Anne Lamott At Salon With Your Hooey Of The Day
Posted on | October 22, 2010 | 2 Comments
by Smitty
This Salon post, “Why I believe in a Democratic comeback” merits stepping out of “Don’t get cocky” mode long enough to explain something to the author.
There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and out, about to lose, and out of time. The almost certain victors are already in full gloat mode, and that’s why the rest of us feel lower than a gopher hole, as Molly Ivins said to me after Bush v. Gore. Nothing you try seems to work. But as I experienced dozens of times in tennis matches as a youth, if you don’t give up, sometimes there’s a shift under your feet, and you win one unexpected point, and then another, and somehow, miraculously, you pull ahead.
It’s like this, Anne:
- The Democrats aren’t going down because the GOP found greatness. The GOP is still, by some reports, trying to figure out how it answers the call of We The People while still playing the Beltway tune. But the GOP cannot play base and drums simultaneously. Nor can it play base and dumb. If the GOP goes wobbly on repealing ObamaCare, it is toast.
- The Democrats are going down because Progressivism is capsizing. Socialism does not model the human spirit in its rugged, individualist, successful mode. Rather, it views the human spirit as ant-like, with the occasional queen issuing the orders. The debt and deficit are merely the handiest metrics of The Thing That Will Never Work.
- The legislative version of denial (like your post) is precisely why the Democrats are going down.Unread, endless legislation, divorced from economic and historical reality as your post, has brought this disaster to pass. Deep within your comfortable ant heap, Anne, you seem to think that if you deny reality enough, reality will yield. Just so you know, I forgive you, as well as a certain friend whose birthday is on Saturday, all this absurdity. There isn’t any point in anger at you. You and Nancy should consider growing up and accepting the comeuppance that will be delivered a week from Tuesday. Deal with it, honestly, maturely, without evasion or projection. You’ll feel better, sooner.