Forgive my absence. The move to Substack has not been as easy as I thought it would be! Add to that a general disgust with what has been (and is) happening to our country, a disinclination to wade into areas of national exhaustion, and the feeling that I had nothing to add to the discourse that had not been said and written daily and hourly.
The business of politics likes words and phrases that push the desired narrative forward. These words and phrases arise after ersatz-scientific “testing” in focus groups and polling. If it “polls well,” it’s a winner.
Today’s selection, pushed by democrats, is “chaos.” DJT is presiding over “chaos,” sowing “chaos” nationwide, and has made the republicans soldiers of “chaos” as they march behind their great leader. For example, The Economist says that “Donald Trump is creating chaos at the IRS…”; The Hill headlines “ [ National Security Adviser Mike] Waltz exit adds to ‘chaos’ in Trump’s national security team.”
Reports today have the Democratic National Committee exhorting democrats to use the word everywhere and always to knock republicans off their respective perches.
Word and phrase anointment as election winners is not a new idea. In the 1992 Clinton campaign it was “hope.” (It helped that Clinton came from Hope, Arkansas! “The Man from Hope.”) In 1996 the theme was that reelection created a “bridge to the 21st century.” Clinton won both times.
The problem with the “chaos” allegation is that the democrats are in worse chaos than the republicans. The Democratic Party’s favorability rating hovers at 29% or less.
Cong. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (with non-democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders) has huge crowds, even in Utah, railing against American “oligarchs,” a Russian designation for individuals who benefitted from the privatization of state- run industries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. So defined, we don’t have any oligarchs in the USA. (Remember folks, words have meaning.)
AOC’s massive rallies do not hide the fact that if she is a candidate for president or vice-president in 2028, the democrats lose big. Frontline democrats in the house and senate shudder in fear at the mention of her name.
Then there’s the split between those democratic electeds who want their leaders to fight hard and those who favor cooperation when possible. Democratic house leader Cong. Hakeem Jeffries is said by activist democrats to fail to fight. (Sitting on the steps outside the House for a few hours is not enough, they say.)
At least the DJT chaos has the full support of his party, fueled by fear of primaries and the chief executive’s wrath.
Chaos indeed. What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
Glad your writing.