Love, Life, & Liberty: Dating Tips from the Ragin’ Cajun
If some day, you are on a first date, and the chemistry is palpable, and you ask what their political opinions are, and they respond, “Oh, I don’t really follow all that stuff,” the world’s sassiest and most adorable political operative suggests that your appropriate response is simple. You excuse yourself to the restroom, look for a window, crawl out of it, and run far away. “Some people are content to sit on the couch and eat Doritos. These are not bad people; we just don’t want to associate with them.” I am inclined to agree.
If ever given the chance to share the same oxygen as James Carville, do not pass it up. A Louisiana twister in human form, wearing loafers and a tie, would bear striking resemblance to the ball of utter joy that is the man lovingly known as the “Ragin’ Cajun.” Sprinkled with good-natured and endearingly-inappropriate humor, Mr. Carville’s talk at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts on April 6th did not disappoint. This lecture was the last in a series presented by Broward College.
I’m sure much of the audience walked away with a few cute anecdotes and some well-informed predictions about upcoming elections. (Believe me, he can bring the funny — at one point he off-handedly referred to Louisiana as a place where “half of the state is underwater and the other half is under indictment.”) As a civic educator, his message was clear: Politics is exciting stuff. During the Q&A, I asked what tips he had for getting my students more actively involved, and he pointed out that I need simply remind them that civics is not an obligation; it is actually fun! “We need more good teachers and fewer crazy preachers.” (Of political ideology, he went on to clarify.) When you frame the study of American government in excitement, you make it irresistible.
The times, they are a-changin’
Politically speaking, he had plenty to share. He stated from the beginning that he is a vocal Democrat and long time Hillary Clinton supporter — he still believes that she will be the nominee, even if it will end up taking a little longer than he would have hoped. But the formidable, if unforeseen, opposition presented by the Sanders camp is not dismissed as a mere obstacle; he sees plenty of lessons to be learned from the unprecedented political upheaval we are currently witnessing.
We are seeing the rise of a generation of young voters who saw their parents worry their way through the late 2000s over plummeting home values and shrinking college funds and 401Ks, only to watch the banks get bailed out, student costs skyrocket, and they are looking for a way to make sense of all this as they embark on adulthood themselves.
*Their faith in the institutions of American government has been undermined by the intersection of two major events: A government bailout of banks that faced little penalty for playing fast and loose with middle America’s finances in pursuit of massive profits AND the largely-contested ruling by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. F.E.C. (2010).
*The free market doesn’t protect the little guy, and the government oversight, which should be stepping in to check the power of private industry, just removed significant restrictions to those very organizations’ influence over our elected officials.
*The disillusionment that follows is based on a perception that there are rules for the rich and powerful, and then separate rules for everybody else.
Comfort in Oversimplification
So in this state of frustration, the public seek answers, preferably in the form of quick, easily-digestible sound bites. Say what you will about the policy distinctions between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders; they are both surprisingly-successful candidates, whose appeal comes from their provision of a target for our ire. Unhappy? Dissatisfied? It is the fault of __________. The liberal media. The top 1%. The overly-sensitive PC culture. China. Washington insiders. Big donors. Guess what? We have complex problems that are likely to require complex solutions — if it can be solved by filling in a single blank, then that wasn’t really the problem or it isn’t really the solution.
As for the contentious tone of the current political contest? This may not be the dirtiest campaign he’s ever witnessed, but Donald Trump has certainly pushed it further than any other single candidate. And what has he to say about this polarizing presumptive Republican nominee? “My mind is simply not that fertile! Replay what the other members and leaders of the Republican party have said about him. There is nothing new I could add!” He specifically made reference to Lindsey Graham’s suggestion that choosing between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as the party’s nominee is like getting to choose between death by gunshot or poison. Sunshine and rainbows it ain’t.
Carville pointed out that the nostalgia often used effectively by politicians, particularly to appeal to older generations, can be an effective, if inaccurate tactic. Lots of talk of “getting back the country we had” and “making America great again,” implying that it isn’t great anymore, hearken back to an oversimplified and nostalgia-tinged memory of our nation. Sure, he says, it may seem appealing to go back to some magical time that was idyllic, when the world did what we said and everyone looked like me. “So if you consider America in 1958,” Carville reminds us, “life was pretty good if you looked like me. Maybe not your highwater mark if you were black, a woman, gay, etc.” Baby boomers have had an amazing impact on the nation America has become, but “they have failed to infect millennials with their prejudices,” which Carville believes to be a mark of progress. “The future is made up of young people who want a shot.”
So how does someone so deeply involved with this frustrating field stay energized about it? “I love politics. Every day. Because it MATTERS. At every level.” There is no excuse not to be engaged — you’ve gotta start somewhere. So despite the vitriol and partisanship, he encourages young people (including his own teenage daughters and Political Science students where he teaches at Tulane University) to BE INVOLVED. This means you will sometimes fail, but sometimes you won’t. Be willing to try, and learn from it when it doesn’t work out. Be a part of things in your community; presidential elections aren’t the only source of political power. Government decides where stop signs will be placed in your neighborhood, what wars your nation will enter. And these decisions will continue to be made, with or without your input — so why pass up the chance to have a say? He suggests that for all of their flaws, politicians serve as impressive role models. They dare to fail, but in a field that is by definition public. Their successes may go unnoticed, but their slip-ups almost always have an audience. And mistakes that are made are still often the result of good intentions.
The Sunshine State is Key
Since this was a talk in south Florida, predictions were bound to arise, and he didn’t disappoint. Plenty of folks wanted to hear just his estimate of the final outcome, but the civics educators in the room were in for a treat. When asked how important the Sunshine State is likely to be in the 2016 contest, he didn’t hesitate to dub Florida ‘the most influential state’ in the Union. Do a little bit of electoral math, and this claim doesn’t seem all that daring: he noted the trend that has developed over the last six elections — there are several states that have consistently gone to the Democratic candidate. These 18 states plus the District of Columbia have come to be known as the “Blue Wall,” adding up to a predictable 242 electoral votes since Bill Clinton first ran in 1992. (Conveniently illustrated by the phenomenal site 270towin.)
At this point, Mr. Carville attempted a call-and-response with the crowd, and a few of us nerds did most of the responding.
“How many electoral votes does it take to win the presidency?”
“…270!!”
“And how many electoral votes does Florida have?”
“…29!!”
“What is 242 plus 29?”
“…………….271.”
“So, if Democrats start with 242 electoral votes locked in, then a single play for Florida means they can win the whole shebang without New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina, or even Ohio.”
Ok, Florida it is. A massive, diverse, expensive, unpredictable state will become the OK Corral for 2016. A state in the deep South with a surpisingly Northern culture, a sizeable immigrant population, home to 6 of the 100 largest cities in the nation, housed in a geographic region containing beaches, everglades, tourism, agriculture, and a state university system boasting 12 impressive institutions with a combined enrollment exceeding 341,000 students. Good luck hitting that moving target, you brave presidential candidates.
The Art of Love & War
Having given his predictions, he moved on to one of the topics upon which Mr. Carville is most often grilled: the endurance of his potentially-contentious marriage and family life. When asked how he has made a peaceful life married to a vocal professional political operative of the Republican persuasion work, he had some advice for the husbands in the audience that would make Sun Tzu blanch: “Surrender, capitulate, and retreat. A fight can’t continue if one side refuses to fight back.” And polarized as his particular situation may seem, his wisdom was impressively universal. “You just have to decide to stay married. There are worse things to hate about someone than their stance on Obamacare. I would rather be married to someone who passionate about SOMETHING than the alternative.” With two daughters reaching adulthood, inquiries often turn to their parenting styles. ‘Are you raising your daughters to be Democrats or Republicans?’ the inquiries often go. “Well, we’re raising our kids to think. Isn’t that the point?” *And the civic educator inside me does a happy dance.*
What’s Next?
Finally, he reminded us that though we may feel despondent about the current state of affairs, “It won’t get any better if we don’t take care of the next generation.” Today some people may claim that we have to put our plans on hold, that we are currently facing tough times, and need to make do with less. So, if you were to pick the worst year in American history, when things were looking grim in the ol’ US of A, 1862 might seem a reasonable selection. Middle of a Civil War, pitting brother against brother, tearing a nation apart, and (not to put too fine a point on it) ‘testing whether that nation, or any nation [conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal], can long endure.’ (Gettysburg Address) Also keeping an eye on possible conflict on just about every border, as our expansion to the west and the south encountered foreseeable resistance. It was at this time that Justin S. Morrill introduced an act into Congress, and effectively lobbied Abraham Lincoln to help him whip up support among their fellow Republicans.
Officially titled “An Act Donating Public Lands to the Several States and Territories which may provide Colleges for the Benefit of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts,” the Morrill Act provided each state with 30,000 acres of Federal land for each member in their Congressional delegation. The land was then sold by the states and the proceeds used to fund public colleges that focused on agriculture and the mechanical arts. Sixty-nine colleges were funded by these land grants, including Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. (Library of Congress)
Any team you cheer for with “A&M” in the name is the byproduct of this act. And according to Mr. Carville, these collected institutions have produced more Nobel Laureates than all of Europe. So even at the lowest point in this nation, we managed to keep an eye on the future. Don’t we owe it to the next generation to continue that tradition today, regardless of the various trials and tribulations we currently face?
***If you enjoyed this post and would enjoy keeping up with these glimpses into a more thoughtful take on our political life, please recommend Trish’s post and consider signing up for our newsletter.
