FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2019
In praise of talent—and gumption: Talent is always in short supply. Also in short supply?
Gumption.
We've been thrilled by the talent, but also by the remarkable gumption, of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Yesterday, we were appreciative of the way Senator Markey deferred to her in the public roll-out of the Green New Deal proposal.
Good for Markey, and good for Ocasio-Cortez, whose gumption has been inspiring. It isn't every day that this combination comes along. We'll only wave this one caution flag—celebrity can do vast harm.
We were glad to see Markey behave as he did. Gumption must be served!
(Mateo, on Halloween evening, in Jim Sheridan's 2003 film, In America: "When luck comes knocking at your door, you can't turn it away.")
Gumption definitely. Talent? Ask yourself if you'd say she had talent if she spoke the same content in the same valley girl manner, but weighed 400 lbs and looked like a female Michael Moore. It's OK, this kind of misjudgment happens to all of us.
ReplyDelete@Gunk Ha ha! Perfect response.
DeleteBernie Sanders. What an ass.
DeleteFTFY
No one said Bernie was talented and he says the same stupid stuff.
DeleteGumption and talent. Hmm. Surely there’s...something else? A case could be made that Mitch McConnell or Trump have those qualities.
ReplyDeleteYou have it all wrong. It takes political talent to know a great set of bolt on tits will get you more tips at the bar and instant stardom with the media gents.
DeleteDid Al Gore have gumption? I hear he lost because Brian Williams said something mean about him.
ReplyDeleteGumption? Lol. What politicians do is called 'expediency', 'demagoguery' - but 'gumption'?
ReplyDeleteYeah, keep glamorizing politicians, Bob. What can go wrong?
“We'll only wave this one caution flag—celebrity can do vast harm.”
ReplyDeleteGood thing you were never in real danger, Bob. Or are you speaking from experience?
And when Markey was asked by Joy Reid last night how the Green New Deal would be paid for or how it would be accomplished, he didn’t quite have an answer.
ReplyDeleteHere’s Kevin Drum’s list of the goals of the Green New Deal:
https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2019/02/here-is-the-green-new-deal-in-handy-list-form/
I agree. We cannot afford to do anything about this. The cost of losing vast portions of Miami, New Orleans, Houston; and having repeated blows to NJ and NYC (for starters) is no biggie.
DeleteSomething needs to be done, but you’d think Markey would’ve at least been able to answer a question about how to accomplish these goals from a practical standpoint.
DeleteMarkey should have said, "We'll find it in the sofa cushions, like we did the money for the Iraq War."
DeleteSomerby likes AOC. Good. But: He spent a large part of the past two years complaining about the way Trump was reported by the media. Will he point out the bs in the mainstream media that will inevitably be directed at AOC?
ReplyDeleteThe ‘Goring’ of Warren and Klobuchar has already begun, and Somerby’s only effort so far has been to criticize Warren.
One suspects his “it’s all anthropology now” means he has more or less abandoned his prior role.
Here’s an example of liberal media criticism:
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a26234982/elizabeth-warren-amy-klobuchar-campaign-revelations/
I don’t recall Somerby ever claiming that Hillary had “gumption and talent.”
ReplyDeleteI don't recall anyone ever claiming Hillary had gumption and talent. Why would they? She lost to Donald Trump. She lost to someone who didn't even want to win. Gumption and talent at what?
DeleteClinton has more gumption than 10 politicians put together. More than AOC because she has had to overcome more obstacles than AOC in her life in politics. You can criticize Clinton on many things but not lack of gumption.
DeleteDon't talk about Trump. He didn't win the election. It was purchased for him by Putin while Comey torpedoed his competition. Trump is the biggest whiney-ass titty-baby in the world because his cushy life leaves him unprepared for the smallest inconvenience -- and now he is going to jail.
But no one has ever claimed Clinton had gumption and talent. No one ever. She's one of the biggest losers in world history. That is beyond dispute. I know you like her but facts are facts
DeleteThink of all the dead bodies Hillary Clinton is responsible for. Think of all the slave trade she created. This is one of our worst politicians by far.
Delete"She's one of the biggest losers in world history."
DeleteMaybe. But she is definitely the least corrupt major party Presidential nominee in at least 5 decades.
That's like saying she is the least drunk member of the Replacements circa 1985.
DeleteWhy can't conservatives stop talking about Hillary? They really are obsessed with her.
Delete5:29 brought her up. She doesn't seem conservative.
Delete2:02,
DeleteGood point about lack of corruption being a deal-breaker when electing a President.
What could be more conservative than mindless dembot drivel? I'm pretty sure it beats, as a manifestation of dumb conservatism, any form of religious fanaticism hands down...
DeleteI hope deadrat doesn’t mind my responding to you. He/she has a decidedly “do as I say not as I do” Somerbyesque view of you. Anyway, not sure what Chavez has to do with anything.
ReplyDelete@5:57 Hugo Chavez imposed socialism on Venezuela.
ReplyDeleteOcasio-Cortez wants to impose socialism on the US.
The US is already a Socialist nation (Quick, name the Fortune 1000 company that gets no government assistance at all).
ReplyDeleteIf you want to kill Socialism in this country, start by telling the Wall Street boardrooms the gravy train is over.
Don't forget to report back how well that goes for you.
@7:11 Yes, the US government already had a lot of involvement and control over businesses and over people. That's why we need to be careful of going over some tipping point that would lead real harm to our economy.
ReplyDelete@6:59 -- I'm afraid you're know-nothing attitude is widely held. Too many Americans pay little attention to what's going on in the rest of the world. And, liberal media and liberal educators don't do enough to straighten us out.
Look at the countries where some version of socialism has led to poverty or to relatively poor economy: Venezuela, East Germany, North Korea, Russia, Zimbabwe, Nicaragua, Romania, Poland, Peoples' Republic of China, to name a few.
Places in the world where some version of socialism has led to prosperity and comfort for citizens, a solid or even thriving economy: Great Britain, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, the USA, Colombia, Costa Rica, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, Germany (united, modern Germany), various European and former Soviet countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Israel, Mexico. While you might quibble over what "socialist" means, all of these stable, prosperous countries use government funding to provide basic needs for their people, such as education, health care, and provide subsidies of various kinds for energy, business needs and provide for common good out of public funds (infrastructure, research, efforts to address climate change, etc.).
ReplyDeleteAmericans do pay attention to the rest of the world -- enough to know that East Germany no longer exists as a political entity, nor does the Soviet Union.
I have no interest in debating "what is socialism" with you, since you will prefer to define it as whatever proves your argument.
Somerby calls AOC's behavior "gumption." I would like to see some evidence that she lacks narcissism before attributing her attention-seeking behavior to positive character. She is having a lot of fun now but she will have to actually do the job soon, and it will be interesting to see how she stands up to some career adversity. That is where gumption reveals itself, not in charismatic interviews and publicity stunts designed to attract press coverage, as surely as anything Trump does. She can work a crowd. Can she do the work in Congress?
ReplyDeleteThe US by your definition has some version of socialism. Social programs within a capitalist system work, and redistribution with social programs work better in some societies than others. Our multiethnic, multicultural society isn't one.
ReplyDeleteYes David, our 750 billion dollar a year military industrial complex will be literally starving! And as has been pointed out we employ a form of socialism for our biggest industries and banks - especially when they fail, dingbat!
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ReplyDeleteActually, David, you're misinformed. Despite the fact that Chavismo is nowhere near socialism (private sector still comprises 70% of the economy), millions of people, in fact, stopped starving.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-15240081
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"That's why we need to be careful of going over some tipping point that would lead real harm to our economy."
ReplyDeleteToo late. A Conservative has already been put in a position of governmental power.
Socialism didn't lead to the destabilization of Venezuela. Declining oil prices did that.
ReplyDeleteVenezuela wasn't real socialism.
ReplyDeleteOcasio-Cortez doesn't have talent or gumption. She has charisma.
ReplyDeleteShe had a launching by Bernie Sanders, so she has been riding on coat-tails. It remains to be seen whether she can make something of herself.
Notice how readily Somerby has transferred his approval of Sanders to Ocasio-Cortez. This is most likely a model for what the voters in her district did too.
Nancy Pelosi had a launching too. She grew up in politics. But the long haul has demonstrated her talent and gumption above and beyond her privileged start.
Elizabeth Warren showed talent and gumption early on because she didn't have the same kind of mentoring and launching, didn't have the expectation of college and law school. She does have the looks, but she doesn't ooze charisma. She oozes competence, resolve, and wonky expertise. And she wins because she is smarter than her opponents. Somerby shouldn't leave that out, because brains are more important than charisma in overcoming obstacles. Trump is now demonstrating that -- in the negative. His lack of brains is why he is being caught and why he will go to jail. It takes more than animal cunning and powerful friends to stay out of jail in these high tech times. His stupidity is about to bring the whole flimsy structure of his life down about his ears.
Ocasio-Cortez could have that happen to her if her "talent" isn't accompanied by character. An example is Maria Butina or Melania Trump (who used to be able to smile), or Ivanka. Their talent and gumption was accompanied by bad choices and look where it is taking them. (Hint: down the tubes.)
So, Somerby's enthusiasm for Ocasio-Cortez needs to be based on more than her so-called talent for arousing enthusiasm among crowds who desperately hope she will fulfill some of her promises -- God knows Bernie never did.
Anyone who believes Trump is going to jail has no business talking about brains and the lack thereof.
DeleteTrump is NOT going to jail. Someone who committed the crimes Trump did, but wasn't giving the American people the bigotry they craved, might. But that's not Trump.
DeleteWhat has Ocasio-Cortez done, besides go to school? She worked for Ted Kennedy and Bernie Sanders and she went to protests. That's it. That's called a very thin resume.
ReplyDeleteWhat do other people do? They work in local organizations, run for school board or water district, help organize projects in their communities and build up a following. Many then run for a state office and get some legislative experience. Some run for mayor or hold state office to get executive experience. Some work their way up in non-profits. That's the traditional path for democrats. If you are a Republican, you acquire a bunch of money in business and then try to buy office. Or you become head of the local Chamber of Commerce, or a successful realtor, or get elected to a state office, as democrats do.
Ocasio-Cortez's method is the same as the guys on the other side who organize with the Young Republicans, work as an aide to a senator or governor, then form a PAC to which wealthy Republican donors contribute big bucks so that you can plaster your name everywhere.
Neither she nor her Republican equivalents have shown any gumption. They are photogenic and personable and can talk to people without major gaffes. Later you find out what their skeletons are. Ocasio-Cortez may be like Bernie and have an embarrassing college essay in a drawer, or a jilted lover with pictures, or maybe she is a closet atheist. We don't care about any of that because she is so darn cute, taking on the incumbents like that -- too dumb to know that there will be consequences behind the scenes for embarrassing her elders and disrespecting the power hierarchy. Somerby finds her cute. I find her stupid and annoying.
I watched the film "In America" on Bob's recommendation. I wasn't disappointed.
ReplyDeleteLeroy
I watched “The Shape of Water” despite “Bob’s” weeks-long denunciations of it and found it to be perfectly enjoyable.
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DeleteGood content, but it would be better if in future you can talk about more about this subject.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job, your Blog has nice content Too short but Very well define and much effective.
This is what good media criticism looks like:
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