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Perhaps Honesty Is Better
James Clyburn is a Congressman who doesn’t matter, from a district that doesn’t exist, elected by voters who don’t understand. I’ll try to explain why I like such an unlikeable man, in the following essay.
I live in his congressional district, except I don’t. Mr. Clyburn’s congressional district was created for an obvious purpose which cannot be acknowledged, using techniques we cannot describe, resulting in abominations we cannot discuss (like James Clyburn). Such obviously deceptive maneuverings result in predictable surprises like James Clyburn spouting wisdom that doesn’t make sense. Wikipedia’s description is an actively lazy effort to keep something spectacularly horrifying appearing unremarkably uninteresting:
“The district’s current configuration dates from a deal struck in the early 1990s between state Republicans and Democrats in the South Carolina General Assembly to create a majority-black district. The rural counties of the historical Black Belt in South Carolina make up much of the district, but it sweeps south to include most of the majority-black precincts in and around Charleston, and sweeps west to include most of the majority-black precincts in and around Columbia. In all of its configurations, its politics have been dominated by black voters in the Columbia and Charleston areas.”
So Mr. Clyburn’s district is dominated by two cities that are far apart and have little to do with each other: Charleston and Columbia. But it excludes Charleston and Columbia – at least the parts of those cities that are populated largely by *gasp* white people. So he basically controls very specific areas of those two cities and the entire coastal region of South Carolina. Except for the actual coast, of course, because that rather expensive real estate is populated largely by *gasp* white people. Like me, for example. I really should be in Mr. Clyburn’s district. But I’m not, because too many of my neighbors are *gasp* white.
I live in Hilton Head, which is in South Carolina’s first congressional district, which looks even more absurd that Mr. Clyburn’s district, as you can see from the map at the left. Interestingly, Mr. Clyburn’s 6th congressional district and my 1st congressional district are the only Democrat districts in the state, and that clearly was not an accident. Look at the maps. They worked hard to get two Democrats into congress from South Carolina – one from poor blacks and one from wealthy whites.
The other congressional districts are mostly just blocky areas on the map, drawn-out more or less according to rational practicality. And why not? They’re populated largely by rural *gasp* white people who vote largely *gasp* Republican. So why bother? Draw the lines wherever you want. You can’t get a Democrat congressman out of those areas. So whatever.
I’m not writing about the racism inherent in such gerrymandering. You may have noticed that I write about all sorts of things, from Spanish genders to frightened warts to over-rated authors, but I do not write about race. Which is a shame, because I’m fascinated by race. But I think rational (or even interesting) discussions of race are currently impossible. And any white person who writes about race will automatically be labeled a racist, no matter what he says.
So I write about other things.
What I am writing about is that one problem with the Democrats electing such sheltered candidates in such sheltered districts from such sheltered backgrounds is that they tend to lack the typically Democrat cautious relationship with the truth.
When Congress was debating the coronavirus stimulus bills, it would have been simpler for everyone if Mr. Clyburn had just said, “This new Republican spending bill is evil – they’re trying to kill babies and run up the deficit. We should instead use the stimulus funding for the coronavirus to increase funding for Planned Parenthood.” Or whatever. He can really say whatever he wants, because all Democrats understand that, like when Bill Clinton endlessly quoted the Bible, he doesn’t really mean it. So say whatever you want.
Except for the truth. For heaven’s sake. He shouldn’t speak the truth.
And what did Mr. Clyburn say? Something uncomfortably close to the truth. When asked about the coronavirus and the government’s efforts to control it, he said it was, “…a tremendous opportunity to restructure things to fit our vision…”
Even Bernie Sanders would not have said that. AOC, maybe. But probably not.
Is Mr. Clyburn really stupid enough to think that it’s a winning strategy to openly admit that the Democrat party was taking advantage of the death and destruction of the coronavirus in a cynical ploy to destroy individual liberties and increase centralized governmental control of all facets of our lives? No. I very much doubt that he is that stupid.
It’s just that he’s never been challenged. By anybody. Ever.
He’s not in congress because of his wisdom, or his leadership, or his accomplishments. He’s in congress because they drew a congressional district for him. Or somebody like him. Whoever.
And there he is. And they stick a microphone in his face.
And he says what he thinks.
Good heavens.
How horrible, right?
Well, I don’t think so.
President Reagan, President Clinton, and both President Bushes were very careful about what they said, and how they said it. Whereas those who fall into politics via pure luck (James Clyburn) or sudden political shifts (Donald Trump) tend to say what they actually think about things. I find it rather refreshing, really.
This is how politics should be.
Career politicians are always thinking about the next election, and thus are very careful what they say, even if it limits their ability to discuss the topic at hand. Bill Clinton was a genius at this, but most members of congress fall into this category to one degree or another.
Mr. Trump is not thinking about the next election. He’s 73 years old, he has enough money, and he trusts his own hunches to the point that he doesn’t care what anybody else thinks. He’s spent the last 4 years listening to everybody tell him how evil he is, but he knows that he’s not. So he says what he thinks. Whatever.
Mr. Clyburn is not thinking about the next election either. He’ll be 80 years old in a few months, and it’s absolutely impossible for him to lose an election. Everybody around him has done nothing but tell him how wonderful he is, for most of his life. Thus, he lacks reflection and self-doubt. So he says what he thinks. Whatever.
People like that tend to make lazy political mistakes. Like telling the truth.
I like it.
I intended to write an essay about how foolish Mr. Clyburn was to openly admit that Democrats hoped to increase governmental control by cynically using the coronavirus crisis. But when I tried to explain my thoughts, I realized that I actually appreciate his honesty.
The Democrat party is changing, from the non-threatening, friendly world of Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Tip O’Neil to the more openly threatening world of Bernie Sanders, AOC, and James Clyburn. I’m surprised to find that I like the later version better. At least they’re honest.
And so is President Trump.
If nothing else, it’s entertaining.
But I think it’s better politics, too.
I hope this trend continues.
Published in General
AOC helped put the kibosh on a deal that would have brought a huge number of jobs to her district. Never underestimate her ability to say stupid things.
Alexandria Occasional Cortex
I tend to agree — no one is bluffing.
I think in Clyburn’s case, his recent statements may have been a combination of complacency and honesty.
We already know what he is thinking. But his honesty reflects a kind of arrogance and indifference to voters outside of his district. And I’m not sure if he represents the interests of his constituency. I think many people vote for him out of habit and the rest stay home out of boredom because he will never lose his seat.
Jackie Robinson voted Republican. So did Wilt Chamberlain.
In 1988 I remember reading a funny story about Charles Barkley. His family was upset at him for supporting George HW Bush. They said, “Bush only cares about the rich”. His reply was, I’m a millionaire.
On a slightly different topic, if Tommy Tuberville, former coach of Auburn, wins the GOP nomination in Alabama, the race against Doug Jones could be closer than expected because no Crimson Tide fan will vote for Auburn (unless it’s Bo Jackson or Charles Barkley).
Guam might capsize if we put too many Marines there.
Prior to this past election, the SC 1st had been safely held by Republicans for forty years and was lost to Democrat Joe Cunningham by less than 1% of the vote. He won against state representative Katie Arrington who successfully primaried Mark Sanford, a six-term incumbent who had bisected his time in Congress with a stint as Governor (resigning in the face of impeachment hearings following revelations of a scandalous affair). Sanford jumped back into the political ring following SC-1st Tim Scott’s appointment to the Senate after Jim DeMint left to helm the Heritage Foundation.
While I agree that the 1st and the 6th districts are yin-yang interlocked gerrymanders, I wouldn’t say that the 1st being held by a Democrat elected from wealthy whites was “clearly not an accident” – it was more of an own-goal caused by two strong internal primary challenges (the latter successful) against a politician who should have had the discretion to remain in private life.
Not sure being an honest communist is a good thing. If you are, ‘true to your authentic self,’ you are more likely to be a murder and/or a communist. Our authentic selves are terrible. Maybe it’s better to try to pretend to be civilized even if it’s hypocritical.
Your dog honestly loves you more than a politician ever could but your dog can’t improve our system of taxation.
Wow, that’s some Gerrymandering. Shocker.
That was Hank Johnson.
It’s the Taranto principle:
“According to the Taranto Principle, the press’s failure to hold left-wingers accountable for bad behavior merely encourages the left’s bad behavior to the point that its candidates are repellent to ordinary Americans. According to Mr. Taranto, in 2004 the press quietly went along with Senator Jean-Francois Kerry’s exaggerated claims to heroism and military prowess, thus encouraging his braggadocio and leaving him utterly unprepared when his fellow vets stepped forward and demonstrated that he had been a dreadful showoff in Vietnam.“
https://www.nysun.com/opinion/the-taranto-principle/86573/
It applies in Texas. All the big city papers pushed Wendy Davis, abortion Barbie, for governor and were surprised when she lost by 20 percent. Likewise they were shocked that Beta lost to Ted Cruz.
I remember that! I heard it was a reporter during an interview who asked him why he didn’t support the Democrat’s plan to tax the rich. He answered, “Because I am rich, you idiot.”
Also remember when Michael Jordan was asked why he never gave his opinion on politics he replied;
“Republicans buy shoes too”.
I want to think that was an attempt at humor, not an actual belief. Gee we don’t have to act like a bunch of journalists.
It’s on YouTube. Play the tape. It sure didn’t sound like he was kidding. He appeared to be genuinely concerned…
IIRC, his staff blamed it on medication, not colossal ignorance . . .
There’s a few of those. In Virginia, Bobby Scott could never beat Herb Bateman in Virginia-1 so when they got an extra seat, guess who got a district carved out for him
Guess who’s still there.
It’s “redistricting” for Democrats, “gerrymandering” for Republicans
JAMES CLYBURN, CIVIL RIGHTS ICON.
STOP! We are not allowed to say anything more. Whatever he did 60 years ago was enough for a lifetime pass on all of the stupid, hateful, and racist behavior he has since exhibited.
Which is why I don’t write about race.
Back in the 80’s when I first started to pay attention to politics, I had a right wing friend who was somewhat politically active and had met several congressmen. I remember him saying how friendly all of congressmen were, even the Democrats, because, “they have to be, that’s how they keep their jobs.” With so many “safe” seats, that isn’t as true as it once was.
The ones who talk nice to you are often looking to do the same rotten things that Bernie and Clyburn are so, yes, a little more honesty would be refreshing.
The old Democratic playbook—talk centrist but legislate leftward as much as you can—is gone.
The new program is Agenda Über Alles. When you win a jurisdiction, change the voting rules to prevent future voter rebellion of the kind that happened with the botched Obamacare project. Make business pay tribute to continue to exist. Expand dependency until it governs a clear majority. Join with media and tech moguls to crush dissent, threaten employment and erase unwanted perceptions.
The new playbook aggressively characterizes calls for renewed economic freedom to be nothing more than racist desire for COVID death for the vulnerable and non-white. Every effort will be made to stop recovery, to beat down the American people until we beg for a guaranteed income, however small and accept whatever else our rulers choose to impose.
It is not the kind of agenda that can be easily concealed. If deBlasio and the Party unload on the Jews and the Reichstag Congress catches fire mysteriously or shuts down indefinitely you will know the enemy believes the “restructuring” program to be well underway.
It appears that Hilly C, in her “town hall” with Mumblin’ Joe, made the same statement, even paraquoting Rham Emanuel. It appears she also does not care. Or is too stupid to understand how it makes her look.
I really think we’re stuck with this crap until the interest payments on the debt start chewing up into the already-shrinking discretionary spending, rates start going up on gov’t issued debt (because it starts looking riskier to buy), and it becomes harder for the gov’t to borrow money to spend it on crap that guys like this dude want to use, to stay in office.
Clearly people act in their own self-interests. By giving congress a blank check to buy votes, they use that blank check to go out and buy votes.
Then we act surprised and shocked that they do that. And after spending decades doing it, some truth nuggets accidentally dribble out of the occasional congressman, and there you have it.
We have given them the tools of our own destruction. There is no simple remedy. It could be term limits, a mass standardization of districting, and something approaching requirements around fiscal discipline. None of this any individual voter likes, generally, because it will gore their ox in some way.
We really are getting what we deserve. In a way, these people are our fault. Pelosi. AOC. Schumer. Those are just a few of the Democrat chowderheads, there are plenty on the right, too. The naked statement by our “honest” representative, though, is one of those mask-slipping events that we are enchanted to see, that informs our reality better, and adjust accordingly.
But I don’t think a thing is going to change until it has to.