Silent Cal's Eloquence
"I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. That is the chief meaning of freedom."
I used to have great affection for political leaders who could give a great stemwinder. I remember being transfixed by legislators who could engage in incredible oratory. But time and again I was disappointed with them when they actually got into office. They could speak, but they couldn't manage. They could talk a good game, but they couldn't make something a reality. And their principles were always malleable - confident in their ability to sway the people with their words, they could storm for the cause of something and then shift quickly when the winds swept in the other direction.
I've worked for some eloquent guys and some ineloquent guys (how often we assume that equals intelligent and unintelligent). It's funny, but the latter are almost always better leaders. They may not be able to joust verbally or play the American version of British parliamentary debate games in the middle of things, but they get stuff done. They keep their heads down, and concentrate on making things move.
My favorite president has always been Calvin Coolidge. At the bottom of this page you see the imprint of Silent Cal Productions - the reality is that Coolidge was silent mostly because he was shy. He had a tinny, high-voiced delivery and spoke in a sing-song fashion. So he spoke little, knowing it didn't come across well. He never had to debate anyone in his entire political career - he was picked as Veep based on a book of his speeches which circulated widely, which he wrote himself and delivered poorly but read well on the page, read well enough that it got him picked by a smoke-filled room of backers.
Coolidge was irrelevant as Vice President. Before Warren Harding died, many observers had expected Coolidge to be replaced on the ballot. But as president, he is the apotheosis of limited government. He cut taxes dramatically in 1924, 1926, and 1928, gutted the regulatory state, and kept spending low to reduce the deficit. The press routinely mocked Coolidge, blasted him for only doing bland interviews, confusing dullness with being dullwitted; his party was split by battles over entitlements and "welfare capitalism"; progressive godfather Harold Ickes (spiritual father of the New Deal and actual father of Harold Ickes), derided his views as those of a simpleton; Coolidge battled constantly with the trade unions... it's odd, isn't it, how similar the political issues are today?
One can even read these lines as a response to the current debates over Occupy Wall Street and crony capitalism:
The State is not founded on selfishness. It cannot maintain itself by the offer of material rewards. It is the opportunity for service. There has of late been held out the hope that government could by legislation remove from the individual the need of effort. The managers of industries have seemed to think that their difficulties could be removed and prosperity ensured by changing the laws. The employee has been led to believe that his condition could be made easy by the same method. When industries can be carried on without any struggle, their results will be worthless, and when wages can be secured without any effort they will have no purchasing value...
We cannot look to government. We must look to ourselves. We must stand not in the expectation of a reward but with a desire to serve.
Sometimes he was silent. Sometimes he roared.
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Comments :
Feb '11
Re: Silent Cal's Eloquence
He could not be nominated today, even by those who agree with everything he says.
Nov '10
Re: Silent Cal's Eloquence
Thankfully, in an era where Silent Cal's wisdom is most sorely needed, his legacy will be reliably preserved by the likes of Gingrich or Romney, whose substance-over-style approach, and principled opposition to Big Government, is now winning over the hearts and minds of conservative voters everywhere.
Edited on Nov 30, 2011 at 4:13amNov '11
Re: Silent Cal's Eloquence
Rhetorical skill--an ability to persuade with words, and without use (or explicit threat) of force--is invaluable, most especially in a polity of government "by the people."
Persuasion of the moment, a capacity to animate a mob, or a similar mass, or some portion thereof, for a little while, takes no great skill. One can do it by yelling "Fire!" or by shouting, "There he is! Kill him!" To do so for what appears to be a good purpose requires somewhat more cleverness. To do so requires more virtue if the purpose actually is good. Too many good men wrongly believe a resort to such persuasion is beneath them and distasteful, while less virtuous men make continuous unrestrained use of it to satisfy their lust for the crowd's adulation or their ambition for a power to influence the immediate actions of masses of men.
Persuasion, to accomplish lasting, expanding, self-sustaining effect, requires something more. Great political documents, The Declaration and The Constitution, and great speeches like Lincoln's, do this. But The Declaration cannot be rewritten every day, so one should not disdain the rhetoric better suited to the moment.
Edited on Nov 30, 2011 at 10:42amMay '10
Re: Silent Cal's Eloquence
Aodhan: Thankfully, in an era where Silent Cal's wisdom is most sorely needed, his legacy will be reliably preserved by the likes of Gingrich or Romney, whose substance-over-style approach, and principled opposition to Big Government, is now winning over the hearts and minds of conservative voters everywhere. · Nov 30 at 4:11am
Edited on Nov 30 at 04:13 am
Actually, the eternal quest for bombastic extemporaneous inspiring speaking of Right Truth To Power And Media has pretty much dominated the process thus far. Go back and look at how many people here went nuts over, e.g., Michele Bachmann because she yelled at every camera she could find. When Murphy pointed out that she was unelectable, a lot of folks shot the messenger. Right now, we have the same factors feeding the Newt boomlet because he talks well about whatever he is for these days.
I didn't see a lot of people looking for Coolidge substance in preference to glib rhetoric.
May '10
Re: Silent Cal's Eloquence
There is no necessary corollation between eleoquence and action. Action is the MUST have, eloquence is the nice to have. Though, in our present circumstance, where a large share of the populace has been so poorly educated that they cannot immediately intuit why conservative principles are important, the ability to eloquently explain and sell that point should not be under-estimated.