Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Months before the midterm elections, I wrote here about the Democrat's reaction to their impending loss by comparing it to the Kubler-Ross Stages of Grief:
The famous Kubler-Ross stages of grief are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
I'm a people person. I care about others. So as the hapless, amateur-hour Obama administration lurches from one self-inflicted mess to another, what I really want to know is this: how's the press doing? You know, in the mental health department? How are all of those fawning, lickspittle toadies handling the collapse of their Chosen One?
Good news! They're following the textbook.
And a week after the drubbing, they're still following the textbook. The great Ed Driscoll alerted me to this piece in today's Politico, about which Ed writes:
Back in August, Rob Long explored “The Five Stages of Grief: The Left Wing Now Gets Angry,” at Ricochet.com:
It’s all part of the Kubler-Ross model, the Five Stages of Grief. Now they’re turning to Stage Two: Anger. Angry at the voters, at Fox News, at Obama himself.
Next up: Bargaining. I’m not sure when that’s going to start — probably a few weeks after Labor Day. But as always, what we’re all waiting for is Stage Four: Depression.
Fortunately, help is now standing by for just that eventuality, the Politico reports, spotting “Grief counseling after the wipeout:”
A staffer for a congressional Democrat who came up short on Tuesday reports that a team of about five people stopped by their offices this morning to talk about payroll, benefits, writing a résumé, and so forth, with staffers who are now job hunting.
But one of the staffers was described as a “counselor” to help with the emotional aspect of the loss — and a section in the packet each staffer was given dealt with the stages of grief (for instance, Stage One being anger, and so on).
“It was like it was about death,” the staffer said. “It was bizarre.” The staffer did say the portions about the benefits and résumé writing were instructive.
The teams weren’t sent by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Two people have suggested it may have been the Clerk’s Office or Human Resources.
While Tuesday was definitely a major loss for the Democrats, I hadn’t heard it cast in a stages-of-grief way before.
The first rule of understanding American politics is: read Ricochet. It only seems like we're kidding.
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Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Kubler-Ross mood dots for the poor wepwesentatives . Five different dots in different shades of black.
Jul '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Obviously, we are discussing people unprepared to function as adults. But, what the hey, it's just taxpayer dollars. They'll never miss it.
A stimulus measure. Keeping the Kubler-Rossite counseling industry here in the States, where we need them. (Tell me they didn't outsource the counselors from China. Do they even speak English?)
"This counseling was paid for by an appropriation from the massive Democrat Debt Bomb." Visual: Bernanke and Obama frolicking by the barbecue, forking dollars into the fire.
Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Fascinating - and rather funny - how we all end up having to face the same laws of life and consciousness. We may delude ourselves for a time that we've found a "new way" to get a "free lunch", and all the people who lived before us were dumb saps, but inevitably the unalterable law of Nature, or Karma, or whatever you wish to call it, applies to everyone.
Kudos to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.
Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
I'm seriously looking forward to the depression bit.
Oct '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
A few days before the election, Clarice Feldman put up my new, improved, Five Stages of Democratic Grief over at American Thinker:
Pre-mortem:
1. Prep the battlefield: Winning isn't everything, you know.
2. Move the goal posts (or baselines): If Republicans don't win bullet-proof margins, they're losers.
Post-Mortem:
3. Brief spasm of self-reflection, also known as self-exoneration, in which blame shifting is rapidly externalized.
4. Passive-aggressive amnesia, including but not limited to:
a) That's the price we pay for being better people than those guttersnipes.
b) Unless Dems are actually arrested for voter fraud, Republicans rigged the machines
c) Republicans are clearly hoist on their own ugly petards.
5. New normal, same as the old normal: Everyone knows that Democrats have been victimized, yet again, by the Vast [insert slurs] Right Wing Conspiracy, but we will fight on in the name of the stupid voters they've duped
Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Your #1 . see Lombardi #2 Perfect
Oct '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Funny. I don't recall anything even remotely like this happening in 2008.
Weird how that is. I wonder what the difference might be?
Jul '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
I read the title "Life Imitates Ricochet" and thought that it was going to be about money then speech.
Edited on Nov 8, 2010 at 6:56pmNov '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Nancy Pelosi doesn't seem to follow this pattern at all. The woman seems to be oblivious to what happened last week. She may only notice when her executive jet is no longer available.
Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Spot on and devastating. Bravo!
JM Hanes: A few days before the election, Clarice Feldman put up my new, improved, Five Stages of Democratic Grief over at American Thinker:
Pre-mortem:
1. Prep the battlefield: Winning isn't everything, you know.
2. Move the goal posts (or baselines): If Republicans don't win bullet-proof margins, they're losers.
Post-Mortem:
3. Brief spasm of self-reflection, also known as self-exoneration, in which blame shifting is rapidly externalized.
4. Passive-aggressive amnesia, including but not limited to:
a) That's the price we pay for being better people than those guttersnipes.
b) Unless Dems are actually arrested for voter fraud, Republicans rigged the machines
c) Republicans are clearly hoist on their own ugly petards.
5. New normal, same as the old normal: Everyone knows that Democrats have been victimized, yet again, by the Vast [insert slurs] Right Wing Conspiracy, but we will fight on in the name of the stupid voters they've duped · Nov 8 at 4:58pm
Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Theory: She's found a new and exotic medication - probably purchased in Europe - that allows her to bridge the unbridgeable gap between reality and an utterly contradictory phantasma. It cannot last, however.
May '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Here's a question posed by my 15 y.o. son about the lame duck Congress and rules of succession::
During the next several weeks if something happened to both the President and VP rendering them incapable of holding the office of the presidency, would Nancy Pelosi be sworn in as president for the next two years?
(I'm almost afraid to hear the answer to this question.)
Sep '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Diane: Here's a question posed by my 15 y.o. son about the lame duck Congress and rules of succession::
During the next several weeks if something happened to both the President and VP rendering them incapable of holding the office of the presidency, would Nancy Pelosi be sworn in as president for the next two years?
(I'm almost afraid to hear the answer to this question.) · Nov 9 at 8:41am
I believe that's a biblical sign of the end of the world.
Oct '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
River:
I thought about drawing up a Republican list too, but the dynamics are much simpler. Whoever is furthest to the right takes credit for the loss.
Aug '10
Re: Life Imitates Ricochet: There Really Are Grief Counselors for Democratic House Staffers
Executive Jet ? I wonder how many Americans know she has a 757 all for herself . Boeing 757 can be fitted to carry up to 279 people. All for Queen Nancy.