“We’re Back”
There was ice in the room the day I met Gary – sitting in a law office staring across the table I saw a devil; staring back Gary saw a devil. We worked out the four Helms-Hunt debates back in 1984. Left.
Sitting in another office years later Gary told doctors in a fight with politicians: “In politics you think, ‘I’ve really got this campaign rolling’ but the truth is you’re like a frog on a log floating down a river watching the banks roll by telling yourself, ‘I’ve really got this log moving’ – but it’s not you it’s the river.’’
I thought, Amen, friendship took root, hardly ever agreeing the two of us wrote together on Talking About Politics for a decade, took a sabbatical – we had lunch after election day, the sabbatical ended, we’re back.
In politics, in the old days, there were lines in the sand no politician dared cross, not out of virtue but out of fear of the price they’d pay. In June 1984 Jesse Helms trailed Jim Hunt by eight points – I spent every penny I could lay hands on to catch Hunt. Jesse led the first time. The roof fell-in.
A cocksure newspaperman with a mean streak in a story on the front page of his weekly paper called Jim Hunt ‘sissy, prissy and gay.’ A lie. That backfired. Scowling at his lie voters abandoned Jesse, switching to Hunt. The million dollars I spent went up in smoke.
Lightning struck again: Hunt’s TV ad showed rows of dead bodies sprawled on the ground in El Salvador, gunshots echoing in the background, said Jesse supported death squads that killed innocent people. Another lie backfired. The race went back to even.
Politics is just as brutal today but politicians no longer fear the price they pay for telling a lie. Who planted the seed that led people to embrace lies? It’s easy to point the finger at politicians – or say, ‘That’s Trump’s fault.’ But politicians don’t mold Americans. They mirror Americans. People cheer lies, so politicians lie. That’s a problem that runs a lot deeper than politics.
“We’re Back”
There was ice in the room the day I met Gary – sitting in a law office staring across the table I saw a devil; staring back Gary saw a devil. We worked out the four Helms-Hunt debates back in 1984. Left.
Sitting in another office years later Gary told doctors in a fight with politicians: “In politics you think, ‘I’ve really got this campaign rolling’ but the truth is you’re like a frog on a log floating down a river watching the banks roll by telling yourself, ‘I’ve really got this log moving’ – but it’s not you it’s the river.’’
I thought, Amen, friendship took root, hardly ever agreeing the two of us wrote together on Talking About Politics for a decade, took a sabbatical – we had lunch after election day, the sabbatical ended, we’re back.
In politics, in the old days, there were lines in the sand no politician dared cross, not out of virtue but out of fear of the price they’d pay. In June 1984 Jesse Helms trailed Jim Hunt by eight points – I spent every penny I could lay hands on to catch Hunt. Jesse led the first time. The roof fell-in.
A cocksure newspaperman with a mean streak in a story on the front page of his weekly paper called Jim Hunt ‘sissy, prissy and gay.’ A lie. That backfired. Scowling at his lie voters abandoned Jesse, switching to Hunt. The million dollars I spent went up in smoke.
Lightning struck again: Hunt’s TV ad showed rows of dead bodies sprawled on the ground in El Salvador, gunshots echoing in the background, said Jesse supported death squads that killed innocent people. Another lie backfired. The race went back to even.
Politics is just as brutal today but politicians no longer fear the price they pay for telling a lie. Who planted the seed that led people to embrace lies? It’s easy to point the finger at politicians – or say, ‘That’s Trump’s fault.’ But politicians don’t mold Americans. They mirror Americans. People cheer lies, so politicians lie. That’s a problem that runs a lot deeper than politics.