#889 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday March 29)
Good morning,
POOR KATE MIDDLETON
Must everything be public? Do we have a right to know each and every little thing in the lives of public figures? I understand that there is a price to be paid to be a public figure, but personal traumas and illnesses that do not affect a politician’s ability to govern and family matters really should be off-limits.
The Royal Family seems a target for the most salacious of gossip. Princess Diana was a victim and couldn’t cope with it. Chased by paparazzi, she died in a car crash. Now, Ms. Middleton is in the public eye for a highly personal health matter that no doubt affects her young family. She tried to hide it for a while but was then obligated to come clean when the rumors overshadowed events. Here’s what The New Yorker had to say, expressing my sentiments exactly:
“Imagine having to share your bad news with millions of unknown ones—fascinated ones, prurient ones, pitying ones, or pitilessly mocking ones, none of whom you personally know, and all of whom either yearn or presume to know you, from the inside out. How do you begin to break such news without breaking up?”
DO WE YET UNDERSTAND THE ATTRACTION OF DONALD TRUMP’S POPULISM?
Much has been written about the populism that seems to have coalesced around the MAGA campfire. It seems remarkable to many of us that they have found a home in a Republican Party reconstructed in Trump’s image. It is, after all, a party that is all-in on reducing taxes on the wealthy, minimizing the social safety net, and restricting the ability of women to make choices for themselves. It historically has not been the party of labor. It seems an odd partnership.
But the real story of the Trump attraction to the non-college educated and the working class is around a sense of the loss of a nostalgic past—an America and American values that reinforce their status. In trying to raise money from the Republican faithful, Newt Gingrich’s writes them this note: “Biden and the radical left will stop at nothing to destroy American values…”
Ben VandeBunt forwarded me this letter to the editor from The Wall Street Journal. It speaks volumes to explain the attraction of MAGA Republicanism for those who feel without voice, who may feel left behind, and/or may feel American Christian values are at risk, even in the face of Trump’s many flaws:
“…The ex-president is just the messenger, an imperfect one at that. It's the message that is important and most of the GOP agree. The progressive liberal left wants society torn down so they can make it what they want. The GOP champions the individual, the family, the community, and this country, America. It is positive populism. Today, the most popular messenger of positive populism is Donald Trump. That GOP leaders rally behind him should surprise no one. I personally detest the man but if he in all his imperfection can right the ship of state then let him.”
RONNA McDANIEL AND NBC
The former CEO of the Republican National Committee is out at NBC. She never should have been offered a contract in the first place. She was an election denier and Trump enabler. She participated on phone calls with Mr. Trump to encourage elected officials in Michigan to delay reporting legitimate election results (they did not listen). She claimed the election was stolen, provided a platform for the deniers, and held hearings on election “irregularities,” even after lies of election malfeasance were proven false.
Some will claim “well, she really only made one phone call to encourage state election officials not to certify valid election results” or “she only did what the Chair of the RNC could have been expected to do in support of the party’s candidate.” That’s not unlike a criminal suggesting that they ought not be found guilty because they “only” committed one burglary.
A number of conservatives claim that Ms. McDaniels was dismissed from NBC News because she’s a conservative. That’s simply rubbish. She was not dismissed for conservative policies on the economy or Ukraine, or healthcare, or Medicare. There are plenty of Republican commentators on TV, both on entire platforms dedicated to the cause and in mainstream media. Rather, she was dismissed for being an election denier and enabler.
Have a great day,
Glenn