Democrats, You’ve Got Some “Draining” to Do, Too
What an apt visual metaphor.
There they were: Pelosi and the gang. Standing in front of the Supreme Court looking all spiffy and spunky. Waiting for the signal to let them know all the usual network and cable news pundits were done saying all the usual things.
The signal came. The cameras rolled. And then Pelosi leaned in and spoke into two dead mics.
Yup, there she was. Like a deer in the head lights.
Tapping the mics, calling for help, getting no help, babbling about the new moon for some reason and finally deciding to sing “This Land Is Your Land” for some reason. With the whole world watching in wonderment.
And I thought, “Whoop, there it is!”
Clueless. Like her party.
I’m sorry, y’all, but when the Democrats step to the mic it’s the always the same faces, the same words. The same faces and words that set the other side’s teeth on edge. The same faces and words that didn’t deliver for our side last time.
I have the utmost respect for most of those faces. They’re good people. They’ve fought some valiant battles in their time. Historic ones, in some cases.
But I’m starting to feel like a Millennial now, whenever I see them step up to a podium. My heart sinks. They’re going to talk “at” me again. In played out phrases that don’t resonate with a lot of the people out there shivering in the cold, waiting for something to really cheer about. Waiting to be acknowledged at last.
They’re my peers, most of the ones behind those mics. So I understand how hard it is to let go. But it’s time.
In fact, Pelosi should never be behind a podium or part of a photo op ever again. It’s just smart PR.
I know this because I live in Arizona, where all a Republican candidate has to say is, “S/he’s friends with Pelosi” in one of their campaign ads, and they’ve got it locked. Hell, just show a photo of Pelosi’s face covered up by one of those red circles with the line through it and you’re good to go. Message received.
She’s Satan, out my way. Probably in most red states. And putting her front and center is the surest way to keep her party ‘way down in that big, black hole they’ve been sucked into.
But it’s not just about new faces. It’s about new ideas. New approaches to politics, period.
During that mic debacle, when Pelosi asked, “Is somebody going to deal with this?” I heard a little voice in the back say, “Somebody young?”
Great idea.
I don’t think we’ve got anything even close to a left-leaning Steve Barron type with actual scruples and who could clean up ‘way better than the one we’ve got now. But there a whole bunch of young folks out there who’ve been working their butts off in communities since the first Obama campaign. Kids who’ve made connections, figured out who’s who and what’s what in this odd new world and could help the Dems think this thing through.
Or maybe even run for office themselves soon. Even better.
Pelosi asked the right question: “Is somebody going to deal with this?”
Now it’s up to her and her party to start asking the right people. Or trying to find a few.
Tap-tap-tap — can you hear me now?
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Photo credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images
