we wanted nice males, and he completed some nice issues, however by some means regularly lived as much as that concept of being on the fitting aspect quite than the favored aspect, it being a time when the 2 have been hardly ever congruent.
There was, as he stated, a degree past which he wouldn’t go, however he completed so much with out crossing that line.
His nickname, “The Nice Compromiser,” in all probability tells the story, as a result of, whereas issues he engineered, just like the Missouri Compromise, managed to avoid wasting the Union for a time, we appear, in the present day, to choose purity over pragmatism.
Abraham Lincoln thought-about Clay a job mannequin, however we’ve seen proposals to take Lincoln’s title off colleges as a result of he did not measure up on each scale.
If Lincoln is to not be praised, definitely Clay shouldn’t be.
You too can entice flak in the present day by citing Obama’s catchphrase in regards to the excellent being the enemy of the nice, as a result of it’s not sufficiently “woke.”
“Woke,” BTW, is a grammatical utilization that appears to smack of cultural appropriation, however Crooks and Liars has taken a moment to complain about previous white folks discussing the difficulty of purity over effectiveness, so what do I do know?
Being each previous and white myself, I dasn’t repeat what previous, white James Carville stated about liberal eggheads alienating real-world voters:
The place Carville goes astray is assuming that the purpose is to win elections quite than to win arguments.
Dave Whamond nails the futility issue, in a world through which all types of woke folks would quite be proper than be in energy.
I may need paired Whamond’s cartoon with this Pat Byrnes (Cagel) panel as a Juxtaposition, besides that every thing in in the present day’s posting is a Juxtaposition.
It’s not a lot that the elephants wish to sink the boat as it’s that they’re unwilling to present the donkeys a victory, even one which saves all people’s lives. Nonetheless, it’s very a lot the purpose that the donkeys would quite squabble and stipulate and argue than act.
And, as Whamond factors out, all their well-reasoned arguments are a lot sizzling air within the midst of an emergency, the place simple-minded jargon — repeated sufficient occasions with adequate ardour — turns into acquired knowledge.
As for being sufficiently old to recollect what labored within the Civil Rights Motion or the Antiwar Motion and even the Clinton and Obama campaigns, Dana Summers (Tribune) bases his criticism on a regrettable however vital truth:
Individuals don’t even keep in mind the previous 4 years.
How low can Biden’s approval scores go? He hasn’t fairly caught up with Trump, although he’s admittedly fairly shut in the mean time.
It doesn’t matter.
Merely level out that he, like each different president in residing reminiscence, is getting extra criticism than reward and it’s as if you happen to have been making a recent, distinctive, consequential level.
It jogs my memory of that previous apocryphal story in regards to the girl who advised Adlai Stevenson he had the votes of each considering American, to which he responded that it was not sufficient, that he wanted a majority.
Alongside which traces, right here’s a
Juxtaposition of the Day
Airial factors out that, by a sequence of compromises that will have made Henry Clay proud, Biden managed to get a considerable portion of his Infrastructure Invoice handed, which is a big although imperfect victory.
Carlson, nevertheless, notes that these of us with at the very least the reminiscences of cocker spaniels will recall how the conservatives leapt upon Nancy Pelosi when the Inexpensive Care Act was on the desk. She conceded that it was a thick and sophisticated invoice, however stated that, as soon as it was handed and in impact, folks would expertise its advantages for themselves and would really like it.
Which ought to have occurred however didn’t, as a result of, regardless of all that it gave folks, they have been inundated with repeated, unfounded, apocryphal declarations that it was a failure.
And so, whereas many individuals acknowledged the advantages, it stays controversial.
Once more, it’s not about details. It’s not about being proper.
It’s about messaging.
And so Jen Sorensen manages to be proper and flawed on the identical time.
That’s, she’s proper to oppose voter suppression and the astonishingly overt racism popping out of the opposition camp.
However there’s knowledge in “giving the folks what they need,” and, whereas we shouldn’t give them the evil, fascist issues a vocal minority need, it’s vital to get on message with what you might be truly providing the first rate people who find themselves not activists however are, at the very least doubtlessly, voters.
Which doesn’t imply profitable debates amongst faculty sophomores within the dorm at 2 a.m.
It means profitable elections.
It means preserving your eyes on the prize.
Typically meaning agreeing to compromise, as with the Infrastructure Invoice, and accepting that the purpose is to not get to Utopia however merely to get to tomorrow.
And it means, as Carville stated, to speak the best way voters discuss, to handle them successfully, of their language.
Fake you’re promoting them toothpaste: Don’t analyze the fluoride. Present them the smile.
Be proper, however be proper in a approach that provides you a combating probability of additionally being president.
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