#335 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday April 26)
Good morning,
A Tuesday potpourri…
Last week brought us two exercises in political speech—one political bravery and the other political cowardice.
FIRST, THE COWARD
In hardly a surprising development, that invertebrate, Kevin McCarthy, the would be (and likely) Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, this week disclaimed his statements shortly after the January 6th insurrection, that (a) he had “enough of this guy” (referring to the then and potential future president), (b) President Trump bore some responsibility for the insurrection, (c) he would speak to Trump about resigning, and (e) he explored invocation of the 25th Amendment (in which a President plainly nuts or criminal—or in this case, both) can be removed.
Upon hearing of the report, McCarthy said these claims were “totally false.”
Then, in a remarkable development later that day, Mr. McCarthy’s recorded statements to this effect were released by The New York Times. So, in the course of a single day, (a) McCarthy was confronted that he said these things, and then (b) he lied about it, and then (c) he had no comment. This is a guy who certainly warrants elevation to the Speaker’s role! As for Mr. Turmp, he commented “ “I like him. And other than that brief period of time, I suspect he likes me quite a bit.”
That McCarthy “got religion” after the premeditated attack on the Capitol, which were supported and abetted by the Wizard of Atlantic City. His comments repudiating the President for encouraging the coup made me think for a moment that perhaps there were limits to which those in pursuit of power, without regard to principle or decorum, could go. Had he said these things, one might reasonably believe that Mr. McCarthy was emerging from the shadow of Trump. But weeks later he denied he ever said or contemplated these otherwise heroic statements and actions and flew to Mar-a-Lago for a picture opportunity with, and blessing from, the former-President. Once he was (embarrassingly) “outed” for having made comments critical of Trump back in January, he quickly fell in line with his former sycophancy to Mr. Trump and, in a phone call later to Mr. Trump, he apologized. Profiles in Courage, 2022 style.
THE HERO
Then there is Mallory McMorrow, who stood up to slanderous statements about her because she supported the simple concept notion that we try to teach our children well (including about inclusivity and understanding others). McMorrow, a Michigan State legislator, had this to say in response to the claim that she was “grooming” school children in unacceptable values:
“So, who am I? I am a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom who knows that the very notion that learning about slavery or redlining or systemic racism somehow means that children are being taught to feel bad or hate themselves because they are white is absolute nonsense.
I want every child in this state to feel seen, heard, and supported, not marginalized and targeted because they are not straight, white, and Christian.”
Remember that the vile accusation of “grooming” is a not-so-oblique reference to what sexual predators do to prepare their targets for advances.
A SPIN ON WHETHER TRUTH MATTERS
I fear we now safely are in the realm of “truth doesn’t matter.” It no longer matters what people learn from data or from experts. It is how people feel about something. And once it enters this near-religious and unshakable conviction, is any amount of evidence to the contrary ever going to make a difference?
Here is Peter Bain’s spin:
“Your FDR quote struck a chord with me. It is, of course, famous for its reference to fear. What jumped out at me this morning, however, is the frankness with which he emphasizes the importance of speaking the truth in times of crisis. Without that, there can be no genuine leadership. We are, I would advance, in a time of crisis today. And we are confronted with leaders or would-be leaders who have explicitly and empirically abandoned the truth. I am thinking specifically of McCarthy’s bald lies being caught on tape, but there are so many, going back always to The Big Lie. They are out in the open, and the response from the Republicans has been a resounding, “So what - doesn’t matter. We’re going to take the House and he’ll be Speaker and that’s what matters. Oh, unless Trump is mad at him for it, and then he won’t be.”
The optimistic American in me believes we will endure this crisis and emerge resolved in our commitment to democracy. But it pains me to admit that our leaders have left the truth in the rear view mirror. Where are more Mallory McMorrows? “
JUNIORS WHO DO PRETTY WELL
I’m not exactly sure how I started thinking about this… There is a lot of talk of how a person who follows someone with the same name has tough shoes to fill and often falls short. But I’m not so sure. Have you noticed how many accomplished people are “juniors”? Here’s a short list of some of the more noteworthy juniors that come to mind (and yes, I acknowledge the noticeable slant toward baseball…!):
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ed Begley, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Louis Gossett, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Robert Downey, Jr.
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr.
Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Have a good day,
Glenn
PS: Here again are FDR’s prophetic words:
“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”
From the archives: